


Normal Lives

by Delta_Rose



Series: After the War [5]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: College, Coming Out, Couples working through couple stuff, Demigods having normal lives, F/F, I hate tags, M/M, Polyamory, Sexual Experimentation, Smut, Wedding Planning, some fluffy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2018-08-08 09:42:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 74
Words: 523,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7752646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delta_Rose/pseuds/Delta_Rose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to After the War.</p><p>Continues to follow our favorite demigods moving on with their lives as monsters continue to be MIA after defeating Gaea.</p><p>Nico and Will are trying to make a long distance relationship work. Percy and Annabeth are figuring out college and planning a wedding. Jason and Piper are finishing high school like normal teenagers (that occasionally babysit a half-boy half-goat).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Routines

When Will had left camp Nico had understandably been sad but Percy and Jason had been there to distract him. Then a week later they both left too and Nico wanted to be depressed- _wanted_ being the key word. Unlike in the past, people _would not_ leave Nico alone to hide away so he was forced to develop new routines without Will, Percy, and Jason.

He still ate at table one when he bothered to eat at the dining pavilion with Leo and Calypso but didn’t see much of the couple outside of that, it was just too hard being around them when they acted so couple-y. Kayla insisted on check up on him, Nico was sure Will had put her up to it but Nico still thought it was a nice gesture. Nico liked Kayla well enough but he didn’t spend much time with her either, since Malcolm was a year around camper it again was issue of being around a couple without Will.

Nico surprisingly found himself spending a lot of time with Austin and Cecil since both Lou Ellen and Mitchell were gone for the school year. Austin was technically the oldest child of Apollo at camp while Will was away (he beat Kayla by a week and a half) so the three of them spent a lot of time in the infirmary. Nico actually liked it, it was nice to help out and feel useful, and he enjoyed learning how the basic stuff in the infirmary worked so he could help Will when he was back at camp. Nico ended up spending so much time helping that demigods stopped seeming terrified when the son of Hades was bandaging their wounds or handing them ambrosia.

Today there was no patients in the infirmary so they were working on stocking supplies and getting caught up on paper work. Austin was rummaging through the newest shipment from New Rome, Nico was filing out the forms Austin seemed to refuse to do, and Cecil sat on one of the cots tinkering with a bundle of wires and metal. That was something Nico had realized early on about Cecil, he was always tinkering with something. He was like Leo but much more dangerous. As Nico filed medical reports he glanced at Cecil and thought the thing looked like a bomb but that didn’t mean anything Nico always thought the things Cecil worked on looked like a bomb.

“Talk to Will lately?” Cecil asked as he connected a red wire with a blue wire.

Nico bit down the feelings of frustration that burned through his chest at the sound of his boyfriend’s name “He’s supposed to call later tonight” He replied.

“Awwww” Austin made a mocking cooing sound “You two are so cute with your phone dates” Nico glared in the son of Apollo, but didn’t point out that he and Mitchell were just as bad “Do you two talk about your day first or is it straight to phone sex?”

Nico groaned. “There’s no phone sex” He declared. What was it with children of Apollo and phone sex? “And can we not talk about sex please?”

“Really? You’re not having phone sex?” Austin asked confusingly “But you guys haven’t had actual sex in like a month?”

“38 days” Cecil supplied before explaining “Lou Ellen left the same day, I’ve been counting.”

Oh gods, had it only been 38 days Nico thought, it had felt like an eternity “Thanks for putting a number on my misery Cecil” Nico commented before adding absently “I wish he’d just give up on the whole no shadow travel thing already.”

Cecil laughed “Yeah, I really can’t believe he’s held out that long.”

“Seriously” Austin chuckled “If Mitchell could shadow-travel oh….”

“Yes” Nico growled “We know, you would be having so much sex.”

Nico angrily shoved a completed patient file into the filing cabinet. Austin finished stocking one box and came to the front of the infirmary for another “So this might be a stupid question” Austin started and Nico kicked himself internally for letting the conversation get this far.  Austin was worse than Percy when it came to private stuff and the fact that Will was his brother didn’t seem to deter him “If you’re not having actual sex,” he eyed Nico critically “and your clearly frustrated about it. Why no phone sex?”

Nico contemplated throwing something at him but settled for glaring at him critically “Did Will put you up to this?” he asked suspiciously.

“No!” Austin declared with a surprised laugh “Has Will been asking about phone sex?”

“No” Nico denied and hoped neither of them could see him blushing at the lie.

“Sounds like Will isn’t the only one being a stubborn idiot” Cecil commented with a chuckle.

Nico turned his hostility on the son of Hermes “Oh like you and Lou Ellen have ever had phone sex” Nico declared doubtfully.

“Hey we could!” Cecil replied defensively setting down his bundle of metal and wires “If I could get her to agree to it.”

“That’s what I thought” Nico commented self-satisfied.

“Alright” Austin interjected and Nico could just feel the advice that he didn’t want to hear coming “As someone who has actually had phone sex let me give you some advice”

“Gross” Nico proclaimed dryly.

“Mitchell?” Cecil asked more curious then Nico.

Austin chuckled clearly amused with himself “Son of Aphrodite says the dirtiest things” he informed happily.

“I didn’t need to know that” Nico remarked although he knew Austin wouldn’t really listen.

“Think of it this way” Austin offered clearly ignoring Nico “Considering how long it has been since you two have actually fucked…”

“Austin!” Nico exclaimed in protest.

“Sorry, I forgot about your depression era sensitivities” Austin replied moving to a shelf and began unpacking the new box “As I was saying, since it has been awhile the whole thing will last all of two minutes anyways so you might as well.”

Nico decided to ignore that, he had discovered that was the best way to deal with Austin when he got really inappropriate. He pointed to where Austin was stocking medical supplies “That doesn’t go there” Nico informed.

“Sure it does” Austin stated waving him off.

“No” Nico stated with more force as he pointed toward the back of the infirmary “it goes above the cabinet next to the linens.”  

“Hey, who’s the child of Apollo?” Austin asked jokingly.

“You are” Nico admitted before adding plainly “And that still goes over there”

“Well” Austin shrugged “it will be fine here”

Nico groaned and got up from his seat behind the infirmary’s front desk “You’re not the one who will have to listen to Will complain that everything is put away wrong” he walked over to where Austin was crouched and grabbed the box the son of Apollo was currently working on unloading “I’ll do it.”

Austin hopped up happily “Well, if you insist” he practically skipped over to the front desk and made himself comfortable.

Nico held the box in his arms and glared at Austin with all his might “Don’t think I don’t realize what you did there.” He commented before walking toward the back of the infirmary.

He heard Austin over his shoulder comment jokingly “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“How do you know where everything goes anyway?” Cecil asked genuinely.

Nico shrugged as he reached the appropriate shelf “I’ve spent a lot of time in the infirmary.”

“Oh yeah” Austin laughed doubtfully “and through all the making out, groping, and sex in the storage closet you were memorizing where things went.”

Nico grumbled inaudibly before admitting “Will sometimes mutters through the infirmary inventory layout.”

“He mutters about infirmary in his sleep?” Cecil asked suspiciously.

Nico paused and felt his whole body stiffened as he realized his mistake. He tried to cover it up with a lie “Ah, yeah.”

Austin laughed loudly “No he doesn’t” Nico frowned in Austin’s direction “let me guess, he does it when he’s trying not to _finish_ ”

Nico’s whole body tensed again, he didn’t want to have this conversation especially with his boyfriend’s best (male) friend and brother “I will literally stab you in the face with the first sharp object I find.” Nico warned hoping it would end the conversations

Austin laugh again completely undeterred “I guess that would make it memorable, having it panted in your ear.” Nico took one of the small boxes he was supposed to be stocking and throw it in Austin’s direction, it fell several feet short. Austin, still wearing a good natured smile held up his hand in surrender “Not judging though, I list Grammy award winners and I’m pretty sure I’ve heard Mitchell listing famous fashion designers.”

“I run through the steps to pick a lock” Cecil offered.

Nico focused on stocking the shelf and spoke without looking back at the others or really thinking “I recite Our Father in Italian” Nico admitted.

At the front of the infirmary Austin started laughing, Nico turned to glare at him just in time to see the son of Apollo fall out of his chair from the fit of uncontrollable laughter. On the floor heaving from air Austin just barely managed to speak “You recite a _Catholic_ prayer during sex?”

“I was raised catholic” Nico defended “Don’t judgement me!”

“That is hilarious” Austin proclaimed still trying to pick himself up off the floor.

“It’s not that funny” Nico argued.

“You’re a _Greek_ demigod reciting a _Catholic_ prayer during _gay_ sex” Cecil explained with a wide grin “That is funny in so many ways” Cecil paused for a moment before adding casually “Also, I’m pretty sure that means you’re going to hell.”

“Already been” Nico commented dryly “Plus my dad is the closest Greek equivalent to the devil so I think I’m good.” Cecil snapped his fingers and pointed at Nico in a gesture that said he saw Nico’s point.

Austin, now on his feet and supporting himself against fits of laughter by resting heavily on the desk commented through labored breath “You know, if you want Will to give up on his whole shadow-travel ban you should tell him about that.” Austin suggested with a grin.

“That would do it” Cecil repeated the ‘good point’ gesture he had aimed at Nico a moment ago, but this time he directed it at Austin “And then Will would be the one praying so many thanks to whoever the Greek god of gay sex is.”

“Eros” Austin commented whipping tears from his eyes “the Greek god of gay sex is Eros and sometimes to a lesser extent Dionysus.”

The last two gods Nico wanted to associate with his sex life, “I hate you both” he groaned at the information and turned to start stocking the shelf again. He was sure Austin would have more wildly inappropriate comments to make but he was saved when a son of Persephone came into the infirmary with a large gash on his arm. Thank the gods for training accidents Nico thought off-handedly.

 

The nights were the hardest, after dinner Nico went back to his cabin alone. In spite of what everyone at camp might have thought Nico hadn’t always preferred solitude. Growing up he and Bianca had always shared a bedroom and that hadn’t changed when Hades hide them away at the Lotus Hotel. After they left and were enrolled at Westover, Nico still had roommates- three unpleasant boys who had teased him mercilessly, but they had still been there. It wasn’t until he ran from Camp Half-Blood after Bianca’s death that he had to learn to sleep alone and he had more or less but then he started dating Will. By the end of the summer Will had spent most nights with Nico in cabin 13.

Going back to that dark space alone there wasn’t enough to distract him and there were far too many memories that kept Will’s absence fresh in Nico’s mind, like an open wound. The silence left Nico with little to do but think and laying on his bunk. After dressing for bed that’s what he did as he waited for Will’s phone call.

He could always do his homework, which was currently sitting untouched on his desk, he shrugged off the thought and the work as a problem for another day. Nico’s mind kept circling back to what Austin had said earlier about phone sex. Will had been asking, and _asking_ , and Nico had kept saying no. He had his reasons- he didn’t want to give Will a reason to continue with his stupid shadow-travel ban, and it wasn’t like he could speak English when he was turned on anyways- those were the reasons Nico had given Will and they were true for the most part. Nico still had some old-fashioned ideas about sex hanging around in his head from his childhood. Still, maybe he should try it, after all how bad could it be and maybe it would help relieve some of the tension.

Nico shot a guilty look at his nightstand and thought about what was hidden in the drawer carefully buried under candy wrappers and empty bags of chips. He didn’t know how Will was getting though this because at about two and a half weeks Nico had been practically climbing the walls. Out of desperation he had retrieved one of the items from Apollo’s goodie bag, a yellow six-and-a-half-inch penis-shaped toy. Nico didn’t consider it one of his finest moments, trying to imagine the piece of silicone moving in him was Will, which had really been a challenge considering the thing was noticeably smaller than his boyfriend. The whole experience hadn’t been as satisfying as Nico had hoped, but that hadn’t stopped him from trying again.

Embarrassed even though no one was around, and no one knew what he was thinking about he looked at the clock and saw he still had an hour or so until Will would call. He took a deep breath, and steeled himself as he realized he had made a decision. He picked up the phone he had bought after Will had left camp, pulled up Will’s contact information on the screen and hit the call button.

On the fourth ring Will answered with a long sigh “Babe I’ve had such a long day and I literally can’t think of anything I want more then to hear your voice.”

Nico couldn’t help but grin to himself, he decided to let the ‘babe’ thing go “Well, hello to you too.”


	2. Will’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm probably going to hell for stealing the chapter title from a children's book.
> 
> Minor Smut warning -if you want to avoid it you should skip Nico's and Will's phone conversation and pick it back up at around "Will! Will! Will"
> 
> I don't know if I have ever mentioned this before but I am not a fan of OC and normally I would just avoid them but because Normal Lives starts with all the characters separated its kind of unavoidable. So to make it less cringe-inducing for me to write I have decided to name any and all OCs after characters from other fandoms I belong to, so if you want to play name that fandom be my guest!

            Will was pretty sure he was having the worse day of his life which was saying something considering he had fought in the Battle of the Labyrinth, Battle of Manhattan, and Battle of Camp Half-blood all before the age of sixteen. In all fairness, it had started off like most of his days had since returning home to Tennessee- with a very vivid dream.

            Well it wasn’t really a dream, or rather it wasn’t just a dream. It was a memory all wrapped up and twisted into a dream. It was his last night at camp Half-Blood and he was naked and sweaty in his boyfriend’s cabin- that much was still the same. But in his dream, their positions were switched, Nico was under him panting and crying out in Italian, desperately grasping to the cuffs binding him to the bed as Will worked within him. The first few times the dream had actually been satisfying, but it quickly turned to frustrating. It became just another reminder that he didn’t have Nico around.

            It wasn’t just about sex- although Will really missed that too- it was about having someone around that was his. Will missed waking up with Nico curled up next to him, and walking around camp holding hands. Of course, waking up with an erection straining against his boxers desperate for contact, the more intimate parts of their relationship had definitely been on the front of his mind.

            Things didn’t have to be so difficult in that department if his boyfriend didn’t have such old fashioned sensibilities about somethings and absolutely refused to give phone sex a try, no matter how many times Will asked, begged, or pleaded.

            Will had beat the odds and had held out for over a month but if he wasn’t honest that had less to do with his will power (of which he didn’t have as much as he had thought) and more to do with his mom. It wasn’t about him being gay, Will’s mom was fine with that (She had bought him a cake when Will told her) it was about the demigod stuff.

It wasn’t a story Will had wanted to tell Nico, but the year Will had stayed at camp had been because his mom had freaked about the magic stuff (which Will found a little ridiculous considering she had knowing slept with a Greek god) and had told Will if he couldn’t keep it out of her house he had to go. Things had gotten better, and she had become more accepting but she still expected him to keep the “magic” stuff away from home unless it was a life or death situation. As it was Will was afraid of being caught iris messaging- which was why he was kind of glad Nico had this irrational belief that the gods (read: Hades) would listen in on their iris messages and therefore preferred to talk on the phone. He couldn’t see her responding well to his boyfriend shadow-traveling into his bedroom.

Will had laid in bed for a long time thinking about his predicament before glancing at his alarm clock and remembered he was supposed to get up early for practice before school and there was no way he would make it on time. He rushed to get ready but he had still been ten minutes late for practice- which meant they had to run laps, which meant for the rest of practice everyone on the team were going out of their way to hit Will in the face with a soccer ball. After practice the punishment continued- last person to morning practice was also last to use one of the four functioning shower stalls, which meant he had barely enough time to hose himself before he had to rush to class.

Then there were classes, and Will was starting to think the 38 days without sex was effecting his perception on reality because every class seemed to be talking about sex or something related to sex. To make things worse during biology he got partnered with the new kid, Felix- it wasn’t that Will didn’t like the kid, he liked everybody it was just that the guy moved into town last school year after Will had left for camp and had made first string on the soccer team and became friends with all Will’s friends while he was away. Okay, Will didn’t really like him, it was like the guy had replaced him while he was away.

After school Will had another practice (yay! more soccer balls to the face Will thought) which ran long by over an hour. Will was glad it looked like they would make states again but he was so over practice. Then he got dragged to get pizza by his cousin Dean and a few of the other guys on the team, and had to listen to them literally talk about sex for over an hour.

By the time Will got home he just wanted to climb into the shower and let the hot water wash away the horrible day until he called Nico and his day would improve. Walking in the door Will discarded his gym bag full of his dirty soccer gear in the entrance way before calling out to his mom “Mom, I’m home!”

He got no response and was about to call out again when he remembered she had to stay after for open house and then was going out to ‘de-stress’ with some of her other teacher friends, she wouldn’t be home ‘til after ten at the earliest. Well, Will thought, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about taking care of his dirty practice clothes right away.

Leaving his gym bag by the door he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and went upstairs to his room. His room was a bit different at home then the Apollo cabin at camp Half-Blood, it was more muted. The walls were an antique white, what little you could see of it anyways. Most of the walls were covered with posters of bands or movies he liked, one wall was covered with sheet music. He had an old wood desk against one wall near the window which was littered with half-finished homework. His guitar was propped against his well-worn dresser and his unmade bed sat with his white, orange, and yellow comforter laying in clumps.

Will stripped off his t-shirt and jeans, tossing them in the hamper in the closet before grabbing a pair of clean sweats and heading for the shower. He halfway to the bathroom when he made out the sound of his phone ringing. Will recognized the tune almost immediately- Gorecki by Lamb- and that meant only one thing, Nico.

Will took the stairs two at a time and run into the kitchen, swiping his phone off the counter where he discarded it earlier. Will answered the phone with the swipe of his finger and put it up to his ear letting out a sigh “Babe I’ve had such a long day and I literally can’t think of anything I want more then to hear your voice.” he declared.

He heard a soft chuckle on the other end “Well, hello to you too” Nico replied. Will knew that Nico would probably glare and pout at him if he knew (Nico was the only person Will had ever met that could do both at once, it was like his special talent), but Will couldn’t help bask in the musical quality of Nico’s voice. His boyfriend’s name couldn’t be more perfect; he really did sound like an angel.

Will smiled to himself, and realized it was probably the first time he had smiled all day, Nico just had that effect on him “I hope your day has been better than mine” I declared “What have you been up to?”

“Not a lot” Nico replied and Will could actually hear the shrug in his voice “Hung out with Austin and Cecil mostly, avoiding doing my homework, you know the usual.”

The first time Nico had mentioned hanging out with Austin and Cecil Will had almost fell over with shock. He loved all three of them (in very different ways, of course) but they were such mismatched personality types there was no way they should have gotten along without another person there to act as a binding force. But when Will gave it more thought he realized Nico, Jason, and Percy probably shouldn’t have gotten along either, so maybe it wasn’t so crazy. More importantly, he was glad Nico was making new friends, he hated the idea of Nico being lonely.

“Seen Kayla at all?” Will asked tossing the sweats he still had in his hands on to the kitchen table and leaning back against the counter.

“Yes Will, she did her daily check-in as ordered” Nico replied sounding equally annoyed and amused. Will could have argued but Nico was more or less right so he just let it go. “So do you want to talk about it?” Nico asked before clarifying “What made your day so bad?”

“Oh I just had a weird dream” Will stated, the details of which he decided to keep to himself for now.

“Oh?” Nico questioned.

Will went on “Was late to morning practice”

“Soccer balls to the face?” Nico asked sympathetically.

“Exactly, but don’t worry I’m still pretty” Will joked and was rewarded with a soft laugh from the other end. “Then I got partnered with Felix in lab.”

“That jerk, I’m sorry” Nico offered, and this time it was Will that chuckled. It was definitely love, he thought, when someone would blindly hate a person they had never meet for you.

“Then after more practice I dragged out for pizza with some of the team” Will let out a dry laugh “Why is it that teenage guys seem to talk about nothing but sex?”

There was a long stretch of silence before Nico responded “Um” his voice coming out shake-y and nervous.

Will sighed feeling like a weight had been lifted just from getting it all out “Anyways” he glanced toward the clock that hung over the kitchen table to double check the time, he still had an hour before he and Nico were supposed to talk. For a briefest of seconds Will wondered if something was wrong, but he dismissed it quickly, if there was a serious problem Nico wouldn’t call he would have completely disregarded Will’s feelings about shadow-travel and would have physically shown up in his bedroom. “So don’t get me wrong here, I’m so glad you called, but I thought I was supposed to call at eight?”

“I know” Nico replied his voice taking on a strange quality Will couldn’t really quantify “I just….. miss you”

Will hummed in agreement and pressed more of his weight against the counter “I miss you so much” Will stated before adding “Your birthday can not get here fast enough”

January 28th, Nico’s sixteenth birthday and the first opportunity Will would have to return to camp Half-Blood and actually see his boyfriend. Four months seemed like an impossibly long time, and Will wished he could visit sooner, even if it was for just a weekend but plane fare from Tennessee to New York was expensive there was no way he could afford it. He could maybe swing bus tickets but than most of his weekend would be spent on a bus not with Nico. As it was Will’s trip in January was his birthday and Christmas presents from his mom.

“It’s just…..” Nico started and then paused. Will heard him exhale, releasing a small puff of air like a frustrated sigh “It’s just…. my cabin gets really lonely without you here.”

Will hummed again, this time in sympathy, he could just imagine Nico all alone in the Hades cabin, probably sitting on his bunk ready for bed wearing nothing but his boxers missing him. Wait, Will thought his brain beginning to swirl with the possibility, was Nico trying to initiate phone sex? He couldn’t be, Will tried to reason, Nico had been very clear on his position when it came to that. But that statement sound so sexual, Will thought before contradicting himself, it probably only sounded that way because he was horny and almost anything coming from Nico’s mouth would sound sexual at this point. Will decided to proceed with caution and test the waters “Is that where you are now? Alone in your cabin?”

“Yeah” Nico replied softly before taking a deep breath that Will could hear through the receiver before adding “and my bed’s just so cold without you in it.”

Will was suddenly very glad for the counter he was leaning on because he actually felt a little dizzy as all his blood desperately rushed toward his groin. Will felt his member twitch and start to grow in his boxers. He tried to keep his excitement at bay, there was still a chance Nico meant these things in a completely innocent manner “I wish I was there” Will stated licking his lips absently “I would help warm you up.”

Will could have sworn he heard Nico gulp on the other end before speaking, his voice coming out huskier than usually “I’d like that.”

 Gods damn it, Will groaned inwardly, he still wasn’t sure if Nico was doing this on purpose. Nico could be hard to figure out when he was sitting in the same room with Will, so he was damn near impossible over the phone when Will couldn’t see his face or his body language. Will decided he would just have to push things a little further and see how Nico would react. If Nico was speaking innocently, he would just yell at Will for being a sex crazed pervert (and Will would remind Nico that it was all his fault that Will was that way) and Nico would declare if Will wanted sex so badly he could just let Nico shadow-travel to visit and they could have actual sex. It’s not like they hadn’t had that conversation before. “Gods,” Will sighed “just thinking about it has got me excited.”

Will almost missed it, he almost didn’t hear the tiny whimper on the other end of the phone before Nico replied “Me too, Will” Nico sighed “I wish you were here so I could touch you, so you could touch me. I miss the feel of you.”

Wow, Will barely managed to think as his brain tried to short circuit. His legs actually felt weak, Nico had just sounded so sexy he could quite believe it. He had no idea what had caused his boyfriend to have such a drastic change over heart, and at that moment he didn’t care- he would pray a thank you to the appropriate god later.

Will decided to give up on standing, and let himself slide down the nicked wood cabinets to sit on the cold lanoline floor with his knees pulled up slightly and spread wide. Gently, Will palmed his clothed half-erected penis with his free hand “Nic,” Will whined “Hearing you talk like that is getting me so hard”

This time there was no missing the sound of Nico whimpering on the other end. Will wondered if he was touching himself too. He didn’t have a hard time imagining, Nico alone in cabin thirteen carefully pulling down his boxers before delicately wrapping his long fingers of his free hand around his large dick and slowly stroking himself. It was a powerful image to have in his head, and he felt his erection grow under the thin fabric of his boxer.

“I wish I could see” Nico sighed longingly “I wish I could touch it. Will if you were here right now I would take you in my hand and stroke you until you begged for more.”

Will whimpered and palmed himself with increased force but not as hard as he wanted to, he wanted to last more than five seconds. He couldn’t believe his ears; he hadn’t thought Nico knew what dirty talk was.

Will groaned and went to tell Nico how badly he wanted to press him down on the bed, to feel Nico’s body shutter under him as he slowly kissed down his body but he was cut off by the sound of the front door being pushed open roughly. “Shit” he hissed in a barely audible voice.

“What?” Nico asked in an uncertain voice.

“Sorry” Will whispered “Just please hold that thought for a minute.”

“Will! Will! Will!” He heard Dean’s voice as his cousin ran through the house. Will realized he just discovered an instantaneous cure for erections- hearing your cousin calling your name repeated right before walking in on you touching yourself.

Luckily, Dean sounded like a heard of elephants trampling through the house so he had moved his hand from his groin before Dean bursting into the kitchen.  Will glared at his cousin and held out his hands in a physical demonstration of his shock and disapproval “What the hell dude?!?”

“Sorry man” Dean exclaimed pushing his fingers through his messy blond hair “but phone sex with your girlfriend is going to have to wait this is an emergency.”

Will groaned, Dean was like Austin, when he said something was an emergency it could be anything from he saw a cool shiny penny to someone died. Will thought about kicking him out for a minute before he realized he couldn’t really risk it. He covered the phone with one hand and pointed at the entrance to the kitchen with the other “Give me a minute.”

“Fine” Dean rolled his hazel eyes “but hurry up, the guys are waiting in the living room”

Dean turned and walked out of the room, once he was gone Will brought the phone back to his ear “Babe, I’m so sorry my friends are idiots” He declared before adding more quietly “I really want to do this, can I call you back at eight like we planned and we can pick this up where we left off?”

“Your friends don’t know?” Nico asked his voice was sharp and cold.

Will was confused, Nic never spoke to him like that, other people that pissed him off- sure but never Will. “What?”

“They don’t know you’re gay” Nico growled.

“Oh” Will realized Nico must have overheard Dean’s stupid comment “Well no they don’t” Will answered honestly. He didn’t see why that would be a big deal, it wasn’t like he was in the closet or anything, he just didn’t feel the need to advertise his sexual preferences.

“I’ve got to go” Nico declared harshly and then the line went dead.

Will sat there and stared at his phone confused for a long moment. Nico had hung up on him- no goodbye, no I love you (which they exchanged at the end of every conversation)- he just hung up on him. That couldn’t be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so so sorry (really I am- I know I've done a bad bad thing).
> 
> I'm usually not a fan of angst but I promise it services a purpose.
> 
> So we all know Will is the guy who has a different ring tone for everybody on his contact list (like me). If you're not familiar with Gorecki by Lamb look it up - it's an older song but it's lovely and romantic and I think it suits Nico and Will. Also I didn't want Nico's ring tone to be Imagine Dragons Demons 
> 
> I'm still taking ideas of things people would like to see in this story so let me know.


	3. Self-Doubt and Revenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello All-
> 
> I tried to kept this chapter from getting to angsty and I'm only 50% sure I succeeded.
> 
> Still I promised more info on why Nico was upset so at least I fulfilled that.

            After the seventh call from Will that Nico had ignored and the fourth text message he didn’t read Nico shut off his cell phone and tossed it in the drawer of his nightstand. He didn’t want to talk to Will, he didn’t want to think about Will, he was just too angry. He couldn’t believe Will was still in the closet- Will, the guy who had to be bribed to stop telling his camp friends every detail of their sex life.

            As much as Nico tried not to think about it, it kept nagging at him. He tried to work on his homework, but couldn’t focus. Will was such an open person, why would he not tell his friends- people he spent nine months of the year with- that he was gay.

            Pushing his homework aside and grabbed his camera. He began scrolling through some of the more recent photos he had taken but he accidently went back too far and came across a cluster of photos he had taken of Will.

Will had always acted like being gay was no big deal, an attitude that had really helped Nico at the start of their relationship when he was still struggling with feelings of shame but maybe Will was only acting that way, maybe he was ashamed.

            Nico shut off his camera and set it down on his desk before walking over and throwing himself down on his bunk. He wished he could just fall asleep, nightmares about Tartarus would be preferable to what he was feeling but he just couldn’t force himself to fall asleep. Staring at the black ceiling of his cabin Nico wonder if maybe Will wasn’t ashamed of being gay, maybe he was just ashamed of Nico. At camp people might have thought Nico was creepy but they knew the things he had done to help save the world but to Will’s mortal friends Nico would just be some weird goth kid.

            Nico groaned out loud even though there was no one was there to hear it and rolled over. He pulled open his nightstand drawer and pulled out his cell phone. He didn’t turn it back on, he just stared at it. Occasionally, he thought about it and his finger would hover over the power button but at the last second he would change his mind. Around 4 a.m. he finally fell asleep out of exhaustion.

            The next morning Nico didn’t want to get out of bed so he didn’t. He laid there staring up at the ceiling with no real awareness of the passage of time. Around noon he finally forced himself out of bed and took a shower. Nico stayed in the shower until long after the water ran cold but he didn’t feel much better.

After a rather disappointing shower Nico throw on some clean clothes, grabbed his cell phone off the floor where he must have discarded it the night before, and sat on his bed. He stared at it for a long moment before mentally chiding himself for acting afraid of a bit plastic and wire and forced himself to turn it on.

After a few seconds the screen lit up, the logo of the company that made the phone flashed briefly on the screen before his home menu appeared. Nico groaned loudly as the screen informed him he now had 12 missed calls, 7 voice mails and 17 missed text messages. For a moment Nico thought about listening to the voice mails or reading the text messages but stopped himself knowing that if he did he would end up calling Will to _talk_ \- and he just wasn’t ready to not be mad yet.

Instead he scrolled to his contacts and found Jason’s number. Technically it was the number to Piper’s dad house in Malibu but Jason and Piper were both staying there as they finished their senior year of high school. He hit the send button and pressed the thing up to his ear. It rang four times before a gruff male voice answered “McLean residence, what do you want?”

Nico was a bit taken aback by that, every once and a while he still came across things he didn’t understand because he was from Italy and the 1930’s but he still felt certain that was not how you were supposed to answer the phone. On the other end of the phone Nico registered a female voice in the background although he couldn’t understand what she had said.

“Fine, fine” The male voice grumbled again although it sounded like it was directed toward the female voice rather than Nico. After a pause the grumbling male voice addressed him again sounding like he was straining to sound more friendly “McLean residence. How can I help you?”  

“Um” Nico responded “Is Jason Grace there? Or Piper, I guess.”

“No, the cupcakes just left for school.” The gruff voice informed “Can I ask who’s calling?”

Cupcakes? Nico thought, it couldn’t actually be? “Coach Hedge?”

“Who’s this?” the voice on the other end- which Nico couldn’t believe he didn’t recognize as Coach Hedge- asked with a mix of aggression and suspicion.

“Nico Di Angelo” Nico replied plainly “Son of Hades”

“Oh, kiddo” Coach’s voice had softened and taken on an affectionate edge, Nico wasn’t sure how he felt about that. “Is there a problem at camp, ‘cause I tell you, new fatherhood hasn’t softened me up at all! I’ll get my bat and we can whip the butts of anyone causing camp problems in no time.”

To Nico’s surprise he felt himself smile a bit “No coach, there’s no problems at camp” Nico said sincerely “I was just calling to check in, I guess I forgot about the time difference.”

“You sure?” Hedge asked and Nico couldn’t tell if he was relieved or disappointed but if he had to guess it was a bit of both “’Cause I can get my bat.”

“I’m sure” Nico managed a small laugh “besides you should be with Mellie and little Chuck.”

“Well I guess” Coach replied “Do you want me to let the cupcakes know you called?”

“Yeah, that would be great” Nico replied. Rubbing the back of his neck absently, Nico felt like he should say something else but he wasn’t sure what. “Um, take care of Mellie and little Chuck.”

“Of course” Hedge responded “Next time you’re in California come around for a visit.”

“Yeah” Nico mumbled unsure “I’ll do that.”

“Good” Coach responded sounding sincerely happy at the thought “Take care kiddo”

“Ah yeah” Nico managed “Will do”

After what Nico was sure barely constituted as an awkward goodbye Nico discontented with the satyr. For a brief moment he thought about calling Percy but he would either be at class or picking up an early shift at the café. He thought about messaging Hazel, but he didn’t like burdening his sister with his problems. He knew he could message Reyna, she would be awake but Nico was reluctant. Reyna hadn’t actually met Will yet and when Nico brought him up she got more overprotective then Jason, he really didn’t want her to think badly of Will. Nico groaned trying to think of what to do as he looked at the screen for a long time as his finger hovered over the power button.

Sighing with disappointment in himself Nico moved his finger away from the power button and quickly navigated through the screens to read his text messages. He scrolled quickly to the first of his 17 missed text messages from Will and started reading:

****

**Received 9:54 pm** : _Nico, I get that your upset but you need to answer the phone so we can talk this out._

 

Nico sighed heavily. It would be so much easier to stay made at Will if he wasn’t so understanding, Nico thought before scrolling down to read the next message.

 

 **Received 10:17 pm** : _Nic please answer the phone._

Nico actually felt bad, like deep, soul sucking guilt. He regretted shutting off his phone the night before. Will was probably worried that Nico had ran off and did something, Nico lamented. Bitterly, Nico realized what he had done hadn’t been much better- Running to the underworld or turning off his phone, either way he was avoiding the problem. Nico thought about calling Will but knew he wouldn’t be able to answer since he would be in class. Huffing in frustration Nico scrolled down to the next text.

 

 **Received 10:29** : _Nic, there’s really no reason to make such a big deal out of this I swear._

 

Nico growled at his phone before tossing it toward the foot of his bed. He was so much more than upset and he didn’t want to talk things out. How could Will honestly think that this wasn’t a big deal. Frustrated, Nico throw himself back on his bed and whimpered into his pillow.

He could have stayed there all day but loud knocking at the door put an end to it. Nico groaned and seriously contemplated ignoring it but then the knocking came again this time with more insistence. He pushed himself up and dragged himself to the door of his cabin. Nico pulled the door open and squinted against the mid-day sun.

Blinded by the sun Nico could only make out a tall male figure with blond hair standing at his door. For one moment, one terrifying, amazing moment Nico thought it was Will but as his eyes adjusted to the light he saw that wasn’t the case. The figure at his door was several inches shorter then Will, his hair was neatly trimmed and overly styled, he was also narrower in the shoulders. “Austin” Nico groaned at the unwanted son of Apollo.

“Hey, your alive” Austin declared happily as he pushed his way into the cabin. Nico hadn’t expected that, so he was unprepared to stop him. Nico could do little more than shut the door behind Austin and at least cast away the unwanted sunlight. “Wow” the son of Apollo exclaimed looking around the cabin in awe “No wonder you sleep in all the time, it’s like eternal midnight in here!” He looked at Nico and snapped his fingers at the son of Hades excitedly “Oh, that would be a great band name, Eternal Midnight.”

Nico rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest before glaring at the other boy “Austin, what do you want?” he asked harshly.

“You missed breakfast, and lunch” Austin informed simply clearly unaffected by Nico’s less than friendly tone “According to Will that’s like a deaf-con four level emergency.”

Nico bit his lip and looked off toward one of the dark corners of the cabin “You spoke to Will?”

“Nay,” Austin shrugged “He left pretty detailed Nico Di Angelo care instructions before he left camp.”

“Oh” Nico muttered, upset with himself for being disappointed.

“Yeah, I figured I was preferable to Kayla and man-abeth” Austin seemed oblivious to Nico’s internal struggle.

“Man-abeth?” Nico asked curiously.

“Yeah, Malcolm” Austin answered still looking around the cabin, although Nico didn’t think there was all that much to see “Or as I think of him, male Annabeth.” he explained “Man-abeth for short.”

Nico smirked a little at that “Oh”

“Yeah, so you’re alive and still at camp I see.” Austin observed

“Um, yeah” Nico replied with a shrug.

“Good” Austin stated absently as he looked around the cabin again “Okay, I seriously have to ask, how did Will hang out here all the time? ‘Cause I feel like I got Seasonal Affective Disorder and I’ve been here for like two minutes.” Austin seemed to give his own question some thought for a few seconds before adding “I guess the frequent orgasms would help hold off the depression but still.”

“Can we _not_ talk about Will?” Nico groaned before adding “Better yet, why don’t you leave?”

“Oookay” Austin made no attempt to move instead eyeing Nico critically “So I don’t need to be a child of Aphrodite like my boyfriend to know something up. So do you want to talk about it?”

“Everything’s fine” Nico said sharply clinched teeth “now will you leave?” Nico pointed toward the door.

“Right” Austin stated with clear skepticism “’Cause clearly you’re in a good place right now.” he titled his head to one side like he was examining the son of Hades “Now, I know Will didn’t cheat on you because, well, he’s Will. He’s been annoyingly and vocally in love with you since I met him.” Austin made a show of tapping his chin thoughtfully and Nico couldn’t help but notice how dramatic the son of Apollo was. He was glad for it because it was so very different from Will. “So what was it? I mean the phone sex couldn’t have been that bad.”

“We didn’t have phone sex” Nico growled.

“Is that the problem?” Austin asked confused.

“No” Nico grumbled “It’s none of your business, so can you please leave.”

“Why? So you can go back to mopping in the dark by yourself?” Austin shook his head “That’s very emo of you, which I guess is your birthright, but out with it already.” Austin made a give-me gesture with his hands “What did my stupid brother do that has you extra moody.”

Nico growled “He’s not _out_ ”

“How do you mean?” Austin looked confused “Will is about as _out_ as you can get without tattooing a rainbow on his forehead.”

“Maybe at camp” Nico corrected bitterly “but apparently in Tennessee he’s as closeted as they come.”

Austin laughed in disbelieve “No way.”

“From what I overheard his friends think I’m his girlfriend.” Nico explained saying it out loud only increased his anger at the situation.

“Fuck, no wonder your pissed!” Austin exclaimed looking shocked. “but you shouldn’t be mopping, you should get some pay back!”

“I don’t want pay back” Nico grumbled.

“Dude, I’m not suggesting going and fucking someone else” Austin stated “Just do something you’ve wanted to do but Will wouldn’t approve of.”

Nico wasn’t exactly proud of it but the idea was kind of appealing. He had been dying to get another tattoo, he had the design picked out and everything. Nico hadn’t because he had promised Will he wouldn’t get any more without Will being there. Yes, he would be breaking his promise but it wasn’t like he would be doing anything to directly hurt Will. “I guess”

“You know I may have the perfect idea” Austin declared drawing Nico’s attention back to the present. One look at the son of Apollo and Nico knew he was in trouble, he recognized the no good expression he was wearing met he was up to no good “and it’s funny because it brings me to the other reason I came by”

“I thought you came to make sure I was alive and hadn’t skipped town…or, well, camp” Nico replied suspiciously.

“Well, yeah that” Austin brushed him off like that was nothing “And Mitchell was looking to call in that favor you owe him.”

Nico did not like that way Austin said that “What exactly does Mitchell need?”

“I’m going to let Mitchell explain the details” Austin dodged the question “but just think of it this way, it will only take a few hours of your time, you’ll make some money, it will be a good distraction from the fact your boyfriend is an idiot, and if Will knew it would drive him _crazy_.”

Nico knew he was probably going to regret this, but the idea of doing something that, according to Austin at least, would drive Will _crazy_ filled him with a sense of dark satisfaction. “Alright,” Nico sighed to give off an air of reluctance “where am I doing this unknown favor?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have seriously considered writing a chapter that is just all of a transcript of 7 voice-mails and all 17 text messages. Will is so me in a fight- I will call a person and plead with their voicemail for them to answer the phone (typically this is not very effective).
> 
> Coach Hedge!!!!! I love that man/goat!
> 
> Will almost had it there until that 3rd text message where he majorly blew it- learn from his mistake, if someone is mad at you don't ever tell them it's not a big deal.
> 
> In place of inappropriate Percy I give you inappropriate Austin.


	4. Hi, my name is Percy Jackson and I'll be your barista today

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to post until later tonight but then I decided 'what the hell'.
> 
> I think I've mentioned all the OCs are named after characters from other fandoms that are near and dear to my heart. So feel free to try your hand and try to name that fandom.

            Annabeth had a morning class so Percy had picked up a shift at the café. Sure, the university at New Rome had accepted Percy in spite of his lousy academic record and had given him a full ride- Percy finally found a perk to saving the world so often, free college- but no one was offering to pay for his wedding. And from what Piper kept saying weddings could be pretty expensive.

            So he and Annabeth shared a tiny apartment in student housing because it came free as part of their scholarships instead of spending the money to rent something bigger in the city. Annabeth worked at the academic assistance office as a math tutor and Percy got a job at a café just off campus and also helped instruct the legion on sword fighting technique. Percy preferred the sword fighting to the café but the legion really didn’t pay that well.

            Unlike Annabeth, most of Percy’s classes didn’t start until the afternoon so he picked up a lot of morning shifts at the café. Morning shifts were great because they were always busy, so if you were a good barista the potential for types were high. Percy was probably the worst barista in the history of baristas but his name tag read ‘Hi I’m the Percy Jackson’ so as long as he signed a few autographs, posed for a few photos, and answered a few questions with a smile on his face people usually tipped generously.

            Of course that was most days, this morning Percy got stuck working with the perfect storm of tip sucking co-workers. Servicing with Percy was Harry, a legacy of the goddess Fortuna, people seemed to be under the general impression that simply being waiting by the gangly twenty-year-old would bring them good fortune, and kept requesting his section. Worse still, behind the counter flirting with every costumer that walked in the place was Cal, demigod son of Cupid. Percy found himself wondering, and not for the first time, if children of Cupid could have charmspeak like children of Aphrodite because people would tip the guy in twenties when all they ordered was a small coffee. Sure the guy was good-looking with his jet black hair, porcelain skin, bright blue eyes, and androgynous features but that was ridiculous.

            The only one not draining Percy’s wedding fund simply by standing in the room was Rory, the nineteen-year-old son of Trivia (the Roman version of Hecate), who was currently hiding behind the expresso machine making drinks and generally avoiding any interactions with costumers. Out of everyone that worked at the café Percy liked Rory the most, Annabeth said it was probably because he reminded Percy subconsciously of Nico and Percy could see the similarities, at least on the surface. The kid dressed like a punk rocker straight out of the 1980’s- like Billy Idol, he had three rings pierced into his left eyebrow, a tongue piercing, and more studs and metal rings in his ears then Percy wanted to count. He also had several visible tattoos on his arms, hands, and neck. Once you set aside the similarities in fashion sense the was little else, Rory’s light brown hair and hazel eyes made him look more like Will’s friend, Lou Ellen, then Nico and Percy guessed that made sense considering they were half siblings.

            Percy walked behind the counter to start on a customer’s order and stood next to Rory who was foaming a latte. “Do you ever wonder how many people he” Percy jutted his head in Cal’s direction, who was currently flirting with a costumer old enough to be his dad “picks up in a shift.”

            Rory grunted “Don’t have to” He stated popping a lid of the now finished coffee, and set it on the counter where it was immediately retrieved by a costumer. Rory snatched the cup out of Percy’s hand quickly read the drink order on the side and started making it. Percy didn’t complain, instead choosing to lean against the counter “when I’m bored I count.” Rory informed.

            “Seriously?” Percy questioned with a laugh “So what’s the count today?”

            “Twenty-four” Rory paused in his drink making and glanced over at the flirtatious son of Cupid “Although he looks like he’s closing in on twenty-five.”

            Percy glanced over and had to agree that man currently placing his order definitely looked interested “How much you want to bet he flashes his wings?” Percy joked.

            “Doesn’t he always?” Rory retorted and handed Percy his costumer’s now finished drink.

            Percy accepted it with a nod as a thank you and headed back to the floor. Still out of the corner of his eye he saw Cal’s golden wings shimmer into existence for a brief second before fading like they could have been a trick of light. So predictable, Percy thought.  

            The morning rush lasted about another hour before things finally started to slow down. Harry’s shift ended and he left counting his substantial tips as he headed off to class leaving Percy, Rory, and Cal to serve the now slow trickle of costumers. Percy hated working at the café when things were slow, he got so bored he couldn’t stand it so he was beyond thrilled when Annabeth showed up.

            “Well, be still my beating heart” Cal declared from his post behind the counter “If it isn’t the most stunning daughter of Athena.”

            Percy glared at him from the table he was currently clearing “Will you stow it”

            “What?” he asked innocently “I was just saying hi”

            “Hi Cal” Annabeth replied with a polite wave.

            “Hey Annabeth” Rory greeted popping his head around the side of the expresso machine so he could be seen.

            “Hey Rory” Annabeth waved again, this time a bit more enthusiastically. Annabeth too preferred Rory to Percy’s other co-workers.

            “Hey, how was class?” Percy greeted as Annabeth walked over to him.

            She greeted him with a soft kiss on his cheek “Fine” she replied “how’s work?”

            “Busy then slow” Percy shrugged “Cal picked up 36 strangers”

            “Hey, 37” Cal corrected “If you’re going to count you should at least get it right.”

            Percy rolled his eyes “Rory made lots of foamy lattes and Harry stole all my tips, so the usual.”

            “That sounds fun” Annabeth replied.

            “Sure,” Percy shrugged “What brings you in? Want a coffee?”

            “Oh, I’m meeting someone for tutoring here in about twenty minutes so I figured I come by early and see you” She explained “And a coffee would be great.”

            “Sure” Percy gestured toward a clean and empty booth toward the back and started toward the counter.

            “The usually Annabeth?” Rory called out.

            “Yes, thanks Rory.” She replied taking her seat.

            “Yeah, thanks Rory” Percy agreed changing directions and taking a seat across from Annabeth. “So, what’s up?”

            Annabeth rummaged through her bag for a second before producing a book, a notebook, a large calculator, and a few pencils. She placed them neatly on the table before looking up at Percy “So my dad wants us all to do Thanksgiving together, his family, us, and your mom and Paul, so they can get to know each other before the wedding.”

            “Oh” Percy squirmed in his seat. Absently, he glanced toward the door hoping that a rush would come through the door- or maybe some monsters. Monsters would work too, anything that would stop him from having this conversation. “I guess that could work but thanksgiving? I mean that’s kind of soon, and where would we be doing this because I don’t think mom can fly in her condition”

            Annabeth squinted at him critically for a long moment before she gave a long sigh “You still haven’t told her we’re engaged yet have you?”

            He sighed heavily knowing she had caught him. Honestly he didn’t know why he even tried to hide things from Annabeth anymore, she could always tell “It’s not that I haven’t wanted to it just hasn’t been a good time” Percy explained looking at Annabeth for some sympathy and finding none “And I can’t tell her right now she’s so emotional.”

            “Percy” Annabeth looked at him like what he said was the most idiotic thing imaginable “She’s pregnant! She’s going to be emotional for at least the next seven months” Annabeth stated “And you can’t wait until she has the baby to tell her.”

            “Really?” Percy asked with a mix of surprise and disappointment “I thought we weren’t in a rush with the whole wedding thing?”

            “Percy!” Annabeth exclaimed exasperated.

            “Hey hate to interrupt” Rory had walked over and placed a tall cup in front of Annabeth “Here you go Annabeth, enjoy.”

            “Thanks Rory” Annabeth smiled at the son of Trivia warmly and wrapped her hands around the cup. Rory gave a small smile back and waved before back away slowly.

            “Alright” Percy held up his hands in defeat, he knew better than to try to argue with Annabeth- that was not a fight he could win. “I’ll tell her really soon but I really think I should tell her in person.”

            “Of course, that is not the kind of information you give to your mother over the phone” Annabeth agreed and Percy sighed with relief, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about that for a while. Annabeth took a sip of her drink before setting it back on the table “You can tell her this weekend.”

            “What!?!” Percy exclaimed surprised.

            “We have a long weekend” Annabeth reminded and it was clear to Percy she had already thought this all out “You could go home to visit.” She suggested “Piper is supposed to come visit me this weekend so you can take Jason with you that way you can even take a plane.”

            “Um” Percy stammered as he tried to find a flaw in Annabeth’s suggest but as usual with Annabeth there wasn’t one Percy could find “I guess that would make sense.”

            “Perfect” Annabeth declared taking another sip of her coffee. Just then a group of seven or eight college students walked in. Annabeth smirked at him “Looks like you should get back to work.” she stated shoeing him. Percy groaned and returned to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After writing this chapter I think I know what Rick felt like writing The Lost Hero- I know this is leading to something and it's good but I also know if I was reading this I would be freaking out- like full on screaming at the computer screen. 
> 
> More on Nico and Will to come in the next few chapters promise.
> 
> Also, one of my favorite things in The Hidden Oracle was Percy's mom being pregnant- I just love picturing Percy as a big brother. So I just had to add it here.
> 
> To me I can't think of anything more funny then Percy (having actually saved the world twice) having some typical collage job.


	5. Awkward Phone Calls with Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies, I meant to post this last night but got home late and decided it needed details added so I held off to this morning.
> 
> Longish story leading to a question: I normally don't subscribe to stories, honestly I try not to read anything that isn't completed (abandon fanfiction hurts my soul) but I found this one fic that was just so good that I decided I would subscribe. At first I was fine, the most recent chapter was just posted so I was good but now it's been a week and I'm freaking out- Where is my next chapter? I'm checking ever five minutes to see if it's updated (I can get obsessive). This got me thinking about two things; First, omg I hope I have never done this to people! and Second, what is the ideal amount of time between updates? Any thoughts, let me know.
> 
> I know this is another shorter chapter which I promise I will more then make up for with the next chapter.
> 
> Enjoy.

            Jason had stayed late at school for track so he got back to Piper’s dad’s house a few hours after Piper. When he got there Mellie was cooking dinner while Piper pretended to be working on her homework while she was really played with baby Chuck. Piper’s dad wasn’t home, he was on location for a movie for at least the next couple months so Mellie and Coach Hedge were acting as their adult supervision. So it was a lot like there time on the Argo II except with less overall yelling from coach Hedge.

            “Hey” Piper greeted as she used her history textbook to play peek-a-boo with a giggling baby satyr “how was practice?”

            Jason set his book bag and gym bag in the corner and joined her at the table “Good, lots of running” he answered with a shrug.

            “Well I would hope so” Piper replied with a small “You are on the track team after all”

            “Maybe I should have followed Will’s example and joined the soccer team” Jason joked.

            “I don’t see how that would be much of an improvement” Piper noted shooting him a teasing smile “Your team uniform already comes with short shorts.” She went another round of peek-a-boo with Chuck who laughed happily in his height chair and kicked his little hooves “But it’s funny you mention Will ‘cause Nico called for you earlier.”

            “Oh, is everything okay?” Jason asked curiously. Nico wasn’t usually the one to reach out and make contact. Jason couldn’t remember the last time that Nico had called him.

            “Don’t know” Piper replied with a shrug as she set down her textbook and eyeing Chuck thoughtfully, like she was trying to come up with a new and exciting way to make the baby laugh. “I wasn’t the one who talked to him” she informed as she held up her hands in front of Chuck and started wiggling her fingers. Jason recognized this as the first step in the ‘I’m going to tickle you’ game. Chuck recognized it as well and started giggling happily “Coach Hedge took the message, he called this morning.” Piper dove in and started tickling the baby satyr under the arms. Chuck squealed excitedly.

            “Oh, well I’m going to call him back” Jason declared standing up and trying to ignore how sore his legs were “and then I’m going to shower before dinner because I am seriously sweaty.”

            “You do kind of smell” Piper noted teasingly as Jason headed out of the dining room.

            Jason laughed as he headed down the hall toward his room. While the McLean house wasn’t nearly as large as some of the celebrity mansions you see on T.V. it was still quite large. There were plenty of extra rooms and Piper’s dad had carefully picked the room on the opposite end of the house from Piper. It’s not like Piper’s dad didn’t like Jason, Jason knew that, he just didn’t seem to trust Jason alone with his daughter. Jason didn’t exactly blame him but it did get annoying at times. Jason decided to never tell Mr. McLean about the lax adult supervision at Camp Half-Blood.

             Once in his room Jason retrieved his cell phone from his bedside table and quickly dialed Nico’s number. It rang and rang and Jason was about to hang up when Nico finally answered. “Hello?” Nico practically shouted over the background noise on his end. It sounded like loud music and lots of people talking at once.

            “Hey, Nico” Jason responded as he walked over to his dresser and began rummaging for some clean clothes “You called?”

            “What?” Nico questioned loudly “Oh yeah, I guess I did earlier.”

            “Is everything okay?” Jason asked he found himself yelling against the noise on the other end of the line. He grabbed a clean t-shirt and a pair of running pants and tossed them on the foot of the bed “Where are you, and why are you listening to techno?”

            The rhythmic drumming continued as Nico talked “Um, I’m still on set.”

            “What?” Jason asked confused as he took a seat on his bed “Set of what?”

            “Nothing, never mind” Nico replied quickly “What’s up Jason?”

            “I was returning your call” Jason reminded as he was starting to become annoyed with the background noise on Nico’s end of the call, he found himself plugging his other ear with his finger in a futile attempt to better hear. He repeated his earlier question “Is everything okay?”

            “Yeah, everything is fine” Nico replied before quickly correcting himself “Well, no that’s not true, everything is _not_ fine.” Jason heard what he guessed was a sigh “Will and I had a fight, or I guess we will have a fight when I decide to start speaking to him again” Nico informed before adding so quietly Jason only barely heard it over all the noise “if I decide to start speaking to him again.”

            “What happened?” Jason asked concerned.

            This time Nico sighed loudly on the other end “Will’s isn’t out at home” Nico stated “None of his school friends know he’s gay.”

            “Wow” Was all Jason managed, he had not seen that coming. Will was pretty open back at camp and Jason had never figured him for the kind of guy that kept secrets. Then again, Will’s school friends wouldn’t know he was a demigod child of the Greek god Apollo who could heal people with magic so maybe one more secret really shouldn’t have been all that surprising.

            “Yeah” Nico agreed and the disappointment clear in his voice.

            “That must bring back a lot of feeling from before…” Jason started.

            Nico cut him off “Jason I really don’t want to talk about it I just….” there was a commotion in the background on Nico’s end and the son of Hades paused. When it subsided Nico continued “Sorry, Jason but I’m being beckoned” He explained which raised more questions than it answered “I’ve got to go”

            “Fine” Jason agreed before adding seriously “but you’re explaining whatever is going on in the background there later.”

            “Um” Nico responded “I guess if I have to.” Nico sighed “talk to you later Jason.” The line went dead and Jason was glad for the sudden lack of noise. He discarded his phone back on the nightstand and picked up his clean clothes before heading to take a shower.

            The next night after dinner Piper and Jason were hanging out in Jason’s room, with the door open as Coach Hedge ordered. Piper was doing her psychology homework and Jason was trying to read A Tale of Two Cities when his cell phone rang. He reached over and grabbed it from the nightstand figuring it was Percy calling again to make extra sure it would be safe for him to fly if Jason was with him. Jason was surprised when he saw the incoming call was from Will.

            He looked up at Piper with surprise “It’s Will” he informed.

            Piper looked up from her homework and shot Jason a warning look “Remember what happened the last time you got involved in one of Nico and Will’s fights.”

            Like Jason could forget Nico elbowing him in the gut. Still, he looked at Piper unsure “Do I answer it?”

            “Depends” She tilted her head to one side “Can you stay neutral?”

            Honestly, Jason wasn’t sure but he decided to answer the phone anyway “Hey Will”

            “Jason” Will sighed loudly on the other end with clear relief “I was starting to worry you weren’t going to answer.”

            “Well I did” Jason replied as casually as possible “what’s up?”

            “I really hate to involve you” Will began to explain quickly like he couldn’t get the words out fast enough “but Nico isn’t answering his phone and I am really starting to worry.” Will really was speaking incredibly fast “Have you spoken to him lately?”

            “Yeah, we talked yesterday” Jason informed before adding “He told me what’s going on” he explained noticing the warning look Piper was giving him “And to be perfectly honest you might be my friend but Nico is like my brother so I’m finding it hard to like you right now.”

            “Don’t take this the wrong way Jason” Will replied sternly which made the son of Apollo barely sound like himself or maybe it was just Jason had never heard Will speak that way before “but I don’t really see how me not feeling the need to advertise my sexual orientation is any of your business or concern.” Jason heard Will take a controlled breath before adding with less heat in his voice “And it’s not like Nico was leading any gay pride parades when we started dating.”

            Jason laughed which he realized was a strange reaction but couldn’t help it. He caught a surprised look from Piper “You’re an idiot” Jason declared sounding almost giddy. Part of it was relief because Will was clearly unaware of why this was such a big deal and part of it was out of amusement that Will didn’t get it. At camp Will always seemed to have a pretty good handle on the many moods of Nico Di Angelo but the son of Hades could be difficult to read so it would make sense that even his boyfriend would fail to accurately do so every once and a while.

            “Excuse me?” Will asked unsure, and Jason saw a curious expression on Piper’s face as well.

            “Alright Will” Jason sighed “I’m actually going to help you out here because you clearly are being a complete ass on accident” he explained as he wondered if he would regret this, and more importantly if Nico would be okay with him sharing this level of private information “I was the first person to find out Nico’s gay and it hadn’t been by his choice, Eros…..well let’s just say Eros didn’t give him a choice” Jason shook his head feeling guilty even remembering being present for that invasion of privacy “Afterwards, the look on Nico’s face, he was angry but it was the first time I saw his anger for what it was, a defense” he sighed “’cause I could see what was under the anger, he was scared” Jason saw Piper watching him curiously and he felt a little guilty. He had never revealed this to anyone “Will, the way Nico looked at me it was like he expected me to just leave him there or ….. or worse.”

            On the other end of the line Will took a long shake-y breath “Jason, outside of making me desperately want to hug Nico right now I don’t see what you’re getting at.”

            “That look didn’t really go away” Jason explained “No matter how many times I tried to tell him I accepted him, it didn’t go away” he sighed heavily “until you. You were so open, and honest, and proud it seemed to give him confidence to not feel ashamed anymore.” Jason pushed his glasses up and pinched the bridge of his noise “I’m not saying that Nico’s ability to accept himself and his sexuality falls squarely on your shoulders but if the first person that showed him it wasn’t something he had to be ashamed of is hiding the truth from people for _whatever_ reason….. well…..” Jason let the rest hang in the air, honestly though just was surprised Nico was handling it so well or at least seemed to be when he had talked to him.

            Will was quiet for a long time on the other end before he finally spoke “I’m a fucking idiot.” Will groaned.

            “Pretty much” Jason replied with a nod.

            “Gods damn it” Will moaned “I’ve got to figure out a way to fix this.”

            “Yeah you do” Jason agreed before asking curiously “hey what’s the gay equivalent of flowers and chocolate?”

            “With Nico?” Will replied exasperated “I have no idea” the son of Apollo admitted before whimpering “I’m so screwed.”

            “Pretty much” Jason agreed sympathetically.   

            Will whined on the other end of the line “If you talk to him again, can you tell him to call me” Will pleaded “or a least answer his phone.”

            “I can” Jason agreed although he wasn’t going to hold out much hope, Nico wasn’t really big on being told what to do.

            “Alright” Will sighed heavily “I’ll talk to you later Jason”

            “See ya Will” Jason hung up the phone and placed it back on his bedside table.

            Piper grinned at him “That was a pretty good impression of a child of Aphrodite” she teased.

            Jason laughed “I guess you’re rubbing off on me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea why I decided to put Jason on the track team. I knew I wanted him to be an athlete and I didn't want to go football (because I am not a fan). Baseball didn't seem to fit either so I went track.
> 
> It might just be me but Piper's dad never really was my favorite person ever- in the books he tried, I guess, I just didn't think he would be winning any father of the year awards anytime soon so I really want to give him a 'good dad' moment. So that's when Jason is staying in a room far far away from Piper, no self-respecting father lets his teenage daughter's boyfriend stay in a room anywhere near his daughter (how they talked Piper's dad into letting Jason stay at the house I have no idea).
> 
> After I wrote this I realized how desperate Will must have been to call Jason- Nico's disapproving older brother. Poor Will, good thing that make up soon.


	6. Coming out and Making in Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello All!
> 
> I know this has been long awaited.
> 
> It's really long! Sorry!
> 
> Also SMUT WARNING: Once Nico shows up, smut is on the horizon. You've been warned.

            It had been three days since Will had spoken to Nico, since Dean’s stupid comment had caused Nico to stop answering his calls and texts. After his talk with Jason, Will felt like an insensitivity ass, and he really wanted to prove that wasn’t him but he couldn’t when Nico wouldn’t give him a chance. He had considered iris messaging him, but thought that it would be overstepping. If Nico needed his space Will wanted to give it to him and according to everyone Will had check on Nico (Kayla, Cecil, Austin, and Jason) outside of being seriously pissed at Will, Nico was fine.

            Will knew he was doing the right thing- and really the only thing he could do at this point but it was still stressing him out. He was having a hard time focusing on pretty much anything else. Homework had become impossible to actually do, he spent most of his time during class trying to sneak a peek at his cell phone to see if Nico had called.

            Soccer practice wasn’t so bad, all the physical exertion helped Will focus on the present. Unfortunately, Will’s grumpy state was largely ignored by his friends and he got dragged to the local coffee shop after practice by his cousin, Felix, and two of his friends from the team- John Watts and Daniel Washington (although no one ever called either by their first names, everyone just called them Watts and Wash). When their drinks arrived Will was trying to sneak a peek at his phone for the tenth time since they arrived.

            “Thanks Molly” Dean beamed at the waitress as she set down his drink. Will recognized her from school. She had been a senior last year, and now was going to the local college. Dean always flirted with her, and Will figured it was why his cousin had recently developed a coffee addiction that would impress Nico……. Gods, Will wished everything didn’t remind him of Nico

            She deposited the rest of drinks and left. As soon as she was gone the guys started teasing Dean “Dude,” Felix declared to Dean “She’s in college, she isn’t going to waste her time with high school guys.”

            “Hey, I’m a senior so I barely count as a high school guy” Dean declared undeterred “Besides, I’m a Solace. We Solaces have a way with the ladies.” Dean gave Will a nudge “Isn’t that right Will?”

            “What?” Will asked having not been paying attention. He discarded his phone with its zero missed calls on the table with disgust, like the phone had betrayed him “I hadn’t been listening” he admitted.

            “Of course you weren’t” Felix rolled his eyes and Will reminded how much he really disliked him.

            “Dude” Dean exclaimed looking at Will disappointedly “I realize you and your little girlfriend had a fight but you really need to snap out of it already because to be honestly the moping is getting so old.”

            It was strange, Will should be immune to comments like that, he got them from Dean, from Austin, sometimes even from Kayla but it frustrated him. Maybe it was the girlfriend reference reminding him of his own giant mistake. Will felt a hot ball of emotion in his gut and he groaned as he continued to be the target of jokes from his friends surrounding him.

            “She must be seriously hot” Felix commented sipping his coffee “to be so worked up over.”

            That was the point where Will actually lost his cool completely. He literally couldn’t take one more word “Oh my god! I’m gay!” The words come out of Will’s mouth with the force of a shot gun blast before he even thought about it. His four friends abruptly went silent around the table and stared at Will in shock.

            When the weight of what he just admitted hit him, Will quickly looked around to see who else had overheard. It was late and the coffee shop was pretty empty, the few customers weren’t paying them any attention. Will realized he was looking around like Nico had when they so much as touched in public at the beginning of their relationship. That realization made Will feel worse. He honestly didn’t know if he wanted to scream or cry or both.

            “I’m sorry” Dean was the first to break the silence wearing an expression of shock and confusion “ _What_?”

            Will sighed and looked down at his cup of green tea “I’m gay” Will repeated more quietly.

            “Whoa” declared Watts with surprise.

            “You know that actually makes sense” Felix commented before sipping his own drink.

            “Since when?” Dean asked loudly.

            Will actually smirked at that “Dude, you know it’s not actually a choice, right?” he commented.

            “Oh don’t get cheeky with me William” Dean pointed at him angrily “I am your cousin and your best friend and you’re just telling me your gay now!” He shook his head “Dude I’m hurt.”

            “Seriously” Wash agreed.

            “You all seem surprisingly cool with this” Will noted cautiously.

            “Dude, it isn’t the 1930s” Dean shrugged off his shock like it was nothing “and we’re not cave men.”

            “So why have you been a cranky bitch, ‘cause I’m guessing there is no girlfriend then?” Wash asked

            “No there is” Will stated and then realized how that sounded and corrected “Not a girlfriend, but a boyfriend.”

            “What!?!” Dean exclaimed throwing up his hands “What is with all the secrets? You’re gay, you have a boyfriend, next thing you’re going to tell me you’re not a virgin either.”

            “Um…” Will tried to keep a straight face but he could feel his cheeks heat up.

            “Man, seriously? What the hell” Dean shook his head disappointedly.

            “Sorry” Will shrugged a little amused at his cousin’s reaction “I didn’t realize getting laid warranted a call home.”

            “Of course it does!” Dean, Wash, and Watts all declared at once.

            “Now that’s been cleared up” Felix intervened “How does the mystery boyfriend relate to your three days of general moodiness?”

            “Oh what’s his name?” Dean asked.

            “Nico” Will replied more quietly then he had intended but it actually hurt a little to say his name “And he is currently not speaking to me because he thinks I’m in the closet.”

            “Well that’s solved now” Watts noted.

            “Oh god!” Dean exclaimed looking suddenly concerned “Does Aunt Naomi know?”

            “Oh yeah” Will reassured “I told her years ago, she made me a cake as a coming out present.”

            “Dude!” Dean looked at him shocked “You told your mom before me?”

            Will shrugged with his apology “Sorry”

            Felix took a long sip of his coffee before holding out his hand expectantly “Solace, give me your phone.”

            “What?” Will asked snatching his phone off the table and holding it protectively “Why?”

            “’Cause I’m going to do a favor” Felix stated keeping his hand held out expectantly “now hand me your phone already.”

            Will looked around the table at his friends, all of whom were looking back at him reassuring. Reluctantly, Will reached out to hand over his cell phone “What are you going to do?”

            “I” Felix declared taking Will’s phone from his hand “am going to get this Nico to speaking to you again so you’ll stop being a whiney bitch.”

            “He won’t answer” Will stated watching Felix tap the screen of his phone “and I doubt he’s even reading my texts.”

            “Ah-ha but that hasn’t stopped you from trying” Felix commented eyes still on the screen “Why is your boyfriend named Deathboy in your contacts?”

            “It’s a long, complicated story” Will mumbled as he realized his contact list would require a lot more explaining: Jason was named Sparky, Percy was Aquaman, and was Glinda.

            “Right” Felix commented as he started to type quickly. After about a minute Felix surrendered the phone back to Will “There you go, send that and you’ll be all set.”

            Will accepted the phone while eyeing Felix critically. Glancing down at the screen he quickly read the draft text message:

           

_Nico, I am so so sorry. I just need you to know that. I know I’ve said and done some stupid things but that’s not me. I understand that you’re angry and you have every right to be angry. I respect your feelings and I understand that you need space, I just want you to know that when you’re ready to talk I’m ready to do whatever it takes to try and make this better._

 

            Will glanced up “Nico is never going to buy this” he declared.

            “Dude” Felix sighed exasperated “my mom’s a marriage counselor, trust me on this and just send it” he told Will before adding “Oh and if you’re at the ‘I love you’ stage you should probably add that.”

            Will stared at the screen uncertain for a long time before Dean chimed in “Dude, can it really make things any worse?”

            Will knew the answer to that question. He quickly typed in the words _I love you_ and hit the send button.

            After coffee Dean dropped Will off at home. The ride was only mildly awkward considering Dean was taking Will not telling him he was gay sooner very personally. When he walked in the door his mom called out to him from the kitchen. “You’re home late.”

            Will deposited his gym bag by the front door and walked back toward the kitchen. When he got there he found his mom sitting at the table, she looked to be grading papers. Her dark blond hair was pulled up into a messy bun with a pen sticking out of it. Her dark blue eyes were hidden behind a pair of glasses, and her summer tan was quickly fading as winter approached. Not for the first time Will realized his cousin Dean looked more like his mom then Will did.

            Will leaned against the entryway “Sorry, I got dragged out for coffee with Dean and a couple of guys from the team.” he explained “I should have called.”

            His mom looked up from her work and fixed him with a serious look “Mrs. Smith told me you didn’t hand in your paper that was due today.”

            Will had to work hard not to roll his eyes at that statement. It really sucks going to the same school your mom teaches at, he thought, you never can get away with anything “Yeah, I’ve been a little distracted.”

            “Will, do we need to have this discussion.” Will’s mom declared her tone warning.

            “No, I know school’s important” Will responded “and my recent stint as a slacker is in no way demigod related, just had a fight with my boyfriend” Will explained trying to keep his tone light “I don’t think I could have a more typical teen reason if I tried.”

            She looked unimpressed “Boy trouble is no reason to neglect your studies” she stated before her expression softened “that being said I can’t say I wasn’t guilty of doing the same sort of thing at your age” She looked back at the stack of papers in front of her and started marking them up with red ink “Mrs. Smith is giving you an extension, you can hand your paper in Monday and receive full credit.”

            Alright, maybe having your mom be a teacher at your school had some advantages, Will thought “Thanks mom”

            “Thank me by handing in your homework on time for now on.” She retorted.

            “Will do” Will agreed easily.

            She nodded her acceptance before gesturing vaguely toward the other side of the room “There is food on the stove if you’re hungry.”

            “Already ate” Will shrugged “I think I’m going to go upstairs, do my homework, and go to bed.”

            “Wise decision” Will’s mom hummed her approval “love you.”

            “Love you too” Will replied before stepping out of the kitchen and heading for the stairs and his bedroom.

            Walking into his room and tossing his backpack toward his desk it took Will an embarrassingly long time to notice. Maybe it was his brain trying to protect him from getting his hopes up or maybe he was just sleep deprived. Either way he didn’t actually see the dark figure sitting at his desk until he spoke “Hey” Nico greeted quietly with a small wave before running his fingers through his recently trimmed hair. “I was starting to worry you were never going to come home.”

            Will gapped at him frozen by shock and too overwhelmed by emotions to actually think. Nico looked even better then Will remembered; his dark hair had been pulled back revealing his sharp features, large dark eyes, and pouty full lips. His wiry but muscular frame was somewhat hidden as he was currently wearing black sweats and a loose black t-shirt. Still his graceful legs were stretched out so Will could make out his bare feet. He had probably shadow-traveled straight from his cabin at Camp Half-Blood to here, Will realized.

            Nico squirmed a bit under the scrutiny of Will’s gaze before pushing himself up, off the chair so he was standing. “I got your message” He held up his hands like a sign of surrender “Will, I really don’t want to fight” Nico declared.

            Will’s body was pushed into motion even before Will’s brain had truly come to terms with what was actually going on. He closed the distance between them in no more than three large steps before wrapping his arms around Nico and hugging him as tightly as he could manage. Nico let out a surprised squeal at first contact but didn’t actually resist the contact.

            Will held him tightly and breathed in the cinnamon and cloves scent of Nico’s shampoo until Nico patted his side gently and murmured into his chest “Will, I need to breath.”

            Will released him and stepped back laughing nervously “Sorry” Will apologized.

            “It’s fine” Nico declared with a shrug as he looking around the room.

            Will realized Nico was probably still mad at him and likely wasn’t really open to Will touching him. He felt guilty for acting without thought but he wasn’t used to the idea of not being able to touch Nico when he was right there. It dawned on Will that Nico being there wasn’t necessarily a good thing- what if he was just there to break-up with him? That thought caused a wave of panic to crash over Will “Nico…” Will started his voice pleading.

            “Will” Nico cut him off with his hand held up in a stop gesture “like I said I really don’t want to fight” Nico reiterated before taking a deep breath “and I’m sorry about shadow-traveling here but we really need to talk and I would really prefer to do it in person.”

            “Nic” Will interrupted or at least he tried, Nico glared at him intensely and any words he was going to say died in his throat.

            “I know coming out is hard, and scary” Nico stated and Will got the impression Nico had practiced this speech “and I know I have no right to demand that you come out to your friends but honestly I’m not okay with this” Nico let out a sigh “It took me so long to finally be comfortable with who I am I don’t want to be something you hide from people.”

            “I don’t want to hide you, Nico” Will replied weakly. He reached out and grabbed Nico’s hand. Nico allowed it but he didn’t look overly happy about. “I would never want that.”

            “That’s not really how I’m feeling right now” Nico stated with a roll of his eyes.

            “I get that and it’s my fault” Will admitted “I know it doesn’t change anything but I told my friends, I honestly don’t know why I waited this long.”

            “Oh” Nico glanced at him unsure “how did it go?”

            “Dean’s pissed I told my mom before him, otherwise everyone acted like it was no big deal.”

            “Well that’s good” Nico commented although he still seemed upset.

            “Nic” Will reached out with his free hand and let his fingers graze Nico’s cheek lightly “It was never about you.”

            Nico eyed him skeptically for a long moment “Swear?”

            “Gods yes, I swear!” Will declared with a little laugh “I want to scream you’re my boyfriend from the rooftops, get it printed t-shirts, and maybe take out an ad in the local paper.”

            Nico rolled his eyes but Will saw a little smirk tug at Nico lips and Will felt the knot of tension that he had been carrying around for days start to untangled. “You’re such a dork.” Nico muttered.

            “Only for you” Will stepped forward while using his grip on Nico’s hand to gently pull him closer until there was barely an inch between them. Nico looked up at him with his soulful dark eyes “I’ve missed you” Will admitted in a whisper before leaning down and kissing Nico softly.

            Wow Will really, really missed that more than he thought, and he had thought he missed it a lot. Still, he kept the kiss soft and affectionate and didn’t push it further although he lingered there, his lips pressed softly against Nico’s for a long time.

Slowly, Will pulled away and met Nico’s gaze “I’ve missed you too” Nico admitted with a smirk before he pushed up on his toes and kissed Will back. Nico’s kiss wasn’t soft, it was passionate and hungry.

Will released Nico’s hand in favor of wrapping his arms around Nico’s waist pulling him tighter against his own body. Nico pressed his hand against the back of Will’s neck pulling him even deeper into the kiss.

Will desperately wanted to just pick Nico up and carry him to his bed but hesitated at the memory, his bedroom door was still slightly open. Reluctantly Will pulled away from Nico’s lips and released Nico from his embrace “Hold that thought” Will requested before walking back to his door and pulling it shut.

Will returned to where Nico was standing and took him by the hand. Leading Nico toward his bed. As he took a seat on the bed Will explained “We just need to be quiet so my mom doesn’t hear”

Nico sat down next to him with a smirk “What? You’re hiding me from your mom now?” Nico asked in a playful tone.

“Yes” Will replied with a smile before leaning in a placing a chaste kiss on Nico’s jaw “but only because if she knew you were here there is no way she would let us hang out in my room alone with the door closed.” Will explained tilting his head to kiss the curve of Nico’s throat as he started running his hand slowly up the inside of Nico’s thigh “And you did shadow-travel all the way here, it would be a shame to waste the trip.”

Nico hummed his approval and for a moment he seemed to melt into Will’s movements but just as Will placed his other hand on the small of Nico’s back to pull him closer Nico tensed and pulled away slightly. Confused and concerned Will looked up into Nico’s dark eyes. His boyfriend immediately broke eye contact choosing to look around the room nervously “What’s wrong?” Will asked softly.

Nico bit his lip “I was really mad at you” he explained “and I kinda did something as…I don’t know…. revenge I guess.”

Will should probably have been more concerned than he was, to most people that statement would have sounded really bad but Will wasn’t all that concerned. Nico may have been the most loyal and loving person he had ever met it just wasn’t in him to do something truly hurtful even when angry. Will looked at Nico curiously and asked “What did you do?”

“Um” Nico picked at his nails for a second before looking back at Will “I got another tattoo.”

“Oh” Will responded sitting back, he was a little bothered. Nico had promised not to get another one without Will there and Will didn’t like the idea of not being around in case Nico needed healing. For the moment at least Will swallowed down those feelings and asked “Can I see it.”

“Yeah” Nico nodded before grabbing ahold of his own shirt by the hem and pulling it up and off in one swift movement. Nico discarded his t-shirt on the floor and turned his back to Will revealing a large set of angel wings tattooed on his back.

When Nico had said he had gotten another tattoo this was much more then Will had expected. Will had figured it would be something small like the bow and arrow on his leg, this tattoo however took up most of his back. Even though the tattoo lacked color it was incredibly detailed, Will could practically make out individual feathers and he could almost believe if he reached out he would be able to feel the silky plumage under his fingers.

“When did you get it?” Will asked reaching out his hand and letting his fingers ghost over Nico’s soft skin. He was a little surprised to find the sensitive sink completely healed.

Nico glanced over his shoulder “Yesterday” he replied examining Will’s expression critically “I have been using unicorn drought to help it heal faster.”

“It’s beautiful” Will stated.

Nico shifted his position slightly on the bed to look at Will more directly “You mean you’re not mad?”

“I’m too glad to actually have you here to be mad right now” Will admitted with a shrugged. “Is there anything else I should know?”

Nico thought about the question for a moment and Will thought he was going to say something but then seemed to change his mind. He shook his head ‘no’ before a wicked grin spread across his face and he pushed forward, pressing his lips against Will’s. All the hunger and the heat from earlier had returned and Will found himself gently urging Nico to lay back. Nico complied, only pausing to grip the hem of Will’s t-shirt working it upwards. Once Nico had gotten his shirt about halfway up Will grabbed ahold of the hem and quickly pulled it the rest of the way off before returning to Nico’s lips.

Will moved to kiss along Nico’s jaw before moving down his throat, a soft sigh escaped the son of Hades’ lips. He paused at Nico’s clavicle and looked up at his boyfriend “Gods, I’ve missed that sound” Will commented before returning to kiss down Nico’s chest.

“Ho perso il tuo tocco” Nico whispered, his fingers began running through Will’s hair gently. Will remembered the early birthday present Lou Ellen had given him before leaving camp. A small bottle filled with iridescent purple fluid tucked in the drawer of his desk that would let Will understand any language for twelve hours. He thought about grabbing it but Nico squirmed under him and Will realized he had paused in his kissing of Nico’s body “Non bisogna mai smettere di toccarmi, Will”

Will decided to save Lou Ellen’s gift for another time, right now he had Nico and that was more than enough. Will made his way down slowly kissing and licking Nico’s chest and stomach until he reached the waistband of Nico’s sweats. He hooked his fingers there and looked up at Nico his face still hoovering only inches above Nico’s groin “Can I take these off?”

“Domanda stupida” Nico looked down at him with an eyebrow raised sardonically “Si” Nico agreed, lifting hips slightly off the bed.

Will pulled down Nico’s black sweatpants easily revealing the tight pair of black boxer-briefs his boyfriend was wearing. Will purred with approval “I don’t know what I like more” Will stated tossing Nico’s pants on the floor “how easy it is to get you out of sweats or the prize that was waiting for me underneath.” Will ran his fingers over the thin black fabric that left little to the imagination “These are new” he stated before placing a soft kiss on the outline of Nico’s hard member “I like”.

Nico blushed, his face and chest turned pink and he squirmed a little under Will. Will chuckled softly, he just loved when Nico blushed. He placed a soft kiss on the sensitive skin of Nico’s inner thigh while he brought his hand up to rub his erection through the thin fabric. Nico issued a long whine “E 'stato così a lungo”

Will laughed again and kept moving his hand over Nico’s member “I can take these” Will tugged gently at Nico’s briefs “off as well if you’d like.”

“Si” Nico nodded quickly and lifted his hips off the bed again.

Will hooked his fingers on the waistband of Nico’s underwear and tugged them off quickly. Thoughtlessly, Will tossed them off the bed never taking his eyes of Nico’s naked form “I’ve really missed this view” Will commented before moving upward to kiss Nico deeply on the lips.  

            When Will pulled back he rested his forehead gently against Nico’s for a long moment “I love you Nico” Will whispered and his blue eyes met Nico’s inky pools.

            “I love you too” Nico replied softly, his hand gently grazing Will’s cheek.

            Will felt a smile spread across his face as he again moved down Nico’s body. He stopped when he came to Nico’s groin and placed a few soft kisses along the shaft of Nico’s erection. He ran his tongue over his tip before taking Nico into his mouth, at the action Nico moaned loudly.

            Reluctantly, Will released Nico, looked up at him and brought his finger to his mouth to signal quiet “Babe, we don’t want my mom to hear, we need to be quiet.”

            Nico whined and glared at him “Più facile a dirsi che a farsi”

            Will placed one long kiss on the head of Nico’s erection and enjoyed seeing Nico’s reaction- his eyes falling shut as he bit his lip. “Just try” Will requested sweetly before taking him into his mouth again. This time Will heard Nico let out a quiet whimper.

            Will went slow, or as slow as he could stand. He took Nico in as far as he could and started working slowly up and down his shaft all the time Nico letting out small gasps and whimpers. Nico had tangled his fingers in Will’s hair and was encouraging Will’s efforts with small tugs and strokes.

            Unexpectedly, Nico pulled Will’s hair more forcefully causing Will to stop and release him. Will looked up at Nico expectantly as he placed a few soft kisses by Nico’s hip bone. Nico wiggled out from underneath him and sat up on his knees forcing Will to do the same. Nico started kissing and nipping at Will’s neck as his nimble fingers started undoing the button of Will’s jeans.

            “Nic” Will sighed as Nico worked to mark the crook of Will’s neck “I’m going to have a really hard time explaining these marks in the morning.”

            “Non so come questo è il mio problema” Nico chuckled against Will’s throat as he pushed Will’s jeans down over his hips. Will had to maneuver a bit to get the jeans the rest of the way off and kicked them to the floor.  

            Nico moved to kissing down Will’s chest as his fingers slide under the elastic band of Will’s boxers pushing them down and exposing Will’s erection. Nico left working Will’s boxers the rest of the way off to Will as he continued to kiss down his chest and stomach. Nico was taking his time, lavishing Will’s body with kisses and bites which was driving Will all sorts of crazy even before Nico took Will’s length in his hand and started slowly stroking him.

            “Oh gods!” Will gasped, it had been a while since anyone had touched him that way except himself.

            Nico snickered “Ho pensato che dobbiamo essere tranquillo?” Nico teased looking up at Will before returning to kissing the sensitive skin just below Will’s belly button.

            Still standing on his knees Will looked down at Nico bent down in front of him. Will started running his fingers through Nico’s hair as he felt Nico’s lips press against his shaft. This time it was Will who had to bit his lip to stop from crying out as Nico dragged his tongue along his length.

            Will’s head rolled back as Nico actually took him into his mouth. He grasped Nico’s hair to help keep himself upright as Nico worked up and down his shaft. Will could feel the tightness of Nico’s throat “Wow, I forgot how good you are at this” Will noted enthusiastically.

Nico hummed his appreciation at the compliment and Will felt the reverberation down his shaft. Will clutched Nico’s hair more tightly and gasped sharply at the sensation. As he continued to work up and down Will’s length with his mouth, Nico’s hands wandered up Will’s legs before coming to his buttocks and squeezing gently.

“Nic” Will moaned as quietly as he could.

Nico responded by pulling back and releasing Will. Nico sat back slightly breathless with a grin spread across his swollen lips “Lube?” he asked looking around.

“What?” Will asked, his mind so clouded by arousal he wasn’t thinking straight.

Nico placed a few kisses on Will’s neck before replying “Lube?” he asked again with this time with more force.

“Um” Will hadn’t thought of that, he looked around the room “I don’t have any”

“What?” Nico whined looking at Will desperately.

“It’s not like I thought you would be here” Will defended as his brain tried to think of an acceptable alternative. Nico was not helping at all as he had started sucking and nibbling at Will’s ear playfully.

“Will” Nico whined insistently in Will’s ear sending a shiver down the son of Apollo’s spine.

Will groaned before coming to a realization “Um … there’s lotion in my nightstand.” Will informed and Nico stopped his assault Will’s throat to blink up at him. Will pointed toward his nightstand and Nico’s eyes followed.

Nico nodded his understanding, placed one chaste kiss on Will’s jaw, gave Will’s shoulder a gentle nudge- a subtle hint for Will to lay down, and hopped off the bed. Will laid back and enjoyed the view of Nico’s bare backside as his boyfriend rummaged through his nightstand. “I like this view” Will commented playfully as he started to stroke himself slowly.

Nico turned and tossed the retrieved bottle of lotion on the bed. He arched his eyebrow when he saw what Will was doing “Impaziente” Nico commented but didn’t wait for Will to say anything in response, instead climbing back on the bed and positioning himself between Will’s legs before swatting Will’s hand away.

Nico replaced Will’s own hand and picked up the gentle stroking motions “Gods, you’re really good at that too.” Will exclaimed.

Nico smirked at him before leaning forward to kiss him hungrily. When he pulled away he also released Will from his grip and reached over to where he had discarded the bottle of lotion before. Nico squeezed out a small amount onto two of his fingers and thoroughly coated them before returning one hand to stroke Will’s length slowly while he slipped the other hand under Will.

Will took a deep breath and let his eyes fall closed as he tried to relax feeling Nico’s fingers slowly circling his furrowed hole. Nico was patient and thorough as always and it made Will writhe with desperation- he was not nearly as patient as his boyfriend. After Nico worked in a second finger to the third knuckle he started curl and wiggle his fingers within him.

When Nico’s fingers brushed against his prostate Will let out a strangled cry. Nico laughed softly “I thought we had to be quiet?” Nico teased. Will realized the amount of effort his boyfriend would have to put into speaking English at this point but still thought there was better uses for that effort.

“Nic” Will whimpered “It’s been so long” he whined, because it really had been far too long “I’m ready, just…..please.” Will realized he was begging and didn’t care if it met Nico would actually hurry up.

Nico removed his fingers and retrieved the bottle of lotion. Will sat up and snatched the bottle from Nico’s hands just as he popped the top. He squeezed out a generous amount of lotion into the palm of his hand before tossing the bottle carelessly aside. Will wrapped his hand around the base of Nico’s erection and started stroking up and down its length to spread the lotion. Nico gasped at the motion and rested his head in the crook of Will’s shoulder.

“We are never going over a month without sex again” Will informed his boyfriend sternly as he spread the last of the lotion.

“Posso essere d'accordo a questo.” Nico murmured as he placed a hand on Will’s shoulder and gently pushed him back on the bed.

They exchanged a long searing kiss until Will felt the tip of Nico’s hard member press against his entrance. Will found himself gasping in anticipation his eyes locked with Nico’s as he slowly pushed forward.

Nico whimpered as he gradually pushed all the way in and Will had to bite down hard on his lip to stop himself from crying out. Nico panted above him, planting sloppy but affectionate kisses on Will’s cheek and jaw as he waited for Will to adjust. Will signaled he was ready with quick nod.

Nico kept his eyes locked on Will as he started moving, testing the waters with a shallow thrust. With one hand Will grasped at the sheets and with the other he clung to Nico’s muscular arm. As Nico continued to move setting a gentle pace Will screwed his eyes shut and let out a soft moan at the sensation “Nic”

“Will” Above him Nico brought his head to rest on Will’s shoulder. Will could feel his hot breath against the crook of his neck as Nico panted “Il mio amore”

“Oh gods!” Will could feel his whole body heat up as a tight ball of tension pulling low in his groin. Nico felt amazing, that was exactly as Will remembered but he still wanted more “Nic, I’m not going to break.” Will whimpered and Nico looked up at him uncertainly “You don’t have to be so gentle.”

Nico paused for a moment in contemplation before he moved again this time thrusting forward sharply. It was like a shot of ecstasy pumped right into his veins, and Will couldn’t stop himself from crying out _loudly_ \- they were _so_ going to get caught, Will thought, but he didn’t care. “Nic,” Will panted “ _that_ , yes, more of that!”

“Will” Nico whined in reply but listened. He set a new pace, thrusting with greater force and speed.

As wave after wave of pleasure rushed through his body Will lost the ability to make words. He desperately clung to Nico as he gasped and muttered half words and vowel sounds. The hot ball of tension deep in Will’s groin became uncomfortably tight before there was a sudden warm rush of release as Will came with a cry. Two more thrusts and Nico whimpered and shuttered above him as he too finished.

After a long moment of panting Nico pushed himself up so he was looking down at Will “Am I good at that too?” Nico asked Will with a wide grin.

“Your fucking amazing at that” Will replied with a laugh.

Nico smacked his arm playfully before rolling off of Will to lay next to him on the bed “Language” he corrected teasingly.

Will rolled on to his side to get a better look at his boyfriend in all his post-coital glory. Nico was staring up at his ceiling a small smile on his face and his body covered in sweat. Will let his fingers dance across Nico’s chest “Penny for your thoughts?” Will asked softly.

“I like the stars” Nico commented pointing lazily up at Will’s ceiling where cheap glow-in-the-dark stars that were stuck to his ceilings.

Will leaned in close to speak but didn’t actually get to say anything before there was a gentle knock at his door. “Will, is everything alright?” his mother’s voice came from the other side of the door. Nico practically jumped out of his skin at the sound before quickly recovering and scrambling to pull Will’s comforter up to cover himself. Will stared at the door in horror but luckily it stayed closed “I thought I heard you shout.”

“Ah yeah sorry” Will replied as he tried to think of an excuse that would keep his mother on the other side of the door “I dropped something, but everything is good.”

“Alright” She called from the other side of the door “I’m going to bed, love you.”

“Love you” Will replied internally sighing with relief “night”

Will stared at the door until the sound of his mother’s footsteps faded as she walked to her own room. Once Will was sure she was gone, Will actually sighed “That was close”

“You think?” Nico hissed as he climbed out of Will’s bed.

            Will grabbed ahold of Nico’s arm and pulled him back onto the bed “Where are you going?”

            “To find my clothes” Nico replied in a strained whisper “and then back to camp.”

            “Stay” Will offered softly but added when he saw Nico’s exasperated expression “Stay the night, I hate sleeping without you.”

            Nico let out a long sigh and Will knew he had won before his boyfriend spoke. Nico hoped off the bed and snatched his briefs off the floor. He came back to the edge of the bed and stepped into his underwear. Will briefly mourned the loss of Nico standing naked in his room, but quickly decided he could live with the sight of Nico in his seriously tight boxer briefs.

“Fine” Nico agreed as he climbed back into bed “but no more sex” he declared and Will actually had to bit his lip to stop from laughing. Nico wasn’t exactly the picture of self-restraint when it came to sex. “that’s not how I want to meet your mom.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, Nico is very naughty because he did not tell Will everything he did when he was mad. More to come on that later.
> 
> Nico's second tattoo (there are more of those to come too)
> 
> So I know at some point they will have to face homophobia but I really wanted Will's friends to be accepting (I mean it is Will I can't see him hanging out with the judgmental type).
> 
> Since I haven't said it in a while: I always like hearing what people hope is coming- So if you have any requests let me know!


	7. Interruptions and Uninvited Guests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello All,
> 
> So I meant to post the last chapter of Puzzle Pieces today but I went through the chapter today (it's been written for a while) and I decided it needed to be massively rewritten. But I didn't want to not post anything so I decided I would post here instead, and Puzzle pieces will be up in the next few days.
> 
> Alright, now on to this chapter it's another long one.
> 
> Smut warning- Pretty much the first half of the chapter.

                Nico and Will had always had very different rhythms which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Nico was a night-owl, no surprise there. He hadn’t always been that way, although if he were being really, really honest he had never been a morning person but he had become more embedded in the night after he found out he was a child of Hades. After all, Nico’s power came from the night so he got used to sleeping during the day and moving during the night. Will was the complete opposite, he was all about the day. Nico figured that was why he and Will had sex so often. Alright, he figured that was one of the reasons they had sex so often. Nico was always ready to go at night while Will literally woke up ready to go a round or two.

            So it wasn’t the first time Nico had woken up with the feeling of Will kissing his body. Usually it was his neck or his chest but this time it was the sensitive skin of his inner thighs “Will” he whined in protest although Will’s soft kisses were nice to wake up to “I’m sleeping” He looked down and couldn’t actually see Will because he was under the blankets so all he saw was a large Will shaped lump wiggle under the blanket.

            “And you haven’t been sleeping well” Will teased from under the blankets “if you had been, you would have woken up before now.” Will punctuated his point by placing another soft kiss on Nico’s thigh.

            Nico squirmed as the contact caused a shiver of desire run through his body. “That doesn’t mean anything” Nico grumbled trying to hide his arousal “maybe I’ve just grown accustomed to you molesting me in my sleep.”

            Will laughed and climbed up Nico’s body, emerging from the blankets to loom over his boyfriend with a wicked grin “You’ve never complained before.” Will noted playfully.

            Nico squirmed again, under Will he felt small which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing but was something Nico would have to get used to again. “Not complaining” Nico replied looking away. He had to, Will’s smile could be infectious, if he continued to stare up at his boyfriend Nico just knew he would end up grinning too “just stating a fact.”

            “Good” Will said before bending down to kiss Nico’s throat and then moving up to nibble on Nico’s ear.

            “Will” Nico hissed “What about your mom?”

            Will paused in his assault of Nico’s throat and pushed himself up a little. “She left for yoga twenty minutes ago” He grinned down at Nico like the cat that caught the canary “she won’t be back for at least two hours.”  Will leaned down and kissed Nico’s lips passionately before moving down to kiss his chest. In spite of Nico’s best efforts his breathing picked up as he felt Will’s hand slide down his body. “We have the house to ourselves”

            “Will” Nico gasped as Will’s fingers slowly slide under the waistband.

            Will chuckled against Nico’s chest before looking up at him. Nico saw a mix of mischief and lust in his crystal blue eyes. “The things I’m going to do to you” Will stated playfully before slipping back under the covers.

            “You’re all promises Solace” Nico tried to tease back but his voice came out more shake-y then he would have liked. As Will wrapped his fingers around his member, Nico felt himself grow harder in Will’s grasp and he was forced to bite his lip to hold in a whimper.

            Nico felt Will’s warm breath on his abs as again he laughed “Well I guess I better put my money where my mouth is.”  Nico managed to hold in a needy whine but couldn’t stop himself from squirming under Will’s attention.

            Will began to stroke Nico’s length slowly and Nico spread his hands out on Will’s tiny bed looking for something to grip onto, he found nothing except for Will’s well-worn sheets. Tightening his fingers around the thin fabric in a desperate attempt to stop himself from getting swept away “Will” he sighed.

            Nico looked down as he felt Will stroke him a few times before releasing his length in favor of gripping the waistband of his brief with both hands “These need to come _off_ ” He stated as he tugged at Nico’s underwear.

            Without a thought Nico complied, lifting his hips and pulling his legs back until Will managed to disrobe him. Nico could only hear the faint rustling of blankets and the sound of fabric hitting the floor as Will discarded his briefs over the side of the bed.

            Nico felt Will return to kissing his now bare thighs softly before kiss up his abdomen, a part of him was still nervous about Will’s mom walking in, it wasn’t like they had the best track record when it came to that sort of thing but that was hard to remember when he could feel Will’s soft lips against his skin. Will slowly started to kiss his way up Nico’s body with was equal parts thrilling and frustrating- on one hand it felt great but on the other hand up wasn’t exactly the direction Nico wanted Will to go.

            As he worked his way up Will took extra care to hit all of Nico’s most sensitive spots: the bit of skin just below his hip bones, the no-man’s-land between his groin and his navel, his hard nipples- Will showed them all extra attention. By the time Will’s head emerged from the blanket, his blond hair wild as he kissed a trail from Nico’s chest to his throat Nico was breathing heavily with his eyes screwed shut as he bit his lip to hold in desperate moans.

            Will licked the length of Nico’s delicate throat before coming to his ear “Darlin’?” Will questioned his southern accent which was normally pretty subtle coming out far more pronounced. Nico forced himself to open his eyes and meet Will’s gaze “I know it’s not your favorite position” he stated sympathetically, a blush spreading across his cheeks “but would you get on your hands and knees for me?” Will requested.

The son of Apollo was absolutely correct, that was not one of Nico’s favorite positions. It wasn’t that it didn’t feel good- it did, it really, _really_ did- but it brought up feeling about being submissive that Nico still hadn’t completely handled yet, and beyond that even when Nico was the one topping he liked to see Will while they had sex. Will must have picked up on Nico’s hesitation because his blush deepened and he looked away “It just” Will started as he chewed nervously at his lower lip “I really want to be able to see your tattoo…..you know….during…..”

A whimper escaped Nico’s lips and Will looked at him concerned until Nico nodded his head in the affirmative, too turned on to trust himself with actual words. Will moved back slightly and Nico used the newfound space to roll over onto his stomach. Will sat up on the bed taking the blankets with him, and leaving Nico laying in the bed naked and exposed. Nico slowly pushed himself up on his hands and knees. Nico felt one of Will’s hands ghost down his spine as he murmured “Oh Nico”

Will ran both his hands over Nico’s backside and down his legs before running back upwards. As Will started kneading Nico’s cheeks he bit his lip fiercely and dug his nails into the mattress below him. Nico felt Will’s strong hands began to spread his cheeks apart and tried to look behind himself but could see nothing so he settled for letting his head hang.

There is a pause where Will did nothing and Nico wants to scream as he notices his legs began to shake from desire, arousal, and the need to hold himself up- it feels like an eternity. Then, like a miracle, Nico feels Will’s weight shift on the bed, a few seconds of warning before Nico feels Will’s tongue drag across his crease and over his rim. Nico feels himself constrict reflexively at the contact before relaxing at the thought of Will.

Will started to slowly swirl his tongue around Nico’s rim until Nico couldn’t hold back any longer and whined desperately. The son of Hades felt his whole body begin to quiver as Will took his time teasing Nico rim with his tongue. “Will” Nico begged “non stuzzicare”

Nico felt Will’s strong hands squeezed his cheeks before pulling them apart further “Will” Nico gasped at the sensation as the tip of Will’s warm tongue breached his entrance. The feeling of Will’s tongue slowly pulsing in and out and in again caused Nico’s arms to give. “Will” Nico moaned his bum still in the air as he pressed the side of his face into the pillows and clawed at the bedding. As Will’s motions increased in speed Nico’s whole body threatened to burn, as his blood felt like it was replaced with fire. Every muscle, every cell trembled and the tugging in his gut begged for attention, for _release_. “Will!” Nico cried.

Will pulled back, his strong hands released Nico’s backside. Nico’s breathing slowed slightly at the loss of stimulation, and a ball of frustration building in his gut. “That’s what was missing last night” Will commented playfully, Nico wasn’t entirely sure what he meant but didn’t care enough to ask, Will luckily added “I like when you’re loud in bed.” Will accented his point by bringing his hand down and slapping Nico’s backside hard enough to cause the skin to sting and make a _crack_ sound.

“Oh miei dèi” Nico gasped at the slight burn and dug his fingernails more desperately into the bedding as his breathing again became more labored. Nico became painfully aware of his erection and its desperate need for attention as a new wave of desire rushed through his body. He squirmed, pushing himself up further on his knees hoping Will would get the hint and _hurry_ up. 

Nico heard Will inhale sharply before asking suspiciously “Gods Nic did that turn you on?”

The son of Hades felt his face turn red and was suddenly very glad that he had agreed to get on his hands and knees because it meant Will couldn’t see how badly he was blushing. There was a pause where Will waited and Nico said nothing, the only sound was their labored breathing. Then, unexpectedly, Will brought his hand down again this time making contact with the other side of Nico’s backside. “Si, Will Si!” Nico cried in response “Dei, Will mi si accende!” Nico admitted “Per favore, Will faccia in fretta”

“Gods that’s so hot!” Will proclaimed hoping off the bed to retrieve the bottle of lotion that had been discarded on the floor the night before. Will returned to the bed and Nico heard the top on the lotion bottle pop open “I’ve been wanting to do that forever but I thought it would freak you out.” Nico felt Will’s moist fingers slide between his crease and start to rub circles around his entrance “I’m going to have so much fun with that in the future”

Nico turned his head to glare at Will and maybe tell him off a little in Italian but then Will pressed his finger in passed the first knuckle and all Nico could do was sigh and let his head fall forward. _Finally_ , Nico thought absently. Will moved his finger in and out, Nico could feel Will’s finger press deeper with each motion.

            As Will worked in a second finger Nico could have sworn he heard a noise in the distance like a door slamming shut. Will seemed unphased but Nico looked back concerned. Unfortunately, Nico and Will had too many embarrassing moments involving people walking in on them in compromising positions for him to ignore the sound “Hai fatto....” Nico started and bit his lip to remind himself that English was a thing “Did you hear something?”

            “Don’t worry” Will reassured running his free hand down Nico’s back “I’m sure it was nothing” Nico went to protest but Will choose that moment to press his fingers against the cluster of nerves within Nico and all he could do was moan.

Will let out a soft chuckle and did it again, Nico tried to hold in the moan but failed. Almost immediately Nico heard another sound, this time it was a repeated thud that was getting closer and louder.  Nico dug his fingers into the bed “Will” Nico whined because it was all he could manage as Will started to work in a third finger.

“She probably just forgot her yoga mat” Will stated, Nico figured that was supposed to be reassuring but he really didn’t feel that way “We’re fine as long as we stay quiet until she leaves.”

As if cued by Will’s poorly made reassurance “Will!” a male voiced called out, sounding about half way up the stairs.

“Shit!” Will exclaimed pulling his fingers back. That was enough to shock Nico into action. He quickly flipped himself over and pulled at Will’s comforter in a desperate attempt to cover as much of himself as possible. He glared daggers at Will, who gave a frustrated glance toward the door before looking back at Nico regretfully “It’s Dean, I’ll deal with it.” Will promised moving to get up from the bed.

“Dude, I have taken enough soccer balls to the face for you” Dean’s voice called out, his voice getting closer. Will didn’t move fast enough, he had just barely managed to step into his own sweats when his bedroom door flew open “so you better be…..” Dean stopped mid-sentence as he took in the scene. Will had mentioned that he and his cousin looked enough alike to get mistaken for brothers but seeing was believing and Nico found it a little creepy, he looked as much like Will as any of his siblings at camp.

“Seriously? Why does no one believe in knocking?” Will asked exasperated. Nico’s face burned with embarrassment. Nico really wished he could shadow-travel far, _far_ away but Will’s bedroom was too bright. Carefully as not to lose any coverage Nico pulled his knees up and curled forward burying his face in his knee.

“Dude, I dropped you off last night at like eight!” Dean exclaimed “how was I supposed to know you managed to pick up some random guy in less than twelve hours!?!”

Nico unburied his face to glared at his boyfriend “I did not pick up some random guy!” Will exclaimed before looking at Nico and letting out a nervous laugh “I don’t go and pick up random guys.” He assured.

“Um dude” Dean stated pointing at Nico like evidence to the contrary.

“No this isn’t a random guy.” Will explained rather unhelpfully.

“Um looks like….” Dean started.

“No” Will huffed “this is Nico.”

“Hi” Nico managed a weak wave “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“The boyfriend? Really?” Dean asked looking at Will skeptically.

“Yes” Will hissed.

“Wow” Dean exclaimed surprised before looking over at Nico. He waved “hey, sorry you’re just _not_ what I was expecting, like _at all_.”

“Thanks for that Dean” Will groaned. He grabbed his cousin arm and started pushing him toward the door “You and me need to have a conversation in the hall _now_.”

“Fine, fine” Dean exclaimed as he let Will drag him out the door. Before Will could completely drag him out the door Dean called back over Will’s shoulder “it was nice meeting you.”

Once the door was shut Nico quickly snatched his briefs of the floor and wiggled them on before retrieving the rest of his clothes from where they had been discarded the night before. As he got dressed Nico tried to make out the conversation happening on the other side of the door. He missed most of it but definitely caught something about practice, and Nico figured they were talking about soccer practice.

As frustrating as it was to pretty much know sex was completely out of the question especially when Will had pretty much gotten Nico completely ready to go Nico was a little relieved. Not about _not_ having sex- he was actually pretty disappointed about that but the longer he and Will were alone the more Nico felt he had to tell him about the other thing he did when he was mad at Will.

Nico was _not_ looking forward to that conversation; even though Nico could honestly use the sentence ‘I made enough money to pay for our first year of college and them some’ he doubted Will was going to hear anything after ‘'model’. Needless to say, that was not an argument Nico was looking forward to.

When Will returned he was alone and wearing a solemn expression “Nic, I’m so sorry” he stated shutting the door behind him. He paused when he actually took the time to really see Nico standing there “You’re dressed. Why are you dressed?”

Nico smirked at Will “because you have practice and you have to leave.” he answered with a shrug.

Will let out a heavy sigh “I don’t want to” he stated sincerely “but if I don’t coach will definitely call my mom and she will ask me why I missed and since I haven’t been sick since the great food poisoning incident of ’98….” Will sighed again “and if I tell her the truth she’ll kill me, bring me back from the dead only to kill me again.”

Nico nodded with understanding “I understand Will, it’s fine” Nico gave a small shrug “I really should get back to camp anyways, I didn’t actually tell anyone I was leaving.”

Will closed the distance between them in no more than three large strides and kissed Nico firmly on the lips. Reflexively, Nico melted into the kiss standing on his tippy toes to better meet Will’s lips leaning forward slightly letting Will support some of his weight.

When Will break the kiss he pressed his forehead against Nico’s and sighed “I’m going to make this up to you” he promised softly.

Nico smirked as he replied “You’re all talk Sunshine.”

Will pulled back and grinned at Nico playfully “Oh really?”

Nico nodded playfully and half expected Will to pick him up and throw him on the bed (something Nico would _definitely_ be okay with) just to prove how much of a ‘man of action’ he was.  A mischievous spark twinkled in Will’s blue eyes and then his bedroom door opened without warning. Nico groaned loudly, mentally decided he was so over people in general and let his head fall forward so the top of his forehead rested against Will’s chest.

“I _told_ you to wait down stairs” Will reminded his cousin through clinched teeth.

“Yeah, yeah I heard you” Dean brushed Will off like it was nothing. Will’s cousin no longer reminded Nico of Will but rather some weird love child of Austin and Percy, ‘cause the world really needed that. “but I’m not waiting in the living room while you try to sneak in a quickie so get dressed”

“I am going to hit you with so many soccer balls” Will declared stepping away from Nico and retrieving a large gym bag from his closet “and I’m not going to be aiming for your face.”

Dean seemed to ignore Will and his threat which Nico understand, he too had a hard time finding Will threatening. Instead he turned his attention to Nico, who taken up position leaning against Will’s battered desk “So Nico you’re coming down for Will’s birthday right?” Dean asked “We’re all going camping.”

“I am not going camping” Will corrected sternly having retrieved a green and yellow jersey and matching pair of shorts. he crossed the room to his dresser and started rummaging.

“Yes you are” Dean told Will before turning back to Nico “Yes he is. So you’re coming right?”

Nico shrugged not really sure how to respond, he and Will hadn’t really discussed it. He was thankful when Will jumped in “You know, we have some time to make plans for my birthday so he really doesn’t have to answer that right this second” Will declared before grabbing Dean by the arm and dragging him toward the door “Now you are going back downstairs so I can brush my teeth and get dressed.”

“But it would be rude to leave a house guess unentertained” Dean protested as Will pushed him out the door.

“Yes, but it would be cruel and unusual punishment to leave him alone with you” Will stated before shooting Nico a playful wink and pulling the door shut behind him. Nico blushed a little even though there was no one around to see, Will still had that effect on him.

Will returned alone no more than five minutes later now dressed in his soccer uniform, which just seemed so unfair. The jersey was just tight enough that it accented Will’s well-toned chest and broad shoulders, the shorts, which were shorter than the ones Will usually wore around camp, showed off his muscular legs. So unfair, Nico thought as he tried and failed to pull his eyes away from Will’s legs.

“Good you’re still here” Will declared stepping into the room and shutting the door behind him, Nico only barely registered him speaking “I was worried you might of shadow-traveled back to camp while I was brushing my teeth.” Will walked over to the bed where he had rested his gym bag before, slung it over his shoulder and turned to Nico to find clearly distracted “Nico” he called.

“What?” Nico’s eyes snapped upward to meet Will’s “Sorry, I missed that”

Will smiled at his flustered boyfriend “I’m learning so much about you today” he stated playfully “first spanking and now the soccer uniform” He teased before adding “I wonder what would happen if I spanked you while I was wearing the soccer uniform.”

Nico could feel his face burn and he had to overt his eyes. Picking a point just off to Will’s left to stare at he grumbled “Haven’t you teased me enough this morning?”

“Hey, not by choice” Will defended stepping forward “but I am so making a mental note for later, you really like the soccer uniform” Nico rolled his eyes at that but then forgot to be indigent when Will brought his hand to rest softly on Nico’s cheek “I’ll call you later, at our normal time.” He promised softly.

  “Alright” Nico nodded his agreement as he tried to savior Will’s touch.

“And you’ll answer?” Will questioned.

“I guess” Nico replied with heavy sarcasm “if I have to”

Will smiled at him for a second before pulling him into a kiss. It was soft and affectionate, and it broke Nico’s heart that he had to leave. Pulling away but keeping his face close Will sighed “I love you”

“I love you too” Nico replied softly.

With clear reluctance Will pulled away and started for the door “Will” Nico called after him, stopping Will in his tracks “Is there somewhere dark in this house?” he asked his eyes wondering around Will’s bright, sunlit bedroom “I can’t exactly shadow-travel when there aren’t any shadows” he explained.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing, maybe you’ll just have to stay” Will replied and Nico glared at him. Will gave it some actual thought before he shrugged “There’s my bedroom closet.”

Nico rolled his eyes “Fine I’ll make that work” he declared before making a shoeing gesture in Will’s direction “Go, have fun at practice.”

Will paused at the door and looked back at Nico longingly before leaving. It was reassuring to see that look on Will’s face since it so perfectly mirrored Nico’s feelings. With Will gone Nico found a piece of paper on Will’s desk and scrolled a quick note.

            He dropped the note on Will’s bed before giving one last look around Will’s room. He pulling open the door to Will’s closet and stepped in, letting the shadows enveloping him. He appeared in his cabin at Camp Half-Blood to find something unexpected- Percy and Jason.

            Jason was sitting at Nico’s desk waiting respectfully while Percy was sprawled out on Nico’s bed like he owned the place. Both of them saw him as soon as he appeared which really wasn’t a surprise considering he hadn’t been trying to hide.

            “Hey look who finally decided to show up” Percy declared.

            “We haven’t been here that long” Jason corrected “but we were wondering where you were.”

            “Visiting Will” Nico replied a little confused at their presence “Aren’t you two supposed to be in California”

            “Yeah we came to visit” Percy replied leaning forward and opening the drawer of Nico’s bedside table “Do you have any snacks? I’m starving.” Percy declared and Nico practically had a heart attack when he remembered what he had tucked away in his drawer and the thought of Percy finding it.

            He moved forward as quickly as he could without arising any suspicion. He brought his hand to the front of the drawer slamming it shut and almost caught Percy’s fingers in the process “Privacy Jackson!” Nico declared firmly.

            “What could you have hidden in your nightstand that’s so private?” Percy asked holding his fingers defensively like Nico had actually slammed his fingers in the drawer.

            “Please gods don’t answer that” Jason declared.

            “Hey aren’t you like close friends with Will now?” Percy asked Jason.

            “Yeah, and he overshares” Jason replied “I know more than enough.”

             Nico pinched the bridge of his nose “Why are you both here?”

            “We are going to visit my mom” Percy replied.

            “Because Jackson still hasn’t told her he’s engaged” Jason added shooting Percy a victorious look.

            “Shut up” Percy declared in Jason’s direction before looking back at Nico “I figured you want to come and you know my mom would be seriously upset if you didn’t.”

“Sure” Nico shrugged “Can I shower first?”

“Yeah, you better” Percy commented hoping off Nico’s bunk and stretching dramatically “Can’t take you to visit my mom smelling like sex”

“I literally hate you” Nico responded flatly before pointing toward the door. “Get out of my cabin so I can shower.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These poor boys just can't stop getting caught in the act (I regret nothing).
> 
> Nico's a little kinky (aren't we all)
> 
> Will makes really lame excuses when trying to get some action.
> 
> More of Will's friends reaction to Nico to come.
> 
> More on Nico's modeling career to come as well


	8. Sally Jackson makes the best cookies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sad my vacation is coming to an end but at least I've got several chapters of this fic written so I can continue to post regularly.
> 
> This whole chapter is literally based around my belief that Sally Jackson would pretty much adapt Nico and Jason.

                Percy, Jason, and Nico left camp after lunch. The ride into the city was amusing and consisted primarily of teasing Nico about sneaking out in the middle of the night to see his boyfriend like a common teenager. Nico had finally reached a fun level of hostile where he still grumbled whenever they brought up his relationship but didn’t actually stab anyone. Which was good because really it’s all fun and games until someone gets stabbed.

            The camp’s van dropped us off right outside Sally Jackson’s apartment building which Percy viewed a mixed blessing. After trudging through two airports and actually _flying_ (Percy didn’t care what Annabeth and Jason said, that did not feel safe, he honestly preferred shadow travel to the nightmare of an airplane) he was glad to not have to walk blocks and blocks to get to his mother’s place. On the other hand, that just meant he was thrown immediately closer to having to tell his mom he was engaged.

            It wasn’t that he had any doubts about marrying Annabeth, it was just he didn’t want to upset his mom. He had already put her through so much and now he was going to drop this huge bombshell on her _while she was pregnant_.

            Percy wanted to drag his feet up the stairs but Nico and Jason weren’t really giving him that option as they took the stairs two at a time and happily speculated about what his mom might be cooking. “We just ate” Percy observed.

            “Yeah but your mom’s cooking” Jason replied practically salivating.

            “I wonder if she made cookies” Nico mused “I hope she made cookies, Sally makes the best cookies.”

            “Since when do care so much about food?” Percy defected his question at Nico as they stopped at the door of his mother’s apartment “You barely eat.”

            “I eat” Nico defended “not as much as you, and not as heathy as Will would like, but I eat.”

            “Plus your mom’s blue chocolate chip cookies are amazing” Jason added with a grin.

            “You’re both ridiculous” Percy declared before tapping the door with his knuckle before walking in. As soon as he opened the door the delicious scent of sugary baked goods hit him “Hey mom, I’m here” Percy called making his way into the apartment with Nico and Jason on his heels.

            He heard the two other sons of the big three sigh “cookies” in unison before shutting the door behind them. From the kitchen Percy heard a delighted squeal just before his mother appeared around the corner. Her dark hair was pulled up in a messy bun and she was wearing a flour streaked apron over her clothes. She was just starting to show and her little baby bump was just barely visible under the apron.

            She smiled warmly “My boys” she declared smiling at them happily “All three of you here, I feel like it’s Mother’s Day.”

            “And as usual Percy forgot a card” Jason teased with a smirk in Percy’s direction.

            “Shut up Grace” Percy smacked Jason in the arm “or I’ll stop sharing my mom and her cookies”

            “Oh enough teasing you two or I will make you both hug and make up” Sally warned playfully.

“That would be pretty funny” Nico commented.

“Let me have a look at all of you” She held out her hands for a hug and stepped toward the son of Jupiter first “Jason” she declared affectionately hugging the blond “I think you may have gotten taller.”

            “He _has_ not” Percy grumbled, it was bad enough that Jason was actually taller than him he didn’t need the son of Jupiter to be growing taller.

            Sally released Jason from his hug and gave Percy’s arm a gentle swat “How have you been? How’s school? How’s Piper?” she asked Jason.

            “Things are good” Jason replied “My grades are good, I’ve joined the track team, and Piper’s looking into taking some college classes next semester.”

            “That’s fantastic” Sally cooed before turning her attention to the son of Hades “Nico, sweetheart” She approached him much like she had Jason with her arms out for a hug which Nico accepted with a smile. When she pulled back she held him by the arms to examine him, Sally always did that with Nico and Percy wasn’t sure if it was out of concern for the scrawny kid he was when she first met him or surprise at he had become. “Visiting twice in one week, you’re spoiling me.” She declared.

            “Whoa, you visited my mom?” Percy asked surprised.

            “I was in the city” Nico stated with a shrug like it was no big deal “it would have been rude not to at least stop by.”

            “And you seem to be in a much better mood” Sally observed “Work things out with the boyfriend?”

            Nico blushed and looked down at his shoes “Yeah we talked things out.” the son of Hades mumbled so quietly Percy just barely made it out.

            Percy couldn’t help but snicker “I don’t know about talked but they definitely did _something_.” Nico glared at him and Percy recognized it as his ‘I’m literally going to stab you’ face, and Jason smacked him hard on the arm. “Owww” Percy hissed and rubbed his abused arm “Why does everyone keep hitting me?” he complained.

            “Because you deserve it” Jason replied.

            “Well whatever happened” Sally declared “I’m glad to hear you two worked things out” Her smile hardened minutely and Percy recognized the look, he had been on the receiving end of it too many times as a kid- it was the ‘this sounds like a polite suggestion but actual if you don’t do this you will be in so much trouble’ look. Percy didn’t envy the son of Hades “And you should bring this Will by soon, I would like to meet him.”

            Nico nodded “Yes, ma’am”

            “Good” Sally nodded like they had an understanding. She released Nico and turned to Percy and immediately pulled him into a tight hug “Percy it is so good to see you!”

            “Good to see you too” Percy replied hugging her back “Saved the best for last” he teased.

            She pulled away and gave him another smack on the arm, although not nearly as hard as Jason had “Enough of that” she released her grip on Percy “Now come on you three I want to hear all about what’s been going on, and I’ve baked cookies.”

            The three of them didn’t need to be told twice, they followed her into the kitchen and found a plate overflowing with blue chocolate chip cookies. They each took a seat at the table and reached for a cookie. “Where’s Paul?” Percy asked looking around and noticing the absence of his stepfather.

            “He’s helping set up for a play at school” She informed “But he’ll be back in a little bit.” Sally took a seat at the table with them. “How’s college?” She asked brightly “How’s Annabeth?”

            “Good, things are good” Percy stated quickly over a mouth full of cookies “You know lots of studying, working at the café, that kind of thing.” Percy could already feel his palms starting to sweat. Trying to think of a diversion he pointed at Nico with a half-eaten cookie in hand “Nico, why were you in the city?”

            Nico’s eyes grew large and he stopped chewing with a chunk of cookie in his mouth. After a long pause where the son of Hades stared frozen before he managed to chew and swallow before responding in a quiet voice “I was doing a favor for a Mitchell”

            Percy eyed the son of Hades suspiciously. Nico was squirming in his seat and staring down at the table desperately trying to avoid eye contact. Percy smirked as he recognized an easy distraction “What kind of favor?”

            “Just a favor” Nico grumbled defensively.

            “Ohhhh” Jason declared smacking the table excitedly as he tried gulping down the bit of cookie he was chewing. Once he managed to swallow “Is that what you were doing when I called you the other day, because you still haven’t explained what was going on there, and it sounded weird.”

            “Maybe” Nico squirmed more noticeably.

            “Whoa, whoa, whoa” Percy grinned genuinely “What was so weird.”

            “I didn’t tell you about this?” Jason asked sounding both excited and surprised. Nico huffed and slouched in his chair in defeat “I called him and there was this really loud techno music in the background”

            Percy turned on Nico and played at being shocked “You listen to techno?”

            “No” Nico responded crossing his arms over his chest. The son of Hades definitely looked like he was pouting.

            “Then he said something about a set……” Jason’s voice trailed off and Percy could see him putting the puzzle pieces together even though Percy himself still felt a piece or two short. After a few seconds Jason’s mouth dropped open a bit and he pointed at Percy inquisitively “Isn’t Mitchell’s dad a fashion designer?”

            Nico gave up on pouting and glared at them. Percy thought about it for a moment before answering “Yeah, he mentioned it that time he cut Nico’s…..” The last piece fell into place, Percy and Jason both gasped simultaneously. “Oh! My! Gods!” Percy exclaimed pointing at Nico.

            “Nico are you….” Jason sounded stunned.

            “a model?” Percy finished Jason’s thought.

            Nico slumped down further in his chair “I hate you both” he declared.

            Percy couldn’t stop himself from laughing “Oh my god you’re a model!” Percy had to stop in order to catch his breath “That’s just …. I can’t”

            “Percy, no teasing” Sally warned affectionately before patting Nico softly on the cheek “Nico, you have classically beautiful features it’s no surprise.” Nico looked uncomfortable but grumbled a thank you.

            “Hey!” Percy protested “What about me?”

            “You’re very attractive sweetie” She reassured patting his hand and Percy nodded with approval and maybe a bit of pride.

            Seeming to come to his senses Jason exclaimed “What does Will think about this?”   

            Nico’s attention shot to Jason “I haven’t told him yet” his expression turned dark “and you can’t tell him.”

            “Dude, so what were you modeling?” Percy asked curiously “I don’t even know what Mitchell’s dad designs”

            Nico’s eyes got impossibly wide with what Percy interrupted as panic. The son of Hades stared back and forth between Percy and Jason for a moment like a caged animal before turning to Sally “Percy and Annabeth are engaged.” Nico declared.

               Sally gasped and immediately turned her attention to Percy, and the son of Hades let out a visible sigh of relief. “Dude, not cool” Percy declared looking at Nico who was still everting his eyes. Well, there was not point avoiding it now that it was out. Percy sighed “Mom I was going to tell you…” He started but was cut short when his mother wrapped him in a bear hug.

            She only released Percy when was gasping for air “Well, it’s about time” Sally declared happily “that girl is most of the reason you’re still alive and have all your limbs. I feel better about you living in California already knowing you two are engaged.”

Percy gapped at his mother for a long moment out of shock. He heard Jason snicker something about goldfish which caused Nico to laugh and Percy contemplated throwing a cookie at one, if not both of them but decided against it, only because that would be a waste of a cookie.

Instead, Percy zeroed in on Nico and decided to keep at the whole modeling thing since Nico clearly didn’t want to talk about it. He tried to think of the most embarrassing possibility he could and asked “You modeled underwear, didn’t you?”

            Percy had meant the question to be teasing but Nico expression turned carefully neutral and all the color drained from his face so he was now ghostly white. Instead of answering Percy he turned to Sally again “Percy and Annabeth are living together.” He informed.

            “Bro!” Percy protested looking at Nico with shock and disapproval “So not cool” he looked around the kitchen absently “Where’s Leo? I could use some duct tape.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was so nice and fluffy after all the smut I've written/posted lately.
> 
> Still interested in things people would like see happen of the course of the story- especially involving Percy, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper because I don't have a whole lot for them so far. But I love hearing ideas so let me know.


	9. Girls Day Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like I hadn't posted in forever!
> 
> So this chapter is a bit of fun. I really haven't done anything with the ladies of PJO yet so here they are.
> 
> Also a very amusing phone call.
> 
> Enjoy.

            After meeting Piper in Berkley the two girls headed back to New Rome to meet Hazel and Reyna for coffee at the café where Percy worked. It was mid-day and the café was rather busy with college students taking lunch breaks. When Annabeth and Piper arrived Hazel and Reyna were already there sitting at a table toward the back right next a large window. They made their way back to the table, working through the crowd easily.

            Hazel spotted them first and waved at them happily as she stood up to greet them both with hugs which Annabeth thought was a bit much considering they had seen each other the day before last but she returned the hug anyway. Piper returned the hug as well although it looked awkward because of the oversized purse she was carrying.

            “Hey Reyna” Annabeth greeted as she took a seat across the table from the praetor. Even in her ‘day-off’ clothes- well-worn jeans and a plain purple t-shirt, there was no way you couldn’t tell she was a military leader, it practically oozed out of her pores.

            “Annabeth” She nodded “Piper”

            “Hey Reyna” Piper replied taking the seat next to Annabeth and clutching her comically large purse on her lap. Annabeth had asked her what was in it about a dozen times since meeting up in Berkley but Piper still hadn’t said. The daughter of Aphrodite glanced around the Roman inspired café for a second “So Percy really works here?”

            “Yup” Hazel replied.

            “But luckily he isn’t here today” Reyna added with a dry smirk “So none of our lattes will be burnt.”

            “That bad?” Piper asked and all three girls nodded enthusiastically. Percy had many talents but making coffee was not one of them. Honesty, Annabeth was shocked he hadn’t been fired yet. “So I take it Percy will not be majoring in the caffeinated arts.” Piper noted.

            “No, most certainly not” Annabeth agreed with a sigh “He’s thinking marine biology or maybe becoming an aquarist but this is Percy we are talking about” She let out a small laugh “he’s equally as likely to join Green Peace or become an eco-terrorist.”

            “All those things do kind of sound like Percy” Piper agreed.

            “Alright” Reyna declared eyeing Piper and her ridiculous bag “I can’t ignore this, Piper what’s in the bag?”

            Piper grinned and looked down at her bag and then looked over at Annabeth with a guilty expression. Annabeth didn’t particularly like that expression but she had a sneaking suspicion she knew what it was about “So I just brought a few magazines” Piper stated as she started to produce bridal magazine after bridal magazine. Annabeth wanted to laugh, the whole scene reminded her a bit of one of those clown cars that kept producing clowns long after you thought it could possibly produce another. “I marked a few things I thought you would like” Piper stated and Annabeth noticed that almost every page of every magazine was tagged with a brightly colored sticky note. Piper picked up one of the magazines and started flipping through the pages “now I know Percy wants a blue wedding cake” Piper sighed like she found the suggestion just exhausted “Are you _sure_ you want to marry him?”

            “Piper” Annabeth held in a laugh. Hazel had snuck one of the magazines and was flipping through it, looking at each page with awe, while Reyna stared at the stack of bridal magazines like they might attack her. “We haven’t even set a date yet.”

            “I know” Piper responded looking at her collection of bridal magazines deflated “but these could help with that” she shrugged “Well, at least narrow it down to a season.”

            “This is pretty” Hazel noted to herself as she looked at one of magazines.

            Reyna eyed Piper critically before commenting “My sympathies to Jason Grace when he proposes.”

            “Why?” Piper looked at Reyna wide-eyed, and a slightly predatory expression “Did he say something?”

            There was a collective round of laughter around the table at Piper’s reaction. Annabeth could have laughed to her sides hurt but their waiter finally appeared. Cal, son of Cupid and visual study in contrast with his dark hair, pale skin, and light eyes, appeared at the side of their table wearing his usual over-confident smile. “Sorry ladies but it must be my lucky day because I get to wait on the most beautiful group of women I have ever laid my eyes on.”

            Annabeth rolled her eyes although she was pretty used to Cal’s flirting by now. Reyna eyed the demigod clearly unamused “We’ll each have a café mocha with the cocoa sprinkles and no more of your _unwanted_ advances.”

            Cal looked like he was going to say something that was probably flirtatious but then saw the look on Reyna’s face and the words died in his throat and his cocky grin slipped.

            “Oh Cal” Annabeth stopped him before he could leave “You’ll have to excuse Reyna” she stated shooting Reyna a teasing look “It’s just her tastes runs a bit more….. _Nordic_.”

“Okay” Cal managed sounding sobered “four café mochas with cocoa sprinkles coming right up” Cal slapped his pad softly before walking away.

“Oww” Piper looked back and forth between Annabeth and Reyna for a long moment “What does that mean?”

“Nothing” Reyna stated firmly.

Annabeth grinned at Reyna’s deflection “How was your last trip to Boston?” She asked with a knowing smile.

“Fine” Reyna replied.

“uh-ha” Annabeth nodded with a smirk.

“Are you two going to let _us_ ” Hazel gestured between herself and Piper “in on what you’re actually talking about?”

“It’s nothing” Reyna responded and this time Annabeth said nothing figuring her silence and knowing smile were enough.

Their drinks arrived offering Reyna an escape from a conversation about her personal life which was fine by Annabeth, at least for now. Cal was nowhere to be seen having apparently talked Rory into delivering their drinks, likely out of fear of Reyna. “Four café mochas extra sprinkles” Rory deposited a drink in front of each one of them before reaching up and absently adjusting the small hoops pierced into his eyebrow.

“Wow” Piper exclaimed reaching around the stack of bridal magazines to grab her cup off the table “that was fast”

Hazel took a sip of her drink and added pleased “Oh and it’s so good!”

Rory smirked “Well, Percy’s not here, that helps” he remarked.

Annabeth couldn’t help but chuckle before nodding to the son of Trivia “Thanks Rory”

Rory nodded his acknowledgement “let me know if you need anything else” He stated before walking away and leaving them with their drinks.

“Percy is really that bad of a barista?” Piper questioned sounding skeptical.

“You have _no_ idea” Reyna responded with a grin before taking a sip from her cup.

As all four girls shared a laugh over Percy truly abysmal skills at making high end coffee Annabeth’s cell phone began to ring in her pocket. Cell phones weren’t completely unheard of in New Rome by they were pretty rare, and the sudden ringing from Annabeth’s pocket did catch a few nearby customer’s attention. Annabeth pulled the loud thing out of her pocket with the intentions of silencing it and ignoring the call all together but then she saw it was Sally Jackson and just had to answer. “Hello, Annabeth Chase speaking”

“Annabeth” Sally greeted, her voice was warm and kind much like the person Sally Jackson was face to face. Annabeth adored Percy’s mom, she was so kind and understanding, Annabeth knew Luke would have had a harder time recruiting demigods to fight for Kronos during the second Titan War if more demigods had mortal parents like Sally Jackson. “Percy just told me the good news”

“He did?” Annabeth questioned a satisfied smile. She heard noise in the background and at first she dismissed it as random background noise, maybe the television, but now she realized it was arguing… no bickering in the background. Annabeth had no doubt it was Percy and Jason arguing about something stupid “well it’s about time.”

Sally laughed happily on the other end of the line “Percy can be a bit…”

“of an idiot” Annabeth finished her soon-to-be mother-in-law’s thought “I know and I agreed to marry him anyway.”

“Wel…..” Sally Jackson started but before she could finish whatever she was going to say the background noise got significantly louder and there was a surprised squeal before Percy’s voice came over the line “Annabeth you’re never going to believe this!” Percy exclaimed sounding slightly out of breath like he was running “Nico’s a un..” the next bit was too muffled for her to make out like someone had tried to cover Percy’s mouth.

“Nico’s a what?” she asked pressing her finger against her other ear in hopes of hearing better. She noticed how both Hazel and Reyna interest intensify at the mention of Nico, Reyna’s all-but-adopted younger brother, and Hazel’s actual older brother.

“Nico’s a undumph model” Percy stated.

“Nico’s a what model?” She asked.

“Nico would make a great model” Reyna commented matter-of-factly. “He has very androgynous features.”

“Nico’s an UNDERWEAR model!” Percy shouted. Immediately following there was a loud crashing sound and the sounds of fighting.

Annabeth scowled at what she had just heard because surely that couldn’t be right. Nico was so shy she couldn’t picture him being comfortable posing practically naked in front of a camera…… Well, maybe he would but only if Will was the one behind the camera “Did you just say Nico’s an underwear model?”

“What!?!” Hazel exclaimed with a disapproving look as he began to fan her face with her hand at the mere thought.

“Sorry” Cal appeared at the side of their table as if by magic with an expression Annabeth could only compare to the one she had seen on the faces of jungle cats preparing for a hunt in one of these nature documentaries you see on television “Did I hear something about an underwear model?”

Annabeth looked up at the son of Cupid annoyed “I would say Nico would stab you for even thinking it but between his sister” she pointed toward Hazel who gave a small wave “his protective practically sister” she pointed at Reyna who gave him a predatory smirk “and his boyfriend honestly you would already be dead.” Cal gave Hazel and Reyna one last wary look before backing away from the table slowly.   

There was some more fighting sounds before a voice began to reply, this time it wasn’t Percy “No Annabeth” it had taken a few seconds but now she recognized the voice as Nico’s, although he too sounded out of breath “That would make no sen…..”

            There was a loud crash on the other end of the line that sound like multiple bodies hitting the floor and Annabeth thought she heard Sally in the background, likely scolding the three for fighting in the apartment. There was the sound of multiple voices all speaking at once for a moment before Percy’s voice rose above the others “All true” he panted “Underwear model….” there was a pause and this time things sounded quiet before Percy spoke again although he seemed to be shouting at someone “Hey, no summoning zombies in my mom’s apartment!”

            “Alright” Annabeth sighed and rolled her eyes “I’m going to let you boys work this out” She stated “don’t forget to ask your mom about Thanksgiving. Love you, bye.”

            “Love you too, bye” Percy declared quickly and then the line went dead.

            “Well that was an interesting conversation” Annabeth shook her head absently as she slipped the phone back in her bag “and according to Percy, Nico is an underwear model.”

            “Nico would never” Hazel declared looking offended.

            “That makes no sense” Reyna agreed sipping her drink calmly.

            “You know what” Piper declared smacking the table to get everyone’s attention “I think Mitchell’s dad just expanded his line to include men’s underwear.” she gave it some more thought “And there was that weird phone call with Jason a couple days ago…..”

            “Huh” Annabeth exclaimed with a shrug“I honestly would not have seen this coming.”

            “Hazel” Reyna looked over at the daughter of Pluto seriously “I think we should send one of those Iris messages to Nico later.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small Headcannon for those of you who have read Magnus Chase (Bare with me)- So Aphrodite tells Reyna she won't find love amongst the Greeks or the Romans (and I am paraphrasing here, I didn't want to dig to find the exact reference). I know a lot of people take that as Reyna is badass and doesn't need a man, but Annabeth is badass and she has Percy so I don't buy that.  
> The whole thing with Reyna was one of these things we found out toward the end of BoO - like Annabeth has a cousin in Boston, and Apollo's in trouble. Now if you read Magnus, the only two female love interests presented so far don't really work (one's dead and the other is engaged). Now Magnus could be gay (but I think his Elf and his Dwarf already have that cover) but otherwise.....What if Reyna finds love amongst the Norse. It's my crazy theory, and I just cant let it go.
> 
> Now that I got that out of the way. I am officially going to do an Extras for Normal Lives- but it will be called Outtakes. The first chapter will be Will's drive back to Tennessee with his mom after leaving camp. I am still accepting requests so let me know!


	10. Goodnight Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!
> 
> I have a lot to say so sorry!
> 
> First, I'm trying a new editing app to improve the clarity of my writing, so if things different that's way. It doesn't seem to change things too much but I'm still not sure if I like it.
> 
> Now for important news: I'm going to start posting Normal Lives on a weekly basis (and only a weekly basis). New chapters will be posted every Sunday (I'm not going to give a specific time but I will never stick to it). I want to work on some other things and at the pace I'm posting now that would be impossible. But I promise I am not abandoning Normal Lives. 
> 
> I'm planning to start posting Normal Lives: Outtakes in October (I know that sounds like a long time but it's really not). I have started working on it but still feel free to tell me what you would like me to cover.
> 
> I caved (mainly so I can follow some writing prompt blogs) and I have a Tumblr so I can be contacted at delta-roseblr.tumblr.com as well.

            It had been such a long day and Nico was bone tired. Shadow travelling between Tennessee and camp was a longer jump. While Nico was recovered from his trip with the Athena Parthenos longer jumps still tired him. So he had started the day feeling far from energized. Then, there was the visit to Sally Jackson’s house with Percy and Jason. That which had quickly devolved into a cage death match: Nico vs. Percy and Jason. Nico had argued that was wildly unfair considering it was two against one and both were older than Nico. Still, the son of Hades had almost won.

           After dinner, Percy had decided to stay at his mom’s while Jason and Nico went back to Camp Half-Blood. The way Jason was acting Nico had half-expected Jason to ask to bunk up in the Hades cabin for the night. Nico loved Jason like a brother but he also loved his alone time more. He had been about to kick Jason out when he got a very unexpected iris message from Hazel and Reyna. At the sight of the two anger girls Jason suddenly could not leave fast enough. Nico was the subjected to what had to be the most awkward conversations in the history of the spoken word. Hazel more or less just kept exclaiming that she could not believe her brother had worked in smut. Meanwhile, Reyna kept making comments about how this whole thing seemed exploitative.

That conversation got old quickly. Nico made up an excuse about why he had to go. He was aware his excuse didn’t even completely make sense so he dragged his hand through the mist screen before either girl could argue. The mist hadn’t even completely cleared when Nico heard the ring of his phone issue from his desk. The son of Hades jumped at the sound. He still wasn’t completely used to owning one of those things, and he barely used his- only to talk to Will.

            Nico walked across the room as he undressed. He made quick work of discarding his t-shirt and kicking off his jeans before retrieve his phone. Now, in nothing but his briefs he snatched the phone of the desk, no real surprise the call ID said it was Will. “Hey Will” Nico greeted walking back to his bunk.

            “My bed smells like you,” Will declared happily on the other end of the line. “and sex, and sweat, and….well other stuff. But it smells like you, and that’s what matters” Will explained “I love it”

            Nico laughed as he laid back on his bunk, making himself comfortable. “I’d be happy to stop by and help freshen that scent up for you anytime you want, just say the word.”

            “Don’t even think about it!” Will exclaimed firmly “That was a onetime thing! As it is I’m grounded for sneaking you into my room. If my mom found out you shadow traveled here she’d kick me out of the house!”

            “You’re grounded?” Nico couldn’t stop himself from snickering a little “Why did you tell her?”

            “I didn’t want to!” Will defended with a whine. “But I told you last night I would have a hard time explaining those marks you were leaving.”

            “I regret nothing” Nico laughed. He remembered leaving a few love bites that would be visible above Will's collar. “How long are you grounded for?”

            “Mom was kind of unspecific on that.” Will responded thoughtfully “Based on how mad she seemed I’m guessing ‘til college.”

            “Sorry” Nico apologized sincerely.

            “Don’t be” Will replied like it wasn’t that big of a deal “she’ll get over it.” Will sighed.

            “But if she doesn’t know about the whole shadow-travel thing, how did you explain me being gone?” Nico asked curiously.

            “Oh yeah, she was so not happy about that either.” Will explained, “She said if I’m going to go and sneak my boyfriend into the house, I could at least have the decency to introduce you to her first.”

            “Will, that makes no sense” Nico noted.

            “Yeah, I know.” Will stated amused, “Anyway, I told her you’re rich and decided to take a slight detour on your way back from visiting your sister.”

            “That would be more than a slight detour,” Nico pointed out “and I’m not rich.”

            “Compared to normal people you are.” Will disagreed “She really wasn’t interested in questioning the details, so it worked.”

            “If you say so” Nico shrugged “Well, I’m sorry I got you in trouble”

“Seriously, don’t be. It was so worth it.” Will insisted “I should probably be the one apologizing you know for this morning…again.”

            Nico sighed longingly. This morning was such a lovely, yet frustrating memory he tried not to dwell on it. “What? Being the world’s greatest tease ever to tease?” Nico asked trying to keep his tone light and playful “No” He stated sarcastically.

“Hey, like you can talk!” Will laughed “Or have you forgotten the last time we talked on the phone?”

“Hmmmm?” Nico pretended to think, although he knew exactly what Will was talking about. “I remember you looking like a dick.”

“You’ve never complained about the look of my dick before.” Will teased. Nico could actually hear the self-satisfied grin spread across his boyfriend’s face.

“Will” Nico tried to have his voice come out disapproving but instead it sounded more like a week laugh.

“You know what I’m talking about” Will stated softly. His voice taking on a more serious tone while still remaining playful.

Nico knew exactly what Will was talking about. He wanted to play dumb. Unfortunately, certain parts of his anatomy knew what Will was talking about and was responding to the mere thought. Nico tried to ignore the growing bladge in the front of his briefs “I might”

“What would be the chances of us picking up that conversation where we left off…..” Will asked suggestively “you know  _before_  we were so rudely interrupted.”

“Will” Nico sighed amused at his boyfriend’s predictability “We were  _together_  this morning.” he reminded.

“No,” Will corrected sternly “we were not.” Nico heard a wistful sigh come from Will’s end of the call “We were so close and you….” There was another long sigh “ummm…. you looked so good! But orgasms were  _not_  had by all!” Will stated, with a disapproving tone taking over at the end. “Actually, orgasms weren’t had by  _any_ , which really should be a crime.”

Nico smirked. Involuntarily, he noted how much Will sounded like Austin when he said things like that. When the full ramifications of that thought struck him it effectively took care of the problem that had been growing between his legs. “Fine” Nico sighed. “Whatever, we were  _together_  last night” the son of Hades corrected. “Either way I’m not  _that_  desperate.”

“What does desperation have to do with me wanting to hear your pretty voice saying dirty, dirty things?” Nico could hear Will’s grin getting wider as he spoke each word.

“See,” Nico rolled his eyes and readjusted slightly on his bunk. “those sound like the words of a desperate, horny man.” Nico observed teasingly.

Will laughed good-naturedly. “Fine” he agreed “than be kind and show this desperate, horny man mercy.”

Nico laughed loudly “You’re begging for mercy from a child of Hades.” Nico shook his head absently “Not the smartest move on the chess board.”

“No” Will contradicted clearly not deterred. “I’m begging for mercy from my hot boyfriend, who loves me and is just as horny as me even if he plays innocent around other people.”

“You make good points” Nico smirked. “I could always shadow-travel down the street from your house, and sneak in the window.” He offered, trying to keep his tone playful even though he was sincere in his offer. The thought of finishing what they had started this morning was giving him new energy. “You’re already in trouble so it really can’t get much worse.”

Will was quiet for a long moment, it was as if he was actually considering it. Nico sat up and found himself holding his breath in anticipation. Will had always dismissed the idea of shadow travel immediately in the past. There was a long sigh on the other end “No, my mom would kill me.” Will declared disappointedly.

Nico slumped back in his bunk, hopes officially dashed. “Well then it sounds like we are at an end pass”

“I guess we are” Will sighed disappointedly “So…. are you just hang out in your bunk…. um like just in sweats or something?”

“Wow!” Nico exclaimed grinning “Was that the best plan you could come up with?” he laughed “Asking me what I’m wearing awkwardly and hope I wouldn’t notice?”

“Actually, I was hoping you would so be overwhelmed by a sense of pity at my extreme clumsiness that you would just go with it.” Will explained sounding hopeful.

Nico shook his head amused before changing the topic. “So about your birthday?” he asked, attempting to direct the conversation away from his boyfriend’s overactive libido.

“Oh yeah, I’m definitely going to be grounded for that.” Will stated easily “but at least I can’t get forced to go camping.”

“What’s wrong with camping?” Nico asked curiously.

“I hate camping!” Will replied.

“You realize you spend all summer at a camp, right?” Nico noted amused.

“That’s different!” Will explained sounding more serious then Nico was used to. “At camp there are cabins, and guaranteed perfect weather, and showers!” he stated firmly. “When you actually go camping; it’s sleeping in a tent on the hard ground, bugs, and inevitably it rains. And I hate being cold! If you had ever experienced that you would hate it too, trust me.”

“Will” Nico laughed “I’ve been actually camping, like in a tent. It’s not all that bad”

“When?” Will questioned skeptically, like he couldn’t understand how anyone could like camping.

“Military school” Nico reminded. “Camping is their idea of a good time.” he noted before adding quickly “and then there was that time I kinda didn’t stay at camp and just wondered on my own.” Nico tried to push past that, knowing it made Will upset. “then I didn’t even have a tent” he tried to joke but felt like he failed. “So, if you wanted me to go, I am experienced.”

“I guess it wouldn’t be too bad, if you were there.” Will mused. Nico, again heard a grin spread across his boyfriend’s face. “I’ve always wanted to have sex outside.”

“Gods” Nico laughed “You really have a one track mind.”

“Son of Apollo” Will responded “It’s kind of my birthright.”

They both laughed together for a moment before falling silent. The stayed that way for a long moment, and Nico picked nervously at his nails. He tried to find comfort in the sound of Will’s breathing on the other end. “So if your grounded on your birthday, I guess I can’t come and visit?”

“What?” Will asked sounding surprised.

“I don’t know, what your cousin said got me thinking.” Nico explained nervously “when you were at camp we never talked about me visiting you…. and I guess now I understand why,” Nico heard his boyfriend sigh on the other end of the line. “but now that's behind us…. and to be honest I really don’t want to wait until January to see you again.”

“But I have school and practice and….” Will started to defend.

“Will, if you don’t like the idea” Nico cut him off sharply, feeling embarrassed for even bringing it up “it’s fine, I get it.”

“No Nic” Will exclaimed quickly “That’s not what I’m saying” he explained. “I just wouldn’t want you to be bored waiting around for me all day.”

“Will I am not a puppy.” Nico retorted “I am capable of entertaining myself.”

Will laughed “I would love for you to came and stay for a while.” The son of Apollo stated sounding sincere. “It might not be doable for my birthday, like I said mom isn’t really happy with me right now but let me work on her.”

“Gods she probably hates me already” Nico thought mournfully. Sneaking into Will's bedroom for sex probably didn't make the best first impression with his mom. At the time it had seemed like such a good idea, but Nico really hadn’t been thinking much past the needing to see Will.

“No, I think you’re good.” Will laughed again, much to Nico’s confusion. “Considering she wanted to call your parents, and I quote, ‘apologize for her son being a horrible influence’. My mother hasn’t even met you yet and she has already fallen for your innocent act.”

“What act?” Nico asked with a grin “I am innocent”

Will laughed loudly “Oh really? Because I seem to recall….” Will paused mid-sentence and Nico just barely made out the sound of a female voice. “Shit” Will hissed.

“Language” Nico reminded.

‘Sorry” Will apologized “I got to go, it’s my mom and I’m not supposed to be on the phone.”

“What?” Nico exclaimed surprised “then why did you call?”

“Because I said I would” Will responded like that made perfect sense “and I wanted to hear your voice.”

“You’re such a dork” Nico teased although he couldn’t help but smile.

“I know and I’m all yours! Aren’t you lucky” Will replied playfully before adding more seriously “I love you.”

“I love you too” Nico replied “Oh and Will”

“Hmm” Will replied.

“You know that question you asked earlier?” the son of Hades asked trying to keep the grin on his face out of his voice.

“Umm?” Will sounded unsure.

“Well, I’m not in sweats, just briefs.” Nico informed him as seriously as he could manage.

“Oh that’s mean Di Angelo!” Will declared although it sounded like the son of Apollo was grinning “So not nice”

 “Who told you I was nice?” Nico asked curiously.

“I am so going to punish you for that” Will promised ignoring Nico’s question.

Nico grinned “Can’t wait”

Nico heard Will take a deep breath. “Oh pretty boy, you are so going to be the death of me!” Will declared and Nico couldn’t help but snicker “Alright, I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Night Will” Nico replied before ending the call. The son of Hades tossed his phone on his nightstand. He made himself more comfortable on his bunk enjoying the thought of Will thinking about him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is nothing better then being able to smell your significant other on your sheets!
> 
> I agree with Will on the whole idea of camping- yuck!


	11. Happy Birthday Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello All,
> 
> First, posting once a week feels really strange. Around Wednesday, I was like 'I must post!' and then I remembered. But I have gotten so much done, so hopefully I will be posting other stuff soon.
> 
> I am going to stick to the whole once a week thing for now, and the day will be Sunday. I'm posting early this week because I have a family engagement and I have no idea when I will have access to my computer tomorrow and I would rather post early rather then late.
> 
> This chapter though. OMG this chapter almost killed me! I have written pages of material to just take it out- days of work lost! Stared at my computer screen in frustration. Half the ideas I had for what this chapter was going or what was going to happen I hated once I wrote them out.
> 
> Finally, I just said “Fuck it!” and pretty much free wrote it and now all is said and done I kind of love this chapter. I mean there originally wasn’t going to be smut and that clearly didn’t happen but I don’t know I like it.
> 
> Right also SMUT WARNING! Like the last third of the chapter, is just dirty smut. I'm not even ashamed, I'm just letting you know.

            After practice Will and the rest of the team headed back to the locker rooms. Will’s teammates were being especially rowdy which wasn’t all that surprising. The team had just recently made play-off so everyone was in high spirits except for Will. The son of Apollo was happy to make play-off but they made play-offs every year so it didn't seem like that big of a deal. Besides, he had other things on his mind like how he should have been able to skip practice, since it was his birthday.  Or how he was still grounded and his boyfriend was just under a thousand miles away.

There was at least one upside to suffering through practice when he wasn't in the mood. Soccer practice was pretty much the only reason outside of school his mother would let him leave the house. It gave him the opportunity to try and sneak in a quick call in to Nico without the threat of his mom catching him. That, of course, was if everyone would shut up.

            Will tossed his sweat-soaked jersey into his locker. He pulled something slightly more clean out of his gym bag and pulled it on before retrieving his cell phone. As Will scrolled through the screens someone slapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, aren’t you banned from cell phone use?” Dean teased.

            Will looked over his shoulder to see his cousin grinning at him, and glared (alright maybe Nico was rubbing off on him a bit). “Thanks mom.” he replied with heavy sarcasm.

            “Lighten up!” Dean responded with a snicker “It’s just a joke.”

            “Dude, you should be grateful all you got was grounded.” Wash exclaimed in Will's direction. “If my parents caught me sneaking a girl into my bedroom they would murder me and bury me in the backyard.”

            “I feel very lucky” Will agreed weakly as he hit the send button and brought it to his ear.

            “Hey you wouldn’t have gotten caught if your dark and brooding boyfriend played nice.” Dean stated. He was making an obvious reference to the cluster of visible hickeys Nico had left on Will's throat. The same hickeys that had got Will grounded in the first place. Since the marks had been practically impossible to hide the team had a lot of fun cracking jokes about them until they faded.

            Will grinned as he heard the phone begin to ring. He pressed his back against his locker and shot his cousin a wicked look. “Nico doesn’t play nice,” he informed. Even with all the jokes and ending up getting grounded the thought of that night made Will smile. “and it was more than worth it.”

            “We are so related!” Dean chuckled approvingly “We may play for different teams but we are so related.”

            There was another ring on the other end of the line and Will had to force himself to stay still. He wanted to pace with impatience. “How dark and brooding are we talking?” Will heard Watts ask, directing the question toward Dean “Like on a scale of one to ten?”

            “Solid nine” Dean replied after giving the question a moment's thought. “maybe nine and a half.”

            Will rolled his eyes at the whole exchange. Dean hadn’t even seen Nico in all his dark and brooding glory. What Dean saw was Nico at a four, tops. Will opened his mouth to comment but then in place of a fourth ring a voice came from the other end of the line and he stopped. It wasn’t the voice Will had expected to hear. “Hey there birthday boy!” Greeted Austin cheerfully “How’s it feel to be an old man?”

            “Austin?” Will questioned. He pulled the phone away from his ear to double check he had dialed the right number. Which didn't even make sense since Austin didn’t even have a cell phone. “Where’s Nico? Why are you answering his phone?”

            “Oh he’s with a patient.” Austin replied plainly, like that statement made any kind of sense. “We both know your borderline obsessive and if Nico didn’t answer you would just call back." He explained "So I figured I would answer so I didn’t have to listen to the annoying ringing.”

             “Wait what?” Will asked, he could have sworn his brother had just said Nico was with a patient.

            “You’re borderline obsessive.” Austin repeated “which I got to tell ya, most guys aren’t really into that.”

            “Thanks for the very unsolicited advice,” Will groaned. Trying to get information out of Austin was kind of like trying to herd cats. “but that’s not what I was talking about. Where did you say Nico was again?”

            “Oh, he’s with a patient,” Austin repeated rather unhelpfully. “but he looks like he’s almost done.”

            Will gaped, his mouth hung open. He made several attempts to say something, anything. Each time he thought better of it and his mouth snapped shut. It felt like forever before Will could form a rational thought. “Is someone dying?” he asked concerned. He caught a few concerned glances from Dean and his other teammates. 

            Austin laughed “Seriously unlikely,” he stated “just a kid getting a few stitches.”

            “I am so fucking confused” Will declared. Injured people usually weren’t lining up for a little face time with his boyfriend, the son of Hades.

            “Language William, language” Austin chuckled. Will heard a voice on the other end of the line talking to Austin although Will couldn’t make out the words. Austin replied to the person “Of course it’s your phone. I’m a demigod, demigods don’t have cell phones.” There was the muffled sound of Nico’s voice on the other end but Will still couldn’t make out what he was saying.

            “It’s Santa, he wants to know if you’ve been a good boy.” Austin proclaimed sarcastically to Nico “Dude, who do you think it is? It’s Will and I’m sure he would rather hear that you’ve been really  _naughty_.”

            This time Will just barely made out what Nico said in response. He boyfriend stated dryly “You’re disgusting, now give me my phone.”

            “Fine, fine” Austin declared. “Talk to you later Will.” Before Will could say anything in response he heard a whoosh sound like the phone was thrown in the air and then a clap as it was caught.

            “Hey you” Nico greeted before quickly adding “hold on one second.” he insisted before speaking to someone else. “Non dimenticate la vostra fidanzata lecca-lecca.”

            “Nic” Will groaned letting his head fall back and hit his locker lightly. “please, no Italian right now.” Will heard his cousin snicker off to his right. Will silently flipped him off as he explained “I don’t think I can take it.”

            “Okay, is it just me,” Will heard Wash muse to the others “or is it the more we learn about the boyfriend more confused I am?”

            “No” Dean replied “it’s not just you.” 

            Will tried to ignore them as he heard Nico laugh softly. “Sorry, but I didn’t want the girl to forget her lollipop” he explained. Will heard Austin laugh in the background before speaking but the words were indecipherable. 

Nico groaned at whatever was said before speaking to Austin dryly. “That’s gross!” 

Austin clearly said something in returned and Nico hissed “You do realize you’re talking about your brother, right?”

             After yet another indecipherable response from Austin, Nico sighed. “Sorry he’s … well he’s your brother, you know.” Will could make out the sound of Nico’s heavy combat boots on the wood floors. Will figured he was moving somewhere private “Anyways, happy birthday. How does it feel to be sixteen?”

            “Good, I guess.” Will replied before giving a quick glance around at his teammates. No one seemed to be paying him or his conversation much attention. Still, he turned his back to the others and spoke softly “I miss you.”

            To spite his efforts, Will's friends overheard him. There was a chorus of mocking “aww”. The son of Apollo turned his head and glared at them the best he could. He figured compared to Nico’s patented glare his was pretty weak, but would do.

            “Umm" Nico hummed nervously "what was that?”

            “Sorry” Will apologized “I’m in the locker room after practice.”

            “Right you’re still grounded.” Nico remembered “No phone privileges.” The son of Hades let out a long sigh. “You’re in a room full of half-naked guys and you think of me, I guess that’s a good thing.” he stated sounding unhappy.

            Will smirked even though he knew he shouldn’t. “Nico Di Angelo, is that jealousy I hear in your voice?” He probably shouldn’t have been happy about that but he was. So often in their relationship Will was the jealous one. He found it reassuring to think Nico was capable of that emotion too.

            “No, of course not.” Nico replied in a neutral tone. Or, more accurately, in his fake neutral tone. Will could always tell the difference between that and the real thing.  “But it helps that I’m picturing them all as being really ugly.” Nico stated. 

Will heard talking in the distance on Nico’s end of the call. “Will, one second.” he stated before shouting away from the phone. “Austin, you’re confusing reality and porn again.” 

Will couldn't make out Austin's retort but figured it was along the lines of all his other comments. Nico growled “Go spread your filth elsewhere and stop listening to my conversation!” 

There was a long pause before Nico spoke again, this time to Will. “Sorry, but he really should come with a triple X warning.”

            “I know” Will agreed with a laugh. “A few years ago me and Kayla made him t-shirts.”

            Nico let out one of his small musical laughs before speaking in a whisper. “Speaking of triple X,” Will noted how his boyfriend's voice had dropped an octave. “I sent you a birthday present. It should be there by now.”

            “Really?” Will perked up at the thought “How triple X are we talking?” 

“Will” Dean snickered “Should we leave? Is this conversation going to get triple X?”

            Will flipped his cousin off again but otherwise ignored him. On the other end of the line Nico laughed “Think ‘ _you’re really lucky I love_ ’ level triple X.” He responded.

            “You are the best boyfriend, to ever boyfriend in the history of boyfriends.” Will declared happily. His mind already trying to imagine what it could possibly be. The son of Apollo knew what he wanted it to be, picture of the naked variety, but he didn't want to assume.

            Nico sighed heavily. “I wouldn’t go that far.” he stated and if Will didn’t know better he would have said Nico sounded guilty.

            Will tilted his head to one side confused “Everything alright?” He asked his boyfriend sincerely.

            “Yeah” Nico replied weakly.

            “You sure?” Will questioned with increased concern.

            “Yeah” Nico repeated, although he still didn’t sound sure of that. “I guess I’m just tired. Helping out in the infirmary is harder than you make it look.”

There was the sound of someone talking. Nico groaned before shouting into the distance. “No I haven’t Austin! Now, will you stop eavesdropping on my conversation and make yourself useful for once.” 

Nico sighed before returning to talk to Will “If I killed him, you’d forgive me right?”

            “Only if you bring him back” Will stated playfully. The son of Apollo found himself both amused and annoyed at the strange friendship that had developed between his boyfriend and his half-brother. He was glad Nico was making friends, and he trusted Austin to watch after Nico. The son of Hades was probably the one guy at camp his brother  _wouldn't_  hit on. But Will was having an increasingly difficult time seeing it as a good thing when Austin kept interrupting their private conversation.

            Nico sighed “That sounds like too much work.”

            Will laughed a little “Well, I should probably let you go.” He stated reluctantly but the thought of what might be waiting for him at home cheered him up.  He smirked “Need to get home and get the mail.”

            “You are so, so lucky I love you” Nico informed him.

            “I know” Will acknowledged before adding in a whisper. “I love you too.” Will ignored the chorus of mocking awws issued by his nearby teammates.

            “Call me later if you can” Nico encouraged. His soft voice taking on a wistful quality.

            “I will” Will promised before hanging up.

            “Dude, you’re so whipped!” Felix declared with a grin.

            “At least tell me he got you something good for your birthday?” Dean asked “You know, like a car. Otherwise, what’s the point of having a rich boyfriend?”

            “Whoa, the boyfriend’s rich?” Wash asked surprised.

            “Oh yeah!” Dean replied with a vigorous nod.

            “He’s not that rich.” Will insisted as he turned his attentions to the contents of his locker. He began to shove his belonging into his gym bag.

            “He’s fly all the way to Tennessee to get laid just to fly back the next morning rich.” Dean declared “That’s pretty rich.”

            “Seriously, who is this guy?” Watts exclaimed.

            Will grabbed his gym bag before slinging it over his shoulder. “He’s amazing” Will replied simply. He pushed his locker closed “See you guys tomorrow.”

            “Hey, whoa” Dean protested “we’re going to get something to eat, aren’t you coming?”

            “I’m grounded, remember?” Will reminded before leaving. 

            After what had to be the longest birthday dinner in history, Will took the stairs two at a time up to his room. The son of Apollo shut the door behind him, a thick envelope in his hands. He was eager for privacy so he could open it and discover its contents. 

If Will was honest dinner had actually gone pretty well. He was no longer grounded, and his mom had said Nico could come visit for a week in November. That was all great but it was hard to focus when there was a large envelop sitting on the table. Nico’s neat hand-writing scrolled across the front taunting him. Its contains were still unknown but promised to be triple X in nature. 

            Will had spent most of the meal very deliberately not thinking about what Nico could have sent him. But now that he was alone, Will could only think of one thing it could possibly be- pictures. He struggled to rip open the seal because his hands were shaking out of excitement. When he finally managed, he pulled out a stack of thick paper all paper clipped together. Will could tell from the feel that the paper was thick and glossy photo paper. Only the top sheet was different, looking like regular stationary. Across the paper a note was written in Nico's handwriting:

 

            Will,

                        I hate that I can’t be with you on your birthday.

                        I hope this makes up for my absence.

                        Also, I think this proves that you are a very bad influence on me.

Happy Birthday.

 

Love,

            Nico

 

            Will grinned as he read his boyfriend's note. Carefully, Will pulled off the paperclip and set it along with the note aside. The son of Apollo sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of what had been underneath. “Oh, I have the best boyfriend ever!” He declared out loud even though no one was around to hear him. That was probably for best considering. 

Will’s eyes slowly ran other the first picture. Leave it to Nico, Will thought. Nico didn’t just send Will a naked picture, he sent him five artistically shot naked pictures. After a quick glance at through the stack Will found each one more arousing then the last. Honestly, between the quality of the photography and the fact Nico was built like a model, the pictures looked more like art then porn. 

Will walked over to his bed and sat down without any real thought. Reluctantly, he set aside what had to be the best birthday gift ever and striped out of his t-shirt and jeans. Once in nothing but his boxers Will snatched up the pictures for closer examination. He laid back on his bed making himself comfortable. He was completely ready to take full advantage of his boyfriend’s generous gift.

Will could blame a lot of things for way he didn't notice it right away. There was his excitement at Nico’s unexpected gift, and his sexual deprivation for starters. But once he did notice the stylized black sun tattooed on the left side of Nico’s chest was impossible. Groaning, Will set aside the pictures and rolled over on his bed. He grabbed his cell phone off the bedside table and pulled up Nico’s number up from his contact list and hit send.

On the second ring Nico answered. “Hey, I wasn’t sure if you would be able to call” he greeted excitedly, or at least as excitedly as the son of Hades got. His voice dropped as he added “Did you get my present?”

“I did” Will stated trying to sound neutral. If the son of Apollo was being honest he didn't know how to feel. He definitely loved the gift, and knew doing that couldn't have been easy for Nico. He wanted to be appreciative but the new tattoo was a problem. They had had a deal, which Nico had already broken once. No more tattoos unless Will was there. The simple fact was the son of Hades didn't respond to medical treatments like other demigods. Will didn't even want to think what would have happen if the thing had gotten infected. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

“Notice what?” Nico asked innocently on the other end of the line.

“You got another tattoo” Will explained flatly. 

Nico let out a little laugh “Oh  _that_.”

“Yes that!” Will exclaimed surprised at Nico’s light reaction. Nico didn't even sound apologetic. Honestly, he sounded like he had just plain forgotten about the whole thing. “You promised not to get anymore tattoos without me being there.” Will reminded firmly.

“Yeah, but you didn’t seem to mind the last time” Nico commented playfully.

“Nico!” Will said his boyfriend’s name disapprovingly. “We hadn’t had sex in over a month, and you were sitting on my bed shirtless. All the blood in my body was pretty much flowing south at that point”

“And it isn’t now?” Nico replied dryly.

“That is not the point!” Will tried to speak forcefully but it came out a little weak. He glazed downwards at his own erection which was making difficult to maintain his claim on the higher ground in this argument. “Is there anything else I don’t know about?” He asked resigned.  

“Will I…” Nico started and then paused before letting out a heavy sigh. “It’s your birthday, everything’s fine.” He stated. Will found the qualifier to be a bit concerning.

“That’s not what….” Will started but Nico cut him off.

“Honestly Will" Nico started. "I only got another tattoo because Austin wanted one and Mitchell wouldn’t go with him. Apparently, he's afraid of needles.” Nico explained. "But I should have at least told you." He admitted "I'm sorry about that."

“You know you can walk in to a tattoo parlor without actually getting a tattoo, right?” Will asked. He meant to sound disapprovingly but it came out playful. At this point Will recognized that he wasn’t all that mad. Now all he really was doing was pouting, but he had thought he earned the right. Glancing at the photos next to him on the bed, Will had to admit he liked that tattoo.

 “I’m aware.” he responded “but I’m just not good at it.” Nic let out a little laugh which was music to Will's ears. “You’re always pointing out I lack self-control when it comes to certain things. I guess this is one of them.”

“You should probably work on that.” Will commented trying and failing to sound dejected. He could felt a smile tugging at his lips- he really could not stay mad at Nico.

“It’s never seemed to bother you before” Nico noted teasingly.

“Well usually your selective lack of self-control involved nakedness, sweating, and lots of moaning.” Will’s couldn’t help but think about the last time he had seen Nico. Or, at least before Dean had ruined everything. Nico on his hands and knees, quivering with arousal under Will. The son of Hades whining and whimpering with every touch. It was a tragedy they hadn’t gotten to see that moment through to what would have no doubt been a spectacular end. Will did his best to push that thought aside and remind himself he was trying to make a point. “Not having a bunch of ink coated needles shot repeatedly into your skin to make a pretty picture.”

“You think it’s pretty?” Nico asked playfully.

Will sighed “There is no way I win this, is there?”

There was a hum on the other end as Nico pretended to give the question before he chuckled. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.” Nico stated suggestively.

“You know” Will grinned with pride “I remember when you would blush when we kissed, even if no one was around.” Nico really had come a long way since they had started dating

Nico laughed softly but it quickly turned into a sigh. “I wish I was with you tonight.” He stated. The longing in his voice matching the longing in Will's heart.

Will sighed. Truer words could not be spoken, he thought. Hearing Nico say what he was feeling should have made him feel bonded to him to spite the distance between them. Or maybe it should have depress him. Instead, it made Will feel strangely emboldened. Will let his hand slide down his own body as he took a shake-y breath “Gods Nic, if you were here I would kiss…”

“Will” Nico spoke his name with finality. Will recognized the tone for what it was, a warning. As far as Nico had come, Will still knew the reason Nico got skidish at Will’s more risqué suggests, like phone sex. Not only had Nico grown up in the 1930s, but he was also raised Roman Catholic. Will knew he was really lucky Nico was as open about sex as he was. Normally, Will didn't push, he might have nudged, but never pushed. Like with the pictures, Nico usually would come to things in his own time and in his own way.

“Nic” Will tried to sound reassuring but his voice came out more huskily then he intended. “You don’t have to do or say anything, just listen.” he promised before adding desperately “please just listen.”

He heard Nico suck in a breath as a response but said nothing. Will slowly pressed the fingertips under his waistband as he spoke. “Gods, I just want to kiss down your body.” he declared as his fingers grazed his own member as he tried to imagine it. His lips leaving a trail of kisses on Nico's pale skin. “I want to run my tongue over every one of your scars” Will loved Nico’s scars, that made him seem real. Nico’s body was perfection. The son of Hades muscular and tone, his facial features were practically ethereal. It was his scars that reminded Will Nico was real. They reminded him Nico was strong, and he was flawed and he was beautiful.

On the other end of the line Will heard a sharp intake of breath and Nico whimper “Will.”             

Will took himself in his hand and started slowly stroking. “Nico I want to touch you. I  _need_  to touch you-  _everywhere._ ” Will moaned. The son of Apollo wasn't sure if his arousal the result of the simulation he was providing himself, or the mere thought of exploring his boyfriend’s body. “with my hands, with my lips, with my tongue.”

“Non dovremmo!” Nico proclaimed on the other end. He whimpered again before pleading “Si prega, qualunque cosa tu faccia, non si fermano!”

Will started moving his hand with more conviction. Beads of pre-cum began to leak from his erection and on to his own hand increasing the slick. “Nic, I need to feel you under me.” They had spent so many nights in each other’s embrace that it didn’t take much for Will to conjure up a sense memory. The feel of Nico’s muscular thighs wrapped around Will’s waist as Will worked within him. The way Nico dug his short nails in to Will’s back. The way the son of Hades always threw his head back and moaned with abandonment as he neared orgasm. “I need to feel myself inside you.” The thought of pressing into Nico’s tight passage. The mere memory of warmth and the heat of him caused the son of Apollo to moan.

 “Will!” Nico cried “Lo voglio. Ti voglio. Voglio sentirti dentro di me.”

The heat pooling in Will's gut, the need for release, was making everything unbearable. The fact that Nico was whining and crying in Italian wasn’t helping. The thought of Nico alone in cabin thirteen touching himself was definitely not helping. “I need to feel you cum under me.” Will whimpered as he felt himself hanging dangerously close the edge of his own pleasure. “Nico” he demanded “I need you to cum for me!”

“Wwwwiiiiilllll” Nico screamed on the other end and Will knew Nico had climaxed. The son of Hades always managed to turn Will’s one syllable name into a five syllable word as he orgasmed.

Still stroking himself desperately Will thought about Nico alone in his cabin. He wondered if Nico had finished just his hand working up and down his erection or if he had been bond enough to finger his entrance. That thought, that image, was what pushed Will over the edge. He made a mess in his hand and on his stomach crying for his boyfriend “Nic!”

There was just singing nerve and panting for a long time before rational thought returned. Once it did, Will rather clumsily held his phone pressed between his shoulder and his cheek. He reached for the tissues on his night stand and removed several. He did his best to clean his fluids off his hands and stomach as he spoke “Nico, you alright?” He asked concerned. Now that it was done Will felt a little guilty. Nico hadn’t expressly given permission and now Will felt like he had taken advantage in some way.

It took a long time for Nico to issue a response “Huh?” he asked breathlessly.

“You alright?” Will repeated tossing the soiled tissues in his hands toward the waste basket.

Again there was a long pause before Nico replied sounding slightly more composed. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

 “I just….” Will started and then rethought. Sometimes it could be a challenge to find the most appropriate words to use with Nico “We just….” Will let out a frustrated sigh before trying again “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

Will heard a sound from the other end of the line that sounded both dismissive and amused before Nico spoke. “Will, if I don’t want to do something you really can’t make me.” There was an expectant silence but Will didn’t know what to say so he stayed silent and waited. “If I didn’t want to, I would have hung up.” Nico declared firmly. Will was reminded that his boyfriend could be described as a lot of things but weak was not one of them.

“Sorry,” Will managed with a weak smile. “this whole long distance is having a weird effect on my brain.” he explained with a small grin. “every time I think of how beautiful you are. How angelic you look I fall into this flawed mindset where your frail and need protecting.”

“Will, I know over a dozen ways to kill you with just my thumb” Nico retorted dryly.

“I know,” Will reassured because he knew his boyfriend could kick his ass about a hundred different ways (and he kind of liked it that way). “like I said, this long distance thing is affecting me.”

            There was a long sigh on the other end of the line before Nico spoke. “Me too” he acknowledged “honestly, Will I don’t know how much more I can take.”  

            It was Will’s turn to sigh, he understood what Nico was saying. Will had been feeling that way since he had returned to Tennessee. He remembered when he first got home and how he had struggled to sleep. It had taken him three days to realize the problem. Every time he reached out in the night and didn’t find Nico he would be jolted awake. He wasn’t used to sleeping alone. What made it worse, it hadn’t gotten better with time, he still reached out for Nico in the night. “I guess you’ll just have to come visit for Thanksgiving then.” Will declared.

            “What?” Nico asked confused.

            “My mom has invited you to come visit for the week of Thanksgiving if you want.” Will clarified before adding “and I would really like it too.”

            “Is Thanksgiving that weird American holiday in November that is just a giant eating contest with turkey?” Nico asked reminding Will that his boyfriend had not grown up in the states.

            Will laughed a little. “Yeah, that’s the one” he agreed “but you should love it. It’s a holiday dedicated to smothering most of what you eat in gravy.”

            “I do like gravy.” Nico acknowledged.

            “Well, there you go.” Will replied with a smile.

            “Will” Nico spoke and Will could hear the tenderness in his boyfriend’s voice. “You’re there and that’s enough for me.”

            “That’s so romantic” Will declared only partially teasing.

            “Don’t tell anyone” Nico replied jokingly “I have a reputation to uphold.”

            “Your secret’s safe with me pretty boy” Will laughed. Reluctantly he added “I should probably go”

            “Yeah me too,” Nico grumbled before adding softly “Night Will, love you”

            “Love you Nico” Will sighed before ending the call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much happens in this chapter I don't even know where to begin.
> 
> 1) I apparently really like writing chapters where people are on the phone and a third party is commenting but can't be heard by the narrator (like Austin in this chapter). There are more chapters where this happens just so you know.
> 
> 2) Nico and Austin's exchange is going to be in outtakes because it's funny.
> 
> 3) All those times Will thinks Nico sounds guilty (he does) or like he is hiding something (he is).
> 
> 4) Will finally gets his pictures!
> 
> 5) Nico isn't trying to be a dick by getting more tattoos he really just isn't thinking. And Will is being a little overprotective on the whole thing.
> 
> 6) As someone how was born and raised in America, I think it's time we all have a serious conversation about Thanksgiving. It is a seriously weird holiday. Last year my mother made 12 different pies, there were only four people at dinner. That's three pies per person. That's a lot of Fu*k pie, especially since Dean Winchester was not one of the four people. I'm just putting that out there.
> 
> I think that about covers it. Thanks for your patience and sticking with me. I hope you enjoy, and don't forget comments and kudos are always appreciated.


	12. Sons of the Big Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Wow after writing the last chapter I felt like I needed a vacation because it had just been so difficult. I honestly was a little frightened that this chapter would be the same way but it was the exact opposite- thing pretty much wrote itself.
> 
> And I kind of love it. I know a whole lot doesn't happen but it's laying the ground work for later stuff and it's just fun.
> 
> As always I love comments and kudos, they are like my air.
> 
> I'm still taking requests for Outtakes chapters so let me know if you want to see something. If you don't tell me I can't promise you'll see it.
> 
> Requests and prompts also accepted at delta-roseblr.tumblr.com

Jason glared at his math homework with frustration. He was the son of Jupiter, he had lead the fifth cohort, fought titans and giants and a primordial goddess- and yet he was being bested by a triangle. He glanced toward the clock he saw the time, 3:46, and groaned. Percy was supposed to iris message fifteen minutes ago. Percy Jackson was going to have perpetually late written on his tombstone. Jason wondered how Annabeth put up with it.

Tossing his math book aside, Jason climbed off his bed and walked out into the hall. He heading to the nearest bathroom grumbling about Percy. He wasn’t going to wait around all day for the son of Poseidon to remember he was supposed to message. Before getting things in place to send his iris message, Jason was careful to make sure he shut and locked the bathroom door. Piper’s dad was back from shooting his movie. While he and Piper were currently out of the house, Jason didn’t want to risk Mr. McLean accidentally walking in on an iris message in progress.

It wasn’t the first iris message Jason had sent from the McLean house. Since he was still supervising the building of several temples, and shrines at both camps he used iris messages quite a bit. He had the whole thing down to a science. In no more than two minutes a blurry image began to form and clarify in the rainbow mist.

Percy appeared from the chest up, he was shirtless. Jason thought maybe he understood how Annabeth put up with Percy. The son of Poseidon was definitely easy to look at. Percy looked seriously focused on something just past the screen for a split second. Then he noticed the iris message, and then he just looked surprised. “Jason, man, what the Hades?” He exclaimed. The demigod seemed to fumble rather frantically. Then there was a loud clasping sound that Jason recognized as a laptop being slammed shut.

Jason sighed, looked up at the ceiling, and pinched the bridge of his nose viciously. “Bro, please tell me you were not just…..” the first phrase that came to mind was ‘touching yourself’. He couldn’t bring himself to say that, so he went with something slightly more tolerable. “watching porn?”

“Sure” Percy agreed “I’d be lying but sure.”

“Don’t you live with your fiancé?” Jason asked annoyed.

“Annabeth’s at class! I was bored, sue me.” Percy defended with little sign of shame. “And I got to say, I wish porn was a little more realistic. There is no way I could get my leg over another guy’s shoulder like that. There is just no way that’s humanly possible.”

Jason groaned for two reasons. One being, he was pretty sure he knew what video Percy was watching. The thought that he and Percy had the same taste in adult entertainment was just weird. The second being that thanks to an awkward event of Will, Jason now knew that Nico could actually do that. “Yeah, I thought that too,” he stated, wishing he didn't have this knowledge. “but apparently it is.”

“Piper?” Percy asked curiously.

“No,” Jason sighed mournfully. “Will really does overshare.”

“Nico!?!” Percy said with a mix of surprise and respect. “Wow," he whistled "Will’s a lucky guy.”

“Can we  _not_  talk about our friend’s sex life or porn?” Jason asked hopefully.

Percy laughed “Yeah, sure whatever you want Grace”

“So?” Jason asked “You were the one who said we  _had_ to IM, remember?”

“Oh right.” Percy shrugged and Jason figured he had forgotten. He also wished the son of Poseidon would put on a shirt. It was distracting to talk to him when he was shirtless. “Do you think we can do like a three-way iris message, ‘cause we need Nico too.”

“I don’t know” Jason thought about it. Iris messaging was a Greek thing so Jason hadn’t grown up with it. “I guess we could try but he’s probably in the infirmary, so it might just be easier to call and put him on speaker.”

“He’ll have his phone on him?” Percy asked skeptically. Jason found it funny that was the part Percy questioned. Not Nico in the infirmary, because that strange event had become so common it didn’t even raise an eyebrow anymore.

Jason pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and talked as he found Nico’s contact information. “Yeah he’ll have it,” he explained as he hit the send button. “Ever since he and Will had that fight and Nico refused to answer his phone for three days he feels guilty. So he always has his phone just in case.”

Jason turned on his speaker phone. It issued three loud rings before a very cheery voice that was definitely  _not_  Nico answered. “Nico Di Angelo’s phone sex hotline. This is Austin, how may I service you today?”

Percy laughed out loud and Jason stared at the phone in his hand in shock and horror. He gaped at the thing overtaken by a complete loss for words. Eventually Jason managed a weak and confused “Uuummm….”

On the other end of line there was a commotion and then Jason made out Nico’s voice. “Gods, you’re a public menace!” He shouted exasperated at Austin “And that could have been your brother!” There was a heavy sigh before Nico acknowledged them. “Sorry, hi. Who is this?”

“Ah, Jason,” The son of Jupiter responded. He was still shell shocked from the highly unconventional why Nico’s phone had been answered. “and Percy, I guess.”

“Hey” Percy greeted.

“Hey guys” Nico greeted “sorry about Austin.” 

Jason heard someone talking on the other end of the line and then Nico groaned and shouted at the other person. “Yes I do and no, absolutely not!”

Jason and Percy exchanged curious look. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, what’s up?” Nico replied easily. 

There was more talking in the background on Nico’s end of the call and the son of Hades huffed “Oh eat me!” he shouted at someone on his end of the call. 

There was more talking on the other end and Nico groaned “Sorry Jason, just a second.” He declared. The background noise then seemed to get louder, like Nico had pulled the phone away from his ear.

Jason could still make out what the son of Hades was saying, although it was faint. “Cecil, cover your ears.” Nico ordered and then paused for a moment before shouting. “Well so’s your brother!”

There was silence for a long moment and then Nico returned sounding triumphant. “Sorry, but I think that took care of that.”

“Bro” Percy exclaimed looking offended. “You’ve replaced us!” he stated “I’m hurt.”

“What?” Nico asked sounding confused.

“You’re bro cheating with Austin and Cecil” Percy explained sounding hurt. Percy looked at Jason for backup “Dude, do you believe this?”

“I’m fine with it,” Jason shrugged “as long as Austin never answers your phone like that again.”

“That I can promise” Nico replied.

“Fine” Percy sighed. “I guess you’re allowed to have other friends but I expect you to drop them like dirty laundry when I come in to town.”

“Sure Percy” Nico replied although he was clearly just humoring him.

“Alright, now that’s out of the way.” Jason saw a wicked grin began to spread across Percy’s face that told him the son of Poseidon was up to no good. “So Nico are you like double jointed, or do you do yoga? Because I would probably hurt myself if I tried to get my leg up and over….”

 “Percy!” Jason exclaimed cutting Percy off with a sharp look as well as his words. “That is one of the two topics we agreed we were no longer talking about.”

“What  _are_  we talking about?” Nico asked sounding slightly annoyed.

“Nothing” Jason replied quickly.

“Your ability to contort your body like a porn-star.” Percy replied with a grin.

“I…what….I….no!” Nico replied sounding flustered “Where….why….where would you get that idea!?!”

“Sorry” Jason winced sympathetically “that's kind of my fault.”

“And where did  _you_  get that idea!?!” Nico shouted apparently giving up on being flustered and went with being angry instead.

“It’s a long story but Will might have let slip.” Jason responded wincing again and waiting for more of Nico’s anger.

Instead, Nico let out a long sigh “Will really needs to stop oversharing.” He declared sounding resigned. “It was one time, and it’s really not as difficult or fun as it looks.” Nico explained a defense.

Percy snickered and Jason felt a mix of revulsion. He felt repulsed, because he still had no desire to hear about Nico, his little brother’s sex life. And he felt confusion because he couldn’t see how that information was accurate. That position looked pretty difficult and seriously fun. “Why am I even telling you this? It’s none of your business” Nico huffed indigently “How do you even know about that Jason?” Nico asked curiously before it dawned on him. “Oh wait, is this about that the time Will walked in on you watching porn?”

Percy let out a loud laugh and stared at Jason, clearly amused. Jason’s face burned with embarrassment and he groaned “He told you about that?”

“Will tells me everything.” Nico replied with a shrug “So please tell me you didn’t call to discuss my sex life.”

Jason was happy for the opportunity for a change of topic. Unfortunately, he couldn’t really take advantage. He had no idea why Percy had asked for this three-way conversation. He looked at Percy’s face on the mist screen expectantly. Percy looked back at him confused for a minute before recognition spread across his face. “Right, that’s me!” he declared “so now that Annabeth and I have told our parents about the engagement….”

 “You mean you told your mom?” Jason corrected.

“Actually, I told his mom” Nico corrected.

“Whatever” Percy hissed before getting back on track. “Now that is out of the way, I want to do a bro’s weekend.”

“Do you mean a bachelor party?” Jason asked.

“I am not going to a bachelor party.” Nico declared

 There was the sound of talking on Nico's end of the call that Jason couldn’t make out. Then Nico groaned loudly “no one cares” he told someone.

“You’re coming” Percy responded firmly “It will be fun.” He insisted. The expression on Percy’s face told Jason that the demigod had a bit more in mind than just fun. “I’m thinking Thanksgiving.”

“Aren’t you supposed to have dinner with your mom and Annabeth’s dad on Thanksgiving?” Jason questioned.

“That on Thanksgiving proper, which is on Thursday.” Percy shook his head disappointedly. “Dude, I expect this from Nico, but you’re American, you should know this stuff.” Jason shrugged. They didn’t really have a lot of Thanksgivings when he was a part of the Roman Legion. “That still leaves Friday through Sunday for wildness to ensue.”

“You think your bachelor party should last an entire weekend?” Jason asked skeptically.

“Hell yes!” Percy declared. “I’m Percy Jackson, I’ve help save the world twice! I deserve a weekend long bachelor party!”

Jason couldn’t really help but laugh. “I guess you’re right” he shrugged “I can do Thanksgiving.”

“Perfect!” Percy exclaimed excitedly “This is  _so_  happening!”

“This is  _so_  not” Nico commented dryly “I have plans.”

“Bro, I’m getting married” Percy stressed “change your plans!”

“Can’t” Nico stated firmly “I’m going to Tennessee to see Will.” on the other end of the line Nico took in a shuttered breath “I  _need_  to go see Will.”

“That desperate to get laid?” Percy chuckled teasingly. “Or is that when you’re finally going to tell him about your new job?”

“Dude,” Jason stated worriedly. “You can  _not_  wait until November to tell Will you’ve been modeling.”

“I’m going to tell him!” Nico groaned.

“Will and I are friends.” Jason stated insistently. “We actually talk and it’s starting to make me really uncomfortable keeping this from him.” he sighed “Honestly bro, I have started avoiding his phone calls so I wouldn’t have to keep lying to him.”

“I.AM.GOING.TO.TELL.HIM.” Nico growled through clinched teeth.

“Dude, it’s been like a month.” Percy pointed out skeptically. Jason shared the sentiment. Nico had been saying he was going to tell Will since he and Percy had found out and it still hadn’t happened.

“I am going to tell him!” Nico whined insistently. Jason got the frightening impression that Nico was trying to convince himself as much as them. “You just don’t understand, it’s complicated.”

“Your possessive boyfriend is going freak when he finds out you posed practically naked in front of a bunk of strangers.” Percy summarized “That’s not all that complicated.”

“You don’t get it!” Nico hissed, the sound of his boots on a wood floor was easily heard. “You’ve never seen Will angry! He gets all stern….. and commanding and….. it’s very ……. _confusing_.” Nico let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m going to tell him. I’m just waiting for the right time.”

“Nico” Jason hissed a protest “I really hate lying.”

“Oh shut up Jason!” Nico hissed angrily “You lie to people all the time!”

“I do not!” Jason retorted offended.

“Oh really?” Nico stated triumphantly. “So all the friends you’ve made at school and Piper’s dad know you’re the demigod son of a Jupiter, king of the gods?”

“Well no…” Jason started to defend, because that was a very different situation.

“That’s what I thought.” Nico stated declaring it a closed matter before sighing. “I AM going to tell him, I swear.”

“You might want to hurry up” Percy noted “because it’s only going to be worse if Will finds out on his own.”

Nico laughed. “Luckily Will isn’t much for high end man’s fashion magazines, so I don’t think I need to worry about that.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Jason casually noting Percy is attractive – I agree Jason.
> 
> -I seriously love inappropriate Austin in the back of Nico’s phone calls
> 
> -Nico is mixing up his words. He said confusing but clearly meant arousing.
> 
> -Nico’s last line is pretty much like when some idiot in a movie says “I think we’re out of the woods” and then there is all sorts of warning alarms and flashing lights and everything gets crazy. Probably shouldn’t have said that Nico.


	13. Discoveries and Iris Messages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's up, Bitches? (Sorry I've been watching too much Supernatural lately).
> 
> Anyways, I decided to post early today (well, early where I am).
> 
> This chapter is a bit of a beast. I went to edit yesterday, and I was like it should only take 20 minutes and then I opened it in word and saw it was 13 pages long and was like I need coffee.
> 
> My live has a weird symmetry that way- Whenever I'm working on a really long chapter, it's time to post a really long chapter.
> 
> Oh there are mild references to smut sprinkled in there. Just FYI
> 
> That said I Fu*king love this chapter and the Fanart at the end.
> 
> Fanart is not mine! It was made by the lovely and talented Meg at pathetic-megy.tumblr.com. If you like it as much as I do please go show the girl some love because she is seriously amazing.
> 
> Also thanks to Bailci for bringing us together.
> 
> Alright now I will let you enjoy the chapter.

            Practice had been especially grueling. Will desperately wanted to slump in a chair at the cafe and sip tea. He was fine with the idea of sitting around listening to his four friends... Well three friends and Felix, talk about pointless things. Will doubted he was the only one who felt that way. He watched Dean lazily pointed at their usual table before shuffling toward it.

Will followed his cousin. He was about to drop unceremoniously into a chair when Wash’s voice stopped him. “Oh yeah” Wash looked at the table critically “we’re going to need a bigger table.”

            Will started between Wash and Watts. Both of guys looked exceedingly guilty. Will figured that couldn’t mean anything good. “Why?” he asked suspiciously.

            “Well, we’re not all going to fit.” Watts explained “You know, when Ruby and Nora get here.”

Will, Dean, and Felix all had similar reactions: Dean groaned, Felix grumbled something that sounded like “you’ve got to be kidding me” and Will just whined “Noooooo”. Ruby and Nora where Wash and Watts’ girlfriends. Wash and Watts were pretty close friends so it hadn’t really surprised Will when they started dating two girls that were practically inseparable. It wasn’t unusual to find the four of them together. The only exception was after practice when they all went got coffee without the girls. Or at least that how it had been until recently.

            “What’s the big deal?” Wash asked moving toward a larger table.

            “This is no chick time!” Felix exclaimed. “It’s bad enough we have to watch Dean’s pathetic attempts to pick up our waitress.”

            “Hey, I’m laying the ground work!” Dean defended taking a seat at the larger table. “That takes time.”

            “Come on!” Watts reasoned “Nora and Ruby are great.”

            “That is so not the point” Will grumbled slumping into a seat of his own.

            “Hey!” Wash exclaimed looked a bit offended in Will’s direction “You get along with Ruby and Nora.”

            “I did,” Will stated with a glare aimed in Wash and Watts’ direction. He knew it wasn’t as effective as Nico’s patented son of Hades glare but it was something. Maybe he should have Nico teach him “but then you two told them I’m gay. Now they are intolerable.”

            “They’re just trying to be supportive.” Watts stated.

            “They asked me to go shopping” Will declared with repulsion “I  _hate_  shopping.”

            “Alright, that is kinda bad,” Wash agreed with a wince. Will thought it was more than a ‘kinda bad’. “but they can’t help it.”

            “It’s a girl thing” Watts added.

            “Right after girls get over the wanting a pony phase, they move on to wanting a gay best friend.” Wash explained.

            “That’s fine” Will declared “they can keep looking.”

            “What?” Dean asked amused “You don’t want to go shopping and talk fashion?”

            “No, thank you.” Will replied with a sarcastic smile in his cousin's direction.

            “Dude, you’re kind of a bad gay” Felix observed.

            “Because I’m not a walking stereotype?” Will asked amused “I’m shockingly okay with that.”

            Their waitress came, and much to Dean’s disappointment, it wasn’t Molly. She took their drink orders quickly. Will was impressed with how quick the whole process went when Dean wasn’t trying to flirt. 

Ruby and Nora arrived a few minutes later giggling and whispering to one another. When they acted like that it reminded Will of the nymphs and naiads (and some of the Aphrodite girls) at camp. In reality the two girls were nothing like that. Ruby was more like Rachel Elizabeth Dare, at least personality wise. Nora, on the other hand, was like Annabeth Chase’s dark haired twin, she was certainly smart enough to be.

            “Hi all!” Ruby declared with an excited wave. She slapped a thick fashion magazine on the table as she took a seat next to Wash “Sorry we’re late.” she declared.

            “Had to stop at the store and pick something up.” Nora added. Both girls exchanged a knowing look and giggled. Will still didn’t get why girls did that.

            Watts groaned “Not him again.”

            “Sorry” Nora shrugged “but he’s just  _so_  pretty.”

            Wash and Watts both looked so dejected. Will found it more than a little amusing. He probably should have felt bad about that but considering the situation he didn’t. “Who are we talking about?” he asked curiously.

            “Oh there’s this model.” Ruby replied excitedly.

            “An  _underwear_  model” Wash corrected sounding less than thrilled.

            “He’s high end!” Nora justified “He only works for this one designer, J. Bellomi, out of New York I think. Well, I mean Will” She gestured at the son of Apollo “You know who he is, right?”

            “Yeah Will” Dean barely contained a smirk “You know about fashion designers, right?”

            Will really wished he could glare with the cold heat that Nico could muster. Unfortunately, he knew he couldn’t, so he settled for kicking Dean under the table. Dean hissed at the contact but continued to grin. “Fashion isn’t really my thing.” he stated through clinched teeth.

            “It doesn’t really matter.” Ruby waved them off “What matters is he is absolutely gorgeous.”

            “You know it’s such a double standard.” Watts pointed out. “If we” he gestured around the table “sat here and gashed over some bikini clad Victoria’s Secret model you would call us pigs.”

Will couldn’t help but make a face at the thought and Dean snickered into his coffee “How did we not know you were gay?” Will kicked Dean under the table again.

“Oh that’s totally different.” Nora explained, “Those women aren’t even real, they are photoshop and lighting.” She stated. “They perpetuate an unrealistic standard of beauty for women.”

“And this guy isn’t photoshop and lighting?” Wash asked offended.

“Absolutely not!” Ruby replied matching her boyfriend’s offended tone “He has scars and tattoos.”

“He’s art” Nora summed up before adding while shooting Will a knowing look “and I bet Will would agree.”

“Models really aren’t my type.” Will stated sipping on his coffee “but I do like tattoos.”

“Seriously?” Felix eyed him skeptically “Does the rich playboy boyfriend know you’re into ink?”

“Nico has tattoos.” Will answered, “two…..no three of them.” The stylized sun on Nico’s chest wasn’t completely real to him yet. It wouldn’t be until he got to run his fingers over the decorated flesh. Two more weeks he reminded himself silently.

“The more I learn” Watts shook his head absently “the more confused I get.”

“Aren’t guys with tattoos so hot!?!” Nora asked excitedly as Ruby began flipping through the magazine she had set on the table. Will smirked and nodded his agreement. Nico certainly looked good with some art.

Ruby seemed to find what she was looking for. she turned the magazine so it was face up to Will’s side of the table before holding it up as she talked. “Will, tell me he’s not gorgeous?”

The picture looked like any of the dozens of overly artistic ads you see in magazines and on billboards, and on TV. The colors were smoky, and the background was indistinct and minimalistic. This ad featured four different models. Each posed in their own panel wearing nothing but tight fitting briefs.

Will’s jaw practically hit the table when his eyes zeroed in on the person Ruby was pointing at. The model standing in the panel furthest to the right of the page. He was doing that model thing where he looked off with a pouty expression. He stood in noting but black briefs that left little to the imagination. The angle accented his sharp features, pronounced cheekbones, and large eyes. His dark hair had been carefully styled to look messy. His lack of clothing exposed well-toned arms and chest from years of sword fighting.

Will figured Nora and Ruby would be disappointed to know that someone had airbrushed his scars. Not completely, but they had been softened significantly. No one had touched his tattoo, the bow and arrow visible on his left thigh. Will knew that bow and arrow just like he knew every visible scar. After all he had spent more than a few nights mapping out each one’s exist with his hands, and his lips and his tongue.   

Next to him Dean coughed and it sound suspiciously like a laugh to Will. “Will, that looks a lot like…?” he started.

Dean’s voice snapped Will out of his state of shock. He reached out and pulled the magazine out of Ruby’s hand roughly. He shut it quickly, and held it defensively against his chest. “No” he declared loudly.

“Hey!” Ruby protested.

“Dude, seriously was that…?” Dean grinned wildly.

“No” Will declared before Dean could finish his sentence. Will didn’t know which emotion to focus on at the moment. On one hand there was the panic at the thought of his friends seeing his boyfriend practically naked. On the other hand there was the anger he felt. Apparently, Nico had taken up underwear modeling and had forgot to mention it.

 “Oh my god!” Dean exclaimed excitedly “It is!”

“It is what?” Felix asked “Want to fill the rest of us in?”

Will shot Dean a pleading look, pulling the magazine more tightly against his chest. Dean just grinned “Dude, one of the models is totally Will’s boyfriend.”

“What!?!” Chorused everyone around the table. Will whined at the overwhelming embarrassment and dropped his head.

Nora reached down and produced an identical magazine to the one Will was clinching. She started flipping through the pages as she spoke “Please tell me not the one on the far right.”

“The really pouty one?” Dean asked as Nora stopped flipping “Yup, that’s definitely Will’s boyfriend.”

There was a lot of excited chatter around the table as Nora passed her copy of the magazine around. Will couldn’t take the embarrassment, he let his head fall to the table with a soft bang “This is the worst day ever. Of all time.”

“How can you be sure?” Will heard Wash ask Dean doubtfully.

“Dude, he is probably wearing  _more_  clothes in this picture then when I met him.” Dean explained gleefully “Then I'm pretty sure he was just wearing Will’s sheets.”

Will groaned against the table “I can’t believe Nico did this.”

“Solace, do you actually hear yourself right now?” Felix asked sounding annoyed which Will felt was misplaced. After all, Felix’s boyfriend hadn’t done softcore porn behind his back. “You’re like the guy that complains he has too much money or is too attractive.” he stated. “You can honestly say your  _banging_  an  _underwear_  model. So stop complaining you’re making us mere mortals feel bad.”

“Will, so like is he fully gay?” Ruby inquired ignoring Felix's little soliloquy. “Or is he like bi? Or maybe like….what’s it called when their attracted to people based more one the person and less about their gender?”

“Pan” Nora supplied.

“Yeah, that!” Ruby commented “Is he pan?”

“He’s gay” Will answered his forehead still pressed against the wood table. Both girls whined with disappointment.

“Alright, follow up question.” Watts chimed in “Are you sure you're gay, and not just bi with a preference for kind of androgynous pretty boys?” 

 “Oh my god!” Dean exclaimed excitedly. “I asked the exact same thing!” Will pushed himself up from the table to glare at his cousin. Dean shrugged at him unaffected “Well, I did.”

“I’m definitely gay.” Will answered. The son of Apollo realized this was going to be a long awkward conversation.

As his friends chattered around him Will resisted to call Nico right then and there. He didn’t want to fight in public even on the phone, and there was definitely going to be a fight. He didn’t call Nico as soon as he got home either. He knew Nico would be doing stuff around camp so he waited until their normal time.

It had felt like an eternity had passed as Will waited. He went about his life largely on autopilot. Will knew if he stopped to think about anything real he would have to think about what Nico had done. And thinking about  _that_  would cause the emotions he was carefully not feeling overwhelm him. 

When the time finally came Will grabbed his cellphone and stared at it. This wasn’t something he wanted to talk about over the phone. Over the phone he couldn’t even see Nico, couldn’t gauge his reactions. For the first time ever, Will got why Nico was so quick to go to shadow travel. If Will had an ability like that he would most certainly have used it in this situation.

Unfortunately, shadow-travel was not an option for Will. Letting out a resigned sigh Will discarded his cell phone. He retrieved the small bag of Drachmas he kept in his emergency supplies and heading toward the bathroom. Will had sent an iris message from his bedroom before but it had been rather messy. The giant wet spot on his floor had been hard to explain (‘I dropped a glass of water mom, I swear’). He figured the bathroom would be a better option.

Still, Will rarely sent IMs from his house because of his mother’s rules, so he wasn’t really practiced. It ended up taking close to twenty minutes. He had about a dozen failed attempts at making a rainbow before he finally managed one. After taking a moment to stare at his newly made rainbow with pride Will tossed in a drachma. He muttered out the appropriate prayer to Iris. “Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering.” the coin disappeared into the mist “Nico Di Angelo, Camp Half-Blood”

The rainbow itself rippled slightly before the image of a dark room began to appear. Nico appeared contorted on his bunk reading a book. The position looked wildly uncomfortable but as a model Nico was probably used to it, Will thought. That thought caused feeling Will had been working hard to suppress to start forcing their way to the surface. 

Nico was sitting on his bunk wearing nothing but a pair of black sweats. Will didn't know how he did that considering cabin thirteen must have been freezing. The green light of the torches flickered in the background. Their constant shifting light accented the olive undertones of Nico’s skin. It also casted long shadows that accentuated the dips and curves of tone muscles. Will really wished Nico was wearing a shirt. His shirtlessness was distracting Will from his righteous anger.

“Hey” Will called out the greeting.

Nico’s dark eyes glanced upward before he visibly jumped “Will!” Nico exclaimed surprised. He took a breath “What? I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to call." Nico explained before giving him a curious look. "Why an Iris message?”

Will bit back his initial response because he really wanted to yell but he knew better. “Nico is there something you should tell me?” His voice came out more stony then Will had intended but there was really nothing he could do about that.

Nico eyed him critically for a long moment before he huffed and crossed his hands over his chest “Who told you?” he asked and if Will didn’t know better he would have said he was pouting “Let me guess, Jason.”

Will gapped. Nico was definitely pouting like he was the victim in all of this. “No!” Will corrected. He no longer cared if his tone was harsh “Actually, a couple of my friends’ girlfriends are big fan,.” he stated before adding “they were very disappointed to find out you are gay.”

“Oh” Nico shifted and now looked slightly nervous “so you saw…..”

“Yes, I saw!” Will shouted “Gods Nic, how could you do this? It’s practically pornography!”

Nico smirked. Will couldn’t believe he actually had the nerve to smirk “You said you wanted pictures.”

“Are you really being a smart ass right now?” Will asked unamused “You did porn!”

Nico groaned and rolled his eyes “Can you not call it porn, you sound like Hazel.”

“There are pictures of you practically naked!” Will growled with frustration. “What am I supposed to call it?”

“Modeling” Nico stated plainly.

 “ _Seriously_!” Will was not having an argument about what to call what Nico did. That wasn't the problem, what Nico actually did was the problem. “How could you do this without even talking to me first? How could you just assume I would be okay with this?”

Fire ignited behind Nico’s eyes. “I was really mad at you!” Nico shouted “I didn’t want to talk to you! I knew it would bother you, that’s why I did it! To upset you!” Nico’s face remained set in an expression frustration but he looked away from the screen.

“What?” Will couldn’t completely wrap his mind around what Nico had just said.

“It was when we weren’t talking." Nico began the heat mostly gone from his voice. "and I wanted to do something that would upset you because…I was mad and I was hurt and maybe I was being a little petty.” Nico took a deep breath. The tension drained from his small frame as his shoulders slumped. “And then we made up and I didn’t want to ruin things. I kept trying to find the right time to tell you…but….well, I knew you would overreact.”

“Overreact?” Will growled. He was  _not_  overreacting if anything he was underreacting. “You just don’t get it!”

“Then explain it to me!” Nico replied a little heat returning. “Because I want to understand Will, but I just don’t see why it’s such a big deal.”

“I don’t know if you can.” Will sighed feeling a little defeated “How can you really, you  _never_  get jealous.”

Nico blinked hard a few times “You don’t think I get jealous?” he asked like the mere concept made no sense to him.

“You don’t” Will retorted sharply “ _ever_.”

“Will I’m jealous all the time.” Nico explained like he was shocked Will didn’t already know. “I’m jealous of your friends. How easily you get along with people. How all of camp looks up to you. I’m jealous of your mom and all your siblings at camp.” Nico exhaled “I’m jealous of how you are out in the world doing normal things like playing soccer, and going to a normal high school.” A sad sort of smile tugged at the side of Nico’s lips. “Will, I’m even jealous that you got grounded because it’s a normal teen experience I’m never going to have.”

“Nico..” Will started.

“Will I agreed to help Percy teach over the summer as a distraction from all the time you spent in the infirmary.” The son of Hades admitted. “It drove me crazy, but what kind of person would I be if I said something about it when you were helping people.”

Will was stunned by his boyfriend's confession because he had truly never suspected any of it. But he still felt hollow and angry and betrayed “Nico those things aren’t the same.”

“Will, I don’t get jealous at the thought of you with other guys because I can’t.” he sighed heavily as he looked away from the mist screen. “I can’t think about it because I know if I did….if I let myself go down that road….. Think of a scenario, a person, that you could want more than me... No matter how unlikely it seems…..” Nico paused and Will watched thinking how small his boyfriend looked. Nico reached across his own chest and gripped his bicep like he was trying to physically hold himself together. “I know if I thought about it for even a second it would cripple me.”

Will felt like he had been hit by a ton of bricks. He desperately wanted to be able to reach through the mist and be able to touch Nico. He wanted to let his touch act as a reassurance. He wanted to run his finger gently over his pale cheek, his soft pink lips. Will wanted to kiss him softly and take him in his arms. He wanted to make love to Nico- not have sex, not fuck- make love, long and slow. He wanted to show Nico there was no person Will want anyone, love anyone more than he wanted and loved Nico. “Nic…” Will stated with every intention of asking Nico to shadow-travel to him  _now_.

Nico looked back at the screen looking both vulnerable and somehow guilty. “Do you remember that guy?” He let out a heavy sigh “You know the one that was hitting on you Fourth of July?”

Ja, Will remembered him more than he would have liked. Will still had never told Nico that Ja had kissed him a year earlier. He had avoided it because if he told Nico about that then he would have had to tell him the whole story. That meant telling Nico why he had pulled away from the attractive demigod. And worse yet, why he had been so drunk in the first place. Will preferred Nico  _not_  know about any of that. ‘I was in love with you before you knew I existed’ just came out creepy no matter how you tried to spin it. 

Will had also never told Nico what Ja had been suggesting before Nico had shown up either. Will didn’t know how Nico would have handled that information. The son of Hebe had offered himself up as an enthusiastic participate for a threesome if Will and Nico were ever interest. As Ja put it “You (Will) have the body of a god and the son of Hades has such pouty lips he probably can do amazing things with his mouth.” 

Will assumed none of that was the reason Nico was bringing it up so he carefully pushed that information down. “Yeah?”

 “When I saw you two …together….I could tell right away you weren’t interested in him. Still the way he looked at you, I didn’t like it.” Nico squirmed uncomfortably. “So I  _may_  have done some….  _stuff_ … to express my displeasure at his ….  _inappropriate interest_  in you…” Nico looked off the screen far to his right. The last bit was so muffled in was a miracle Will was able to understand it. “for the rest of the summer.”

“Like what stuff?” Will couldn’t imagine what Nico would have done but secretly he was excited to know. The idea of Nico acting out of jealousy was thrilling.

Nico sighed and his shoulders slumped. He clearly had been hoping Will wouldn’t ask for details. “You know,” Nico started rubbing at the back of his neck nervously. “summoning bones to trip him as he walked around camp. Encouraging ghosts to haunt the Hebe cabin and move around his belongings. Replacing things like his comb or his toothbrush with random bones. Placing a fully articulated skeleton in his bed…..stuff like that.”

Will was in a state of disbelief, Nico had seemed so …. casual about the whole thing at the time, and then they had sex, and Will hadn’t gave Ja a second thought. “You….did all that?” Will asked in disbelief.

“Will” Nico groaned throwing up his hands in frustration “I’m not proud of it! I know I pretty much tortured a fellow camper for close to two months because he  _failed_ to flirt with you but…..but…..”

“But I’m yours.” Will finished Nico’s thought. Will knew that feeling and the expression on Nico’s face. He had seen it on himself more than once.

“Yeah” Nico acknowledged resigned.

“Nico, that’s how I feel when I get jealous,” Will stated. “and now I have to find a way to deal with fact that you have made masturbatory material for gay teens across the U.S.”

Nico winced “Actually, that ad campaign is international.” he corrected.

“Of course it is.” Will replied with thick sarcasm.

“Will, there is nothing I can do to change what I have done” Nico stated “But if you want me to, I’ll stop modeling.”

 “Wait, this wasn’t a one-time thing?” Will asked with a growing sense of dread. He hadn’t thought about that; he had just assumed. Although now he realized it couldn’t have been a one-time thing. The way Ruby and Nora acted like it was a new ad but they had seen Nico before.

“It started that way.” Nico admitted with a pained expression. He looked like he was suddenly uncomfortable in his own skin. “I was just doing a favor for Mitchell because I owed him but then I guess his dad liked my look and….”

Will sighed heavily “I’m kind of afraid to ask but how many ads are we talking about here?”

“Um, I’ve done two or three additional photo shoots” Nico replied. “and they can get around three ads from a single shoot so that….”

“Twelve ads, I can do the math” Will replied pinching his nose viciously.

“At a minimum” Nico corrected before reiterating “but I’ll stop if you want, just say the word."

“Do you like it?” Will couldn’t possibly imagine Nico being comfortable posing in front of so many strangers. “Modeling, I mean.”

Nico seemed to give the question some thought. “I don’t know if I like it” Nico stated. “It’s not what I want to do as a career or anything but it’s really easy” Nico smirked. “All I do is put on the clothes they give me and stand around while they take pictures and then the pay absurd amounts of money.”

Will felt a small grin tug at his lips. He knew modeling could actually be a challenging profession but Nico naturally had that build designers liked. Between his sharp features, large eyes, and full lips Nico’s resting facial expression was rather pouty so it probably easy for him. “Nico, I don’t want to stop you from doing something you want to do.” Will couldn’t believe he was saying this much less that he meant it “So if you want to keep modeling I can be cool with it.”

“Will, I don’t want to do something that upsets you.” Nico stated weakly

“Nico, I’m serious” Will declared “If it’s something you want to do, I’m okay with it.”

“Well, since you’re being so understanding” Nico eyed him playfully and smirked. “can I offer a different way of thinking that may be more helpful?”

Will couldn’t think of anything that would make him any more comfortable about the idea. He shrugged. “Sure.”

 “No matter how many guys are thinking about me  _that_  way.” Nico stated his cheeks turning red. “You’re the only one that gets to actually have me.” Nico sighed and squirmed turning redder “Will, you’re the only I can think of that way.” Nico broke eye contact and looked down toward the floor. “The things you do to me” he took a shuttered breath “Will I…..”

“Promise?” Will requested hopefully “Promise it’s only me, that it only can ever be me.”

“I promise.” Nico breathed, his dark eyes looking up to meet Will’s with sincerity.

Will grinned and rubbed at the back of his neck absently. “Well, I guess I can’t really be mad with a reassurance like that.”

Nico grinned “I can’t believe I actually have to tell you that! I thought it’s pretty obvious that I’m yours.”   

Will grinned even wider “I guess, but it’s still nice to hear.” They smiled at each other for a long time until Will started to feel nervous with the silence. He laughed nervously “Is it just me or does it feel like we are missing something here. Like somehow this argument is incomplete?”

Nico laughed “Yeah, of course” he grinned wickedly “Make up sex”

            “Right” Will acknowledged eyeing Nico’s bare chest, suddenly glad Nico was shirtless. “Make-up sex.”

            Nico licked his lips absently. “Just say the word Will,” Nico offered provocatively. “And I’m there.”

            Will opened his mouth to say yes. More specifically to say ‘god yes please shadow-travel into my bedroom right now’ but then he heard the front door open downstairs followed by his mother’s voice shouting up the stairs. “Will, come help me with grocery!”

            Will groaned “Nic I….”

            Nico had climbed up on his knees and was looking at Will pleadingly “Come on Will! I’ll be really quiet. We won’t get caught this time.”

            “Gods Nic, I want to but….”

            “Will!” Nico replied firmly.

            “Just a couple more weeks and then you’ll be here.” Will reminded himself as much as Nico “No shadow travel required.”

            “Will” Nico whined.

            “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” Will assured.

            “Fine” Nico sat back and pouted “But you better.”

            Will grinned “Love you, pretty boy.”

            “Love you too, Sunshine.” Nico replied.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow so much happened in that chapter.
> 
> 1- Yes girls totally want a gay best friend!  
> 2- No where could I find Mitchell's last name so I had to come up with it on my own. If I remember correctly Bellomi is Italian for beauty or beautiful man. Just in case you were wondering.  
> 3- It is totally a double standard that girls can check out male models while when guys do it they come off like pigs. But as a women I'm not going to complain too much because it's one of the few double standards that benefit my gender.  
> 4- Female models do set unrealistic standard of beauty (bitches should eat a cupcake every once and a while).  
> 5- Yes guys with tattoo are hot. Girls with tattoos are hot. Pretty much tattoos are sexy.  
> 6- In case you have forgotten Will's mom is freaked out by all the demigod magic stuff and won't let him use any of it in the house.  
> 7- I think this is the most realistic couple fight I have ever written I'm fucking proud.  
> 8- If you haven't read the Fourth of July one shot, that is where Will and Ja kiss.  
> 9- As I said the art work isn't mine so don't go spreading it around the internet without the artist (pathetic-megy.tumblr.com) permission.
> 
> *The first chapter of outtakes will be up this Wednesday.  
> 5-


	14. When Greeks Build Roman Baths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all,
> 
> So you know who we haven't heard from in a while- Percy Jackson! Lets see what he's up to shell we?
> 
> I know this chapter feels a bit like a useless filler chapter but I swear on my life it is not. There are some subtle hints about things to come in here.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

            It had been one of Percy’s busier days. He had picked up a morning shift at the café, then had three back to back classes. After that he met Reyna and Frank to assist in teaching a class for the first and second cohorts. By the time he was able to stumble back to the apartment he and Annabeth shared he was beyond tired and hungry. To make matters worse he still had homework to do.

            As he pushed open the door he was greeted with the smell of food. His stomach rumbled in anticipation but he was hesitant to get his hopes up. Percy had learned the daughter of Athena had many talents, unfortunately cooking was not one of them. Percy wasn’t one to shy away from danger so he headed straight toward the kitchen. He was prepared to say he wasn’t all that hungry over the grumbling of his empty stomach if he had to.

            Annabeth was sitting at the kitchen table busy at work. Her architecture books and sketches covered the table and littered the floor. The blond herself was hunched over an especially thick, especially old book. After an upside down glance, the book appeared to be about classical Roman construction. “Hey” she greeted without looking up.

            “Hey” Percy returned the greeting. As subtly as he could manage he looked around the cramped kitchen for the source of the amazing food smell. He didn’t see anything, no dirty pots or pans on the stove top, not even a dirty dish in the sink.

            “I brought home a pizza.” Annabeth declared with a smirk even though she hadn’t looked up from her book. “It’s in the oven if you want any, it should still be warm.”

            Percy silently cheered at his good fortune, food that was actually edible. He walked toward the stove as quickly as he could without drawing suspicion. Percy pulled a plate down from the cupboard before opening the stove. There he discovered a large white pizza box from the best place in New Rome. It wasn’t New York pizza but it was still pretty good. 

Percy pulled out two large slices of garlic and tomato pizza and placed them on his plate. He paused to breath in it's delicious scent before moving to take a seat at the kitchen table.

            There wasn’t a clear spot on the table where Percy could safely set down his plate. He knew better than to set his food down on Annabeth’s books. So he balanced his plate in one hand and ate with the other. “Why are you studying…” Percy tilted his head to one side in a better make out what Annabeth was looking at. “Roman bath houses?”

            “Malcolm asked me to.” She replied scribbling on a notebook while still not looking up from her book. “Architecture isn’t exactly his thing” 

            Percy took a large bite of his pizza and savored its cheesy goodness as he chewed. He swallowed the majority before speaking “Why does he care about Roman bath houses?”

            Annabeth sighed and looked up as she set her pen down. “Because they are talking about building one at Camp Half-Blood. Leo and the Hephaestus cabin will be in charge of the mechanics and the Athena cabin the structural design.”

            Percy took another large bite and chewed thoughtfully before asking “Why?”

            Annabeth sighed more loudly “You sound like a toddler” She stated. Percy shrugged as he chewed, knowing Annabeth would explain. “This summer they are officially started the exchange program between the Greek and Roman camps.” The daughter of Athena did in fact explain. “The head counselors thought building a Roman style bath may make the Romans feel more at home. As a show of comradery.”

            Percy nodded as he examined his half-eaten piece of pizza “Guess that makes sense.”

            “You should already know this.” Annabeth informed him plainly.

            “Why?” Percy asked mildly concerned “Did we decide this over the summer? Did I vote on it? Was it my idea?”

            “No, but you just talked to Nico the other day.” she reminded. She looked at Percy like she was explaining the simplest of things.

            “Yeah” The son of Poseidon admitted. He didn't see the connection between Nico and Roman Bath Houses. “So?”

            “Because,” the daughter of Athena spoke like she was speaking to a small child. “It  _was_  Nico’s idea.” She informed. 

Percy shrugged and took a large bite of his pizza, chewing thoughtfully. He guessed that made sense. Out of everyone currently at camp Nico did have the most experience with the Romans. Annabeth shook her disapprovingly “What do you boys talk about?”

            “Typical guy stuff,” He declared. He swallowed his last bite of pizza before picking at the soft crust. “you know trying to pick a date for the big Bros Weekend. Joking about how long Nico can get away with not telling Will he’s an underwear model.” 

Percy could only imagine how Will would handle that bit of information. The son of Apollo was surprisingly quick to jealousy for someone who was otherwise easy going. Still, Percy would have paid money to be there when Will found out. 

“Joking about how Nico is actually an underwear model.” When Percy had met Nico Di Angelo, if someone had told him that geeky and over excited kid would end up an underwear model Percy wouldn’t have believed it. Life really does take strange and unexpected turns. Percy shrugged “Stuff like that”

            Annabeth stared at Percy critically for a long moment. He is familiar with the look his fiance was giving him. He could hear the wheels turning in Annabeth’s mind. Just when he thought she was going to say something the look passed. Her expression softened before she commented off-handedly. “I don’t think any of that is typical guy stuff.”

            “Oh” Percy acknowledged her statement without giving it much thought. He grinned as he remembered the conversation with Nico and Jason. He discarded the crust from his first piece of pizza and picked up his second. “I’m pretty sure Austin tried to hit on Jason from Nico’s end of the call. Nico never would tell us what he’s saying so I can't be sure.” Percy laughed internally at the memory. The look on Jason’s face might have been the funniest thing Percy had seen in a long time.

            Annabeth’s face contorted in slight confusion. Percy took a large bite out of his pizza. “That’s a strange and unexpected friendship.” she declared referring to Nico and Austin.

            Percy nodded in agreement as he swallowed before musing out loud. “I wander if you weren’t such a kickass warrior if Austin would hit on me?”

            Annabeth smirked and titled her head slightly to one side. It was like she was trying see Percy in a different way. “Do you want him to hit on you?”

            “You sound like Piper.” Percy noted. Since returning to California the daughter of Aphrodite had begun taking an psychology class. Now she seemed to think of herself as an amateur counselor. Percy had only spoken to her a few times since then. Each time he had he found himself remembering the time he got sent to the school counselor office for fighting.

            Annabeth genuinely smiled and held up her hand in surrender. “Just curious” she assured.

            Percy eyed his pizza critically as he gave Annabeth’s question serious consideration. “If I was ever going to …… I don’t know….. be with a guy I don’t think Austin would be my type,” Percy shrugged “But it is always nice to feel wanted.”

            “Don’t I make you feel wanted?” Annabeth teased suggestively.

            “Absolutely!” Percy exclaimed dropping the half of slice of pizza in his hands excitedly “Want me now?” The son of Poseidon asked hopefully.

            “After you scarfed down two slices of garlic pizza?” Annabeth asked with an amused laugh. “Not until you brush your teeth.” She informed playfully.

            “Alright” Percy hopped up, out of his seat. He started for the kitchen door. “that will take me all of two minutes.”

            “Well, it can at least wait to we’re finished.” Percy stopped reluctantly and looked at his fiancé confused. Staring at Annabeth Percy thought to himself “ _Wouldn’t that defeat the point?_ ”

            Annabeth’s gray eyes turned stormy as she read the confusion written across Percy’s face. “We had plans tonight, remember?”

            Still frozen in place, half out the kitchen door. Percy wasn’t yet prepared to give up hope for a little fun. “Um?” Was all the son of Poseidon managed. Unsure if it was even safe to admit that he had absolutely no idea what the daughter of Athena was talking about.

            “We were going to pick out a few potential dates for the wedding. So we can talk them over without parents when we are all together next week at Thanksgiving.” Annabeth reminded as she watched Percy closely. She was clearly waiting to see an expression of understanding spread across Percy’s face.

            “Right” Percy declared, vague memories starting to come back to him. Feeling deflated, Percy barely found the energy to lift his feet. He dragged himself back to his chair and dropped himself into his chair  

            “You have at least started packing?” Annabeth asks seriously.

            “Yeah, of course.” Percy lied before quickly trying to change the subject before Annabeth caught on. “So wedding dates, how about the day we first met?” He suggested.

            “Hmm” Annabeth pulled out a notebook from one of her stacks on the table. She opened it to a blank page. “May 23 could work,” She hummed as she wrote “definitely has personal significance. But not the most romantic memory.”

            “Hey, it’s the day we met, how is that not romantic?” He asked defensively.

            “Percy, I wasn’t kidding you really do drool in your sleep.” she replied seriously “How about the summer solstice?” She suggested “The Ancient Greeks believed it to be a sacred day for my mom.”

            “I guess” Percy stated not sounding all that sure. He wasn’t, considering the fact that Athena wasn’t exactly Percy’s number one fan. He didn’t know how the Wisdom Goddess would feel about him marrying her daughter on her sacred day. “How about the date of our first kiss?” Percy suggested.

            Annabeth blinked at him before asking seriously. “You mean the day you caused a volcanic eruption, leaving me to think you were dead. While you were really on a magical island flirting with Calypso, who is now Leo’s girlfriend?”

            “Right” Percy hadn’t really thought about it that way. But now that Annabeth mentioned it, that would make things a bit awkward. That’s why he was surprised to notice Annabeth was still writing it down.

            “How about August 8, 2018?” The daughter of Athena offered thoughtfully before explaining. “Eight is a lucky number in Chinese culture. It indicates prosperity, wealth, success or social status.”

            “We’re not Chinese.” Percy declared although he thought that was more than obvious. “How about when we first started dating?” he retorted.

            “Maybe” Annabeth nodded thoughtfully as she wrote it in her notebook. Once done, she looked up and countered. “What about the winter solstice? It’s supposed to represent a time of rebirth and new beginnings.”

            “Or” Percy reminded. “it represents the day Kronos framed me for stealing Zeus’s lightning bolt.”

            “Which is how we meet.” Annabeth noted “And was the cause of our first quest.”

            “I guess” Percy stated. Technically, he knew Annabeth was right but their first quest wasn’t all happy memories. “What’s the big rush anyways?”

            “There isn’t,” Annabeth shrugged. “but our parents should get a chance to give their input. That will be easier when we are all together.” Annabeth closed the notebook and rested her pen on top of it before looking back up at Percy. “And if we pick a date that is one less thing Piper can pester me about,” She sighed. “The whole mention of a wedding is really making her daughter of Aphrodite show.”

            “If she is that bad now I wonder what she’ll be like when Jason actually proposes.” Percy mused as he picked up his discarded, half-eaten piece of pizza. After examining it absently, he took a large bite.

            Annabeth’s eyes grow wide “Is Jason planning to propose!?!” She asked excitedly. 

            Percy swallowed hard. “No idea.” He declared holds up hands in a sign of surrender. “Not that he’s mentioned.” The son of Poseidon shrugged before adding causally. “If I had to bet, my money’s on Will being the next one to propose.”

            Annabeth nodded in agreement. “That wouldn’t be all that surprising.” she stated “Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if Nico and Will were married before we were”

            “That would probably be in the best interest of their overall health.” Percy joked before taking one last bite of pizza. After he chewed and swallowed he went on. “Get married, slow down a little.” Even as he joked about it Percy hoped the whole idea that you have less sex after marriage was a myth. “Having sex three times a day in crazy, acrobatic positions long term has just got to do damage.” He commented seriously. “At the very least someone’s going to pull something.”

            Annabeth smirked. “You realize you have an unhealthy obsession with Nico and Will’s sex life.”

            “I am not obsessed with their sex life!” Percy was quick to defend himself on this subject. Nico had accused him of the same thing on more than one occasion. “I would take an interest in other things they do if they did anything else.”

            “Right” Annabeth stated skeptically as she made a show of rolling her eyes.

            “Hey, I’m not judging them!” Percy declared as he got out of his chair. He discarded his unwanted pizza crusts in the trash before resting his dirty plate in the sink. He turned so he, again, was facing Annabeth as he leaned against the kitchen counter. “If I was having sex three times a day I probably wouldn't have the energy to do much else either.”

            The daughter of Athena eyed him and Percy felt like one of her drawing. She had the look she would always get when she was trying to solve a complicated structural problem. “I think it’s because you’re curious.” She stated plainly.

            “Damn straight, I’m curious!” Percy replied “I want to know how they have that kind of stamina.”

            “Well, Will does have those Apollo healing abilities.” Annabeth noted “But that’s not what I meant.” she explained “I think you are curious since you finally admitted that you’re bi”

            “You say admitted like I knew and I just wasn’t telling you.” Percy commented “It was a surprise to me too!”

            Annabeth blinked at Percy once and he saw the disbelief on her face. “As I was saying, you came out as being bi but haven’t really explored your interests. So you have become fixated on Nico and Will’s sex life as a kind of vicarious sexual exploration.”

            That was completely ridiculous, Percy thought. “You’re sounding like Piper again” He pointed out

            “Well it is her theory” Annabeth admitted with a shrug. “All I’m saying is maybe you should consider other methods of exploring your interest.” she stated before adding with a smile “I’m sure Nico would appreciate the spotlight off his sex life”

            “Nico doesn’t actually mind.” Percy argued as he tried to figure out what Annabeth meant by ‘explore’ exactly. He had watched gay porn. Actually, he kind of preferred it over the straight stuff.  Percy didn’t intend on telling Annabeth any of that of course. Still, he couldn’t really think of how he could further ‘explore’ his interests. At least not while in a committed relationship. Percy waved off that train of thought as he did the comment about Nico. “We’re bros, and bros talk about that sort of stuff.”

            Annabeth rolls her eyes as she pushed herself out of her own chair. “Whatever you say” she stated, not sounding the least bit of convinced. “I’m going to go shower.” She declared.

          Percy perked up and pushed himself off the counter “Can I join you?”

            With a serious expression Annabeth appeared to genuinely think about it. A playful smile spread across her face. “If you brush your teeth I’ll consider it.” She declared before turning on her heels and starting out of the room with Percy close behind.

                 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have got to say it's been a rough week, and I don't know why. Maybe I'm just getting early seasonal affective disorder (because I live in cloudy as fuck New York). But I literally hate everything I write right now. And I feel like I have beaten the After the War Universe to death. So support/opinions is always helpful left in the comments or at my tumblr- it's you guys that keep me going.
> 
> Okay, so my whiny B*tch moment is over. About this chapter:  
> 1- So I might have already gone over this but when ever I see Piper given a career it is also something like modeling. I love the idea of her taking something one that taps into her emotional intelligence, like psychology. But I may be biased because that's the field I work in.  
> 2- Annabeth is getting to something here. The daughter of Athena always has a plan. But she is just being way to subtle for Percy to figure it out. More to come on that later.  
> 3- Bro's Weekend (aka Percy's bachelor party) just got to know that is going to be crazy.  
> 4- I had to guess on some of the dates discussed because the specific date wasn't given in the books.


	15. Nervous Demigods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello All!
> 
> I'm posting early- by like 12 hours but still.
> 
> First, I want to say I am feeling much more positive this week and thank all of you that sent me love. You all really helped really helped me find my motivation. You are all wonderful and I love you!
> 
> Second, I’m looking for a beta reader for another PJO fanfic I’m working on. I’m working on it slowly around Normal Lives and Outtakes but I want to put the feelers out there, and I figured here is a good place to start. It’s an angsty AU. If your interested let me know at my tumblr account (delta-roseblr).
> 
> One to information about the actual chapter: Minor Smut warning and mentions of pornography- It’s at the beginning, so if you want to skip it you can.

For the record, Jason was not a depraved sexual deviant or anything. He didn’t even watch porn all that often. But with Piper’s dad back from his movie set for the last few weeks it had been impossible to get any real alone time. The whole thing was making Jason realize how little adult supervision they had at camp. He missed that a little.

Jason had gotten back to the McLean house after his track meet he had been pretty excited. He thought Piper’s dad had a meeting with his agent. That, of course meant that he and Piper might actually have a chance for some alone time. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. When he walked in the door Piper and her dad were talking. Apparently, they had made plans to go shopping. They invited Jason to tag along, but he was sweaty and tired so he declined.

As Piper and Tristen got ready to leave Jason adjourned to his room for a little alone time with himself. He shut the door but didn’t bother to lock it because Piper and her dad were leaving the house. Also, the son of Jupiter was ninety-five percent sure that Mr. McLean had made sure the lock on his bedroom didn’t work.

After stripping out of his sweaty track uniform, he snatched the laptop he and Piper shared off the desk. He made himself comfortable on his bed before plopping the device on his lap. He pulled up his preferred site. It was the one Piper had bought him the platinum membership for, and yes it was a gay porn site. He pulled up a video with one of his favorite actors. Who was still his favorite, even after Will made a comment about how he looked like Percy.

Jason didn't remember who his particular preference came up. Still he remembered how the son of Apollo chuckled before commenting “Isn’t that weird?”

“No” Jason didn’t see why it would be, he had already come out as being bisexual “Why would it be?”

“Between the dark hair, the green eyes, and the whole surfer dude aesthetic." Will had pointed out only to continue when it was clear Jason had no idea what he was talking about. "He's practically Percy.” 

Jason still didn’t see it and he certainly wasn’t going to meditate on it now. Once he was comfortably situated the son of Jupiter hit the play button. The video started slowly, which Jason knew to expect that. It was one of those sites that took an artsy approach to porn so every video started with a bit of talking from the stars. Most of the time Jason would just skip past the boring bit this time was no different.

The other actor, who was cute in a jazz musician kind of way, seemed to be taking the more aggressive role. He kissing the surfer dude forcefully as he pushed him back on the bed. The two men on the screen pawed at each other's clothes. They were making quick work of stripping each other. Soon both were in nothing but their tight briefs with clear erections of substantial size. Jason was forced to reposition the laptop because it was restricted the space available for his erection.

 “That looks kind of hot.” Piper noted from behind Jason. He jumped completely startled by her presence. He hadn’t even heard her walk in. She propped herself on the edge of the bed next to him. She eyed the screen curiously for a moment. Jason was too frozen with surprise to pause the movie or shut the computer. “And the one top has a  _seriously_  nice butt.” She declared pointing to the jazz musician.

“Piper I….” Jason began to stammer but was cut off by a pleasured moan form his computer. “What……” the son of Jupiter looked toward the offending sound to discover that both the actors were now completely naked. He groaned as his face burned; Jason slammed the computer shut and tossed it toward the foot of the bed. The embarrassment just kept coming as he realized he was still partially hard. As nonchalantly grabbed one of his pillows and pulled it on his lap “I thought……”

“I couldn’t find my purse, I thought it might be in here.” Piper stated with a grin as she hopped off Jason’s bed and looked around the room for a minute. “There it is.” She declared. She pointing at Jason’s desk chair for a second before pulling her purple handbag off the chair.

“I can explain.” Jason offered weakly.

“You’re watching porn.” Piper declared with a grin. “There really isn’t anything to explain.” she slipped her bag over her shoulder before leaning in to place a small kiss on Jason’s cheek. “Like I said it looked pretty hot.”

“Ummm” Jason stared at her confused.

Piper grinned widened “Maybe later we could watch that together.” she offered provocatively before turning on her heels and stared for the door. She paused at the frame and looked back at Jason over her shoulder “but until then have fun without me.” She stated with a wink before leaving Jason staring about her in stunned silence.

 

Jason took an extra long shower before snagging a snack from the kitchen. Piper and her dad were still not home so Jason returned to his bedroom with the intent of doing some homework. 

He pulled out his math textbook, his calculator, some paper, and a pencil but found he had no motivation. His mind was still stuck on Piper and what she had said. Had she honestly meant she wanted to watch porn with him, Jason wondered.

He grabbed his cell phone and tried Percy first but got his voicemail. Only then did Jason remember that Percy was supposed to be visiting his mom for Thanksgiving. The last time Jason had spoken the son of Poseidon still hadn’t even thought of packing. Knowing Percy, he had probably picked up as many extra shifts at the café as he could to avoid it. Jason would bet serious money that Annabeth ended up packing for him. Unfortunately, all his friends knew Percy too, so no one was taking that bet.

Jason considered calling Nico for a moment but quickly thought better. He and Nico did not talk about sex  _at all_ , and they both liked it that way. Jason certainly wasn’t going to ruin the good thing they had going. 

He couldn’t call Leo because he didn’t have a cell phone. He could always Iris message he thought. He rejected that idea as he still hadn’t recovered from the last time he IMed Leo unannounced.

The son of Jupiter grabbed his phone. He scrolled through his short list of contacts, found Will’s information and pressed send. It rang four or five times before the son of Apollo answered sounding distracted “Hello?”

“Piper walked in on me watching porn,” Jason blurted out in place of an actual greeting. “gay porn”

There was a shuffling sound coming from Will’s end of the line which stopped abruptly. Will paused in contemplation for a second before he chuckled. “Wow, you’ll just let anyone catch you watching porn.” Will stated with amusement “I feel so cheap and used.” The son of Apollo played at being offended but Jason could still hear the enjoyment in his voice.

“If I wanted snark” Jason noted with distaste at the lack of sympathy. “I would have called your boyfriend.”

“Sorry,” Will laughed sounding at least somewhat apologetic. “I guess I’ve caught some of his attitude.”

“I think that goes both ways,” Jason noted. It was now his turn to sound amused. “from what I gather he pretty much runs the infirmary now.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it” Will replied sounding wistful. Jason noticed the rustling sound had returned on Will's end of the call. “Until then I will keep any thought of it tucked away in my mental porn folder.” the son of Apollo stated absently.

Jason groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose “Overshare” he reminded.

Jason got along well with Will. The son of Apollo definitely had a more Greek approach to things. However, his years of running the infirmary had clearly given him a sense of order. As a former leader in the Roman Legion, Jason could appreciate that. Will was definitely a refreshing change from Percy and Leo, both of whom could turn anything into a joke.

The only really downside was Will’s complete lack of a filter when it came to his personal life, specifically his sex live. When Jason and Will had bonded Jason had been forced to find a way of dealing with that quickly. Will seemed to genuinely try. Still, he usually managed to sneak in a few comments about his sex life into the conversation. There were things that Jason did not need to know about anyone, especially Nico. 

It was Piper that had finally suggested the really trick. It was something she had read in one of her psychology textbooks. Anytime Will made a sexual comment, Jason would focus on it being about  _Will’s boyfriend_  instead of  _Nico_. It helped, but Jason still didn’t want to hear it.

“Sorry,” Will offered before changing the topic back to where they had started. “Didn’t you get caught watching porn by your girlfriend?”

“Yeah, but she wasn’t mad or anything.” Jason muttered.

“I figured” Will stated. The background noises on Will’s ended changed. There was now more of a shuffling sound like papers being pushed about. Laced underneath it was a steady rhythm which seemed to be increasing in volume. After a moment Jason recognized the rhythm as the underlying drum beat of a song. “She did buy you a subscription of porn over the summer?”

“Yeah” Jason acknowledged somewhat reluctantly. “But she wants to watch that video with me later, is that weird?” he asked curiously. “Never mind!” Jason quickly corrected. Asking a question like that was inviting Will share something about his own sex life. And once said Jason would never be able to unhear, no matter how hard he tried. “Don’t answer that, I don’t want to know.”

Will laughed and ignored him. “For the record,” he stated matter-of-factly “It’s my understanding it’s a pretty common thing.”

The son of Jupiter groaned “Didn’t I just say I didn’t want to know?”

“Sorry,” The son of Apollo apologized with a snicker “I promise I wasn’t referencing my own sex life.” He offered. Jason almost felt better about it but then Will added. “Nico and I have never needed help getting going, if you know what I mean.”

“Will” Jason complained. That was definitely something he didn’t want to know.

“Sorry,” Will apologized again although he sounded more amused then apologetic. “but you do realize Nico isn’t actually your little brother, right?

“I know.” Jason hissed. He’d had this conversation before and not just with Will but Percy, Piper and even Nico. “It’s just when we became close Nico was  _vulnerable._ ” He was aware that Nico would take serious issue with the wording of that statement. Still, there really wasn’t a better word to describe the Nico di Angelo he had met on the Argo II. “It’s hard not to think of him without remembering…..”

“I guess that’s our difference.” Will sighed. Jason hear a loud creak from Will’s end of the call. It was followed by the repeated and arrhythmic click of metal against metal. “I’ve never thought of Nico as being vulnerable. I have definitely thought of him in a variety of positions…..”

“Dude!” Jason protested as he wondered what he had been thinking calling the son of Apollo.

“Sorry,” Will replied not even trying to sound sincere. “But Nico  _isn’t_ your little brother.”

“Understood.” Jason stated “Still doesn’t mean I want to hear about it.”

The son of Apollo chuckled “Whatever you say Jason”

They were both silent for a moment. From Will’s end of the line there was another loud creak and the sound of a door shutting. The music in the background once again grow louder. Then there was three  _squeak_  sounds that reminded Jason of a spray bottle. Out of curiosity Jason asked “What are you doing anyway?”

“Honestly” Will let out a heavy sigh before declaring “Cleaning”

“What?” Jason asked confused “Why”

“Because I’m nervous” Will muttered.

“About what?” Jason questioned.

“Nico is going to be here in….” he began to explain. “Fuck! Four and a half hours and I’m nervous.” Will stated before adding “I know it makes no sense! Nico has been in my bedroom before. He has seen me completely naked on multiple occasions. We’ve fallen asleep together in the nude more times than I can count.” Will sighed “but here I am nervously cleaning my bedroom.”

Jason pinched his noise. “I’m just going to repress all the parts of that I really didn’t need to know and focus on the important part and ask why?”

“I don’t know” Will replied meekly “What if he doesn’t like my stuff? What if he finds something embarrassing?”

“Did you hide the really embarrassing porn?” Jason joked.

Will chuckled on the other end of the line. “First, I don’t have any really embarrassing porn.” he stated. “Second, after the whole Apollo fiasco I don’t think there is porn that exists that could be more embarrassing then that whole…..thing.” Jason wasn’t sure what ‘Apollo fiasco’ Will was talking about. He knew Apollo had shown up at camp and tried to give Will the sex talk. He got the feeling that wasn’t what Will was referring to. Jason decided to take the safe road and not to ask. “And third, you can’t stand to hear that Nico and I have shared a bed naked but you can make jokes about me having embarrassing porn?” Will questioned amused “Where’s the line man?”

“It’s a constant moving target.” Jason replied with a shrugged.

Will laughed “Kind of like your sexuality?” he teased.

“Hey!” Jason exclaimed trying to sound offended failed through his own laughter.

“Sorry” Will offered even though he was still laughing too. Once the both gained their composure Will asked “So did you ever clean cabin one when Piper would stay over?”

“Honestly,” Jason replied “not really”

“Gods damn it!” Will exclaimed “Be honest, I’m I freaking out for nothing?”

Jason gave the question some thought before asking. “Is Nico staying in your room?”

“I wish.” Will lamented. “My mom’s being pretty cool about everything but not that cool.” he explained “Nico has to sleep on the couch.”

“Yeah, then you’re freaking out over nothing” Jason replied.

“Fuck!” Will hissed “I’m still going to clean.” he declared with finality “It gives me something to do” Jason could relate to that idea. Maybe it was the ADHD but he too always found it near impossible to sit and wait in anticipation. “Otherwise I’m just going to sit here and count the minutes until Nico gets here”

“Percy’s right, you really need to tone it back a bit.” Jason commented “You’re making the rest of us look bad.”

Will seemed to give that idea some thought. “Maybe all of you should just try harder.” The son of Apollo offered before asking thoughtfully “Should I clean my sheets?”

“Are they dirty?” Jason asked.

“Not really” Will stated.

“Then no” Jason offered.

There was a long stretch of silence while the child of Apollo apparently mauled over his whole sheet dilemma. Jason tried to make out the music playing in the background to pass the time. “I’m going to wash them.” Will declared before insisting. “Just to be safe.”

Jason bit back a snicker, he didn’t want to sound like Percy. As much as the idea of Nico, Jason’s adopted little brother, dating and having sex made the son of Jupiter uncomfortable. He couldn’t deny that Nico couldn’t be dating a nicer guy. At least that was one thing Jason didn’t have to worry about.

He heard rustling on the other end of the line. He assumed it was Will stripping his bed of the perfectly clean, yet not clean enough sheets. Unexpectedly, the son of Apollo hissed sharply “Shit.”

“What?” Jason asked curiously.

Will groaned his reply. “Nothing” There were more soft sounds from the other end of the line. A few times Jason thought he heard the son of Apollo mumbling to himself but he couldn’t make out the words. All of a sudden Will exclaimed. “SHIT!” Barely a breath later, before Jason could ask what was wrong Will declared. “ _Got-to-go-Jason-Bye._ ” The line went dead. Jason stared at his phone for a minute wondering what all that had been about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will is just so cute I can't even explain!
> 
> I know I'm the only person who imagines Will and Jason getting along. For some reason it makes a lot of sense to me, so I have made it so.
> 
> As always comments and Kudos are like my air! I live off them, I love them.


	16. Parental Awkwardness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Internet friends,
> 
> I know what your going to say- "But Delta, it's not Sunday" and you would be very correct. So here is the deal I want the Thanksgiving chapters (yes there will be multiple chapters revolving around this weird American holiday) to actually line up with Thanksgiving. Based on the rate I'm posting now that won't happen. Luckily I am far enough ahead that I can do a double post and it's not a problem.
> 
> What does this all mean, Well enjoy this little bit of cuteness now and tune back in tomorrow for more.

            With his magical iphone next to his ear, Will realized he had officially run out of things to clean. Every flat surface in the room had been dusted. His floor had been vacuumed. All his clean clothes had been put away. Will had even stacked his textbooks neatly on his desk. As the Twenty-One Pilots belted out their newest single over his radio Will stared at bed his perfectly made bed critically. “Should I wash my sheets?” He asked the demigod on the other end of the line.

            “Are they dirty?” Jason inquired seriously.

            Will eyed his well-worn comforter. It was made up of a patch work of warm toned squares like a quilt. Every vibrant yellow, red, orange, and white piece were so bright and clean looking they were practically sterile. “Not really.” He admitted reluctantly.

            “Then no” Jason answered his original question simply.

            Will continued to stare at the brightly colored bedding in contemplation. His first thought was of Nico, who was compulsively neat. Will wasn’t sure if that was just part of his boyfriend’s personality or the son of Hades way of coping with PTSD. Bring order to his environment in order to bring order to his chaotic mind. Either way Will wanted Nico to feel comfortable during his stay.

The son of Apollo’s second thought was far less noble but probably closer to his true driving motivation. He could not stay still. Will had figured the long stretches without seeing Nico were going to be the worst part about being home. Now, as the clock ticked down and Nico was almost there it all became unbearable. It was likely the clock ticking down to Nico’s arrival was pushing his ADHD into overdrive. Will felt like if he didn’t keep moving he might actually explode 

            “I’m going to wash them.” Will declared before insisting. “Just to be safe.”

Will pressed his phone between his shoulder and his ear. He started roughly pulling the bedding off his bed. If Will had been paying attention, if he had been in his right mind he would been more cautious but he wasn’t. He gave a fistful of bedding a hard tug to dislodge the fitted sheet from the corner of his mattress. As he did so he dislodged the envelop he had hidden there. It hit the floor sending five gloss photos of a very naked son of Hades spilled across his bedroom floor. “Shit” Will hissed.

            “What?” Jason asked curiously.

            Will tossed his bedding on the floor next to him and got down on his knees to pick up the pictures. “Nothing” he groaned.

            Will just barely registered the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Then his mother’s voice called out as she approached his bedroom “Will”

            “SHIT!” Will exclaimed in panic. He looked down at the pornography spread across his bedroom floor. He knew he had to clean the whole mess up fast. “ _Got-to-go-Jason-Bye_ ” He exclaimed quickly. Thoughtlessly, he hung up and tossed his phone on his bare bed.

            Will wanted to be delicate with the glossy paper. After all they had been Nico’s birthday gift, but there really wasn’t time for that. Still, he managed to get all five pieces of thick photo paper into a sloppy stack. As the sounds of his mother’s footsteps got closer he tried to push the stack back into the original envelope. As much as he tried, he couldn’t manage, the fit was just too tight. 

            His mother’s footsteps stopped. Quickly they were replaced by the sound of the door knob to his bedroom beginning to turn. Desperate, he shoved the stack of photos between his mattress and box spring. He prayed he didn’t do damage to his photos of Nico. He doubted Nico would be willing to make more.

            The pictures were out of sight, just barely when his mother stepped in the room. She looked around curiously before focusing her attention on Will. “What are you doing up here?” She asked. The suspicious tone of her voice made him realize he hadn’t responded to his name when she had called. In hindsight that had probably not the best idea.

            “Um…..” Will shot to his feet. He absently rubbed his hands on the front of his jeans like he was actually trying to whip off the smut. “cleaning?” He replied, unsure of why it came out as a question.

            “Awww darlin’ that’s so sweet.” His mother cooed proudly at him. “I knew I raised you to be a proper southern gentleman.”

            “Yeah, I guess.” Will rubbed at the back of his neck absently to hide the blush creeping up his neck. “I mean, I try”

            The proud look on his mother’s face morphed into something far more serious. It was a ‘don’t even try it with me’ look Will was all too familiar with from his childhood. He was ninety-nine percent sure only women from the south could produce that expression. “Now, whatch hiding?” She asked seriously.

            “What?” Will asked nervously before adding “Nothing!”

            “William, I have eyes.” She declared “Don’t think I didn’t see you hiding something under your bed.”

            Will had really been hoping she hadn’t seen that. He winced “I think we would both be better off if you pretend you didn’t.”

            “If you don’t tell me I’m just gonna come over there and find out for myself.” She stated firmly. Will felt frozen in place and his palms started to sweat from panic. For what felt like an eternity they stared at each other both waiting to see if the other would break. To Will’s surprise it was Naomi that spoke first, asking plainly “Is it porn?”

            Will cringed. There were somethings that just should  _not_  be said in a thick southern accent, porn was one of them. He tried to force his features into a neutral expression. Will didn’t want to show fear, because he could swear his mother could smell it. “If I admit it was porn can we stop talking about this and agree to never speak of it again?” He asked seriously.

            She replied with a small nod before speaking in a similar tone. “If you’re being truthful.”

            Will let that sink in for a moment before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Once he had steeled himself he admitted “I was hiding porn under my bed.”

            “Now see, was that so hard?” His mother asked sounding somewhat amused. She walked further into the room and Will felt the panic began to well up again. She had agreed to stop talking about but she hadn’t said anything about actually letting him keep it, Will realized. Was she going to reach under his bed in order to dispose of whatever smut she may find, he wondered. Oh gods, Will realized, if Nico found out his mom had seen those pictures he would be so mortified. Will couldn’t even imagine what he would do.

            She stopped just short of Will’s bed before crouching down. She gathered up the bedding Will had discarded on the floor. The son of Apollo relaxed and internally sighed with relief. Standing with a bundle of blankets pressed against her side and her hand on her hip. “Honestly, you act like I’ve never seen porn.” she shook her head at him disappointedly “Between your father…”

            “Oh gods, mom!” Will shouted in protest just barely able to suppress a gag.

            Naomi continued as if Will had said nothing. “and teaching high school I’ve seen plenty of porn.” she explained.

            “I really didn’t need to know that” The son of Apollo explained with disgust.

            She smirked as she started for the door pausing at the frame to explain “I’m going to go put these in the wash. You finish up in here then come down stairs.” she stated firmly “I want to have a talk with you before we pick up your friend at the bus station.”

            She turned on her heels and was gone almost as quickly as she had come.  Will wasn’t sure how to feel about the whole situation. On one hand, he was glad she had left. That had been the maximum level of awkward Will could physically take. On the other hand, wanting to talk sounded slightly ominous. It didn’t really matter, because it wasn’t like he had a choice. Will gave his room one last look before turning off his radio and heading downstairs.

            When he got to the kitchen, he could hear his mother toiling away in the laundry room. He took a seat at their small kitchen table and waited. It didn’t take long for his mother to appear and take a seat across from him. “I want to go over the rules for your friend..” She started to explain.

            Will interrupted to correct her “Nico”

            “Yes,” She nodded “Nico’s visit”

            “We’ve already talked about this” Will replied a little confused “I know Nico has to sleep on the couch.”

            “Will, it’s more than that” Naomi stated seriously.

            “Okay” Will said apprehensively. He began to worry, maybe his mom wasn’t as okay with him being gay as she always acted. Or maybe she had only thought she was okay with it. Will could see how that sort of thing could happen. It was one thing to be okay with your son being gay when it was only a hypothetical sense. It was another thing all together to be okay with it when your son’s boyfriend was sleeping on your couch. Will wondered if this whole thing had been a bad idea. Maybe he should have gone to visit Nico at camp instead.

            “I was your age once” She stated clearly laying the ground work for something. “Actually, I wasn’t much older then you when I first met your father.” Will noticed how her eyes stared off and her voice took on a wistful quality. “Apollo was so……”

            Gross, Will thought. Will liked his dad as much as any demigod really could, he guessed. What Will hated was how his mom still talked about him like a love sick teenage. He knew if Apollo showed up at the door his mom would fall head of heels for him all over again. Considering the number of siblings Will had at camp around his age he recognized Apollo was the god of many things but long-term relationships were not one of them. He really wished his mom would get that too and move on. “Mom, can you get to the point without reminiscing about your love affair with dad?” He asked biting back most of his annoyance.

            “Don’t be rude.” His mother chastised.

            Will grumbled “Sorry”

            “What I’m saying is I’m not naive enough to think you two boys aren’t having sex.” She declared.

            “Mom!” Will exclaimed in shock. He had thought they settled this whole topic when she had picked him up from camp at the end of the summer session.

            “What?” His mother asked innocently “It’s not like I can preach about the sins of premarital sex.”

            “Oh gods” Will moaned.

            “That being said, I’m still your mother,” she stated firmly. “Just because I know your sexually active doesn’t mean I want to  _know_  your sexually active.” She explained. “So while Nico is here I expect you both to do what every other self-respecting teenager does.”

            Will had absolutely no idea what his mother was trying to say. “Um?”

            “Sneak around” She clarified. “I’m not foolish enough to think you two won’t have sex while Nico’s here. I do expect you to keep me in the dark about it, understand?”

            Will was behind confused. He understood what his mother was saying, at least the words of it but the meaning had him completely befuddled. It sounded like his mother was giving him permission to have sex with his boyfriend in her house. That just couldn’t be the case. Naomi started at Will expectantly so he mumbled. “Yes ma’am.”

            “Good” Naomi declared patting the table gently with her open palm. “Now, we still have a little time be for we need to get going so why don’t you grab some clean sheets from the linen closet and make up the couch.”

            Will happily took the excuse to escape. He darted from the kitchen and away from any further conversation about his sex live. Something where just not meant to be discussed with one’s own parents.

 

            It was an hour drive into Nashville to pick Nico up at the bus station. After the sex talk, Will had expected the ride to be filled with awkward conversation from which he couldn't escape. To his surprise it wasn’t. The trip was still unbearable. That had more to do with his own impatience and excitement than anything else. 

            His mom was actually pretty fantastic the whole way. She must have picked up on his nerves and spent most of the ride trying to distract him. She asked lots of questions about Nico and what their plans were for his stay. The questions about Nico himself were easy to answer and did make Will feel a little more relaxed. 

            Will wished Nico hadn’t been so stubborn and just flew into Nashville. The airport was that much closer than the bus station but it was ten minutes Will would have happily taken. Nico had absolutely refused to fly, sighting the fact that he was a child of one of the Big Three Gods, and not Zeus. He was not risking the wrath of the king of the gods, he had told Will firmly. 

            It was a seven-and-a-half-hour bus ride from New York to Nashville. Nico had been none too thrilled to hear about when Will had informed him. After that The son of Hades was quick to suggest shadow-travel as a solution. The whole thing almost devolved into a fight. Finally, they had agreed that the bus would just have to do. Will still had a hard time picture Nico crammed on a bus that long.

            As they pulled into the crowded bus station Will barely let the car come to a stop before pushing open his door. He jumping out of the car and practically ran across the parking lot. The son of Apollo tried to remember his manners and wait for his mother although it was a challenge. She clearly was not feeling the same sense of urgency he was. They walked inside the terminal together as quickly as Will could get his mother to move.

            Of course, just Will’s luck, Nico’s bus was coming in at a prime time. The station was just swarming with people. Will had little patience to deal with such things. He quickly discarded his proper southern manners and adopted a more New York approach of moving through the crowds. He pushing his way through the thugs of people milling about in his way without an apology. The method may not have been polite but it certainly was effective. Will found himself moving toward his destination quickly. He lost his mom somewhere along the way but spotted Nico.

            Even though Nico was on the smaller side, he still stood out in a crowd. The son of Hades was onyx and alabaster in a sea of washed out pastels. Then there was the way people tended to move out of his path without being told. It was like even mortals could just sense he was not one who’s way you wanted to be in. 

            Will was so excited just to see him, even from a distance. He stopped in his tracks and shouted “Nic!” as he waved his arms over his head like an excited little kid. The whole display was probably unnecessary. Will realized only after, his was probably one of the taller people in the crowd making him pretty easy to spot.

            Will saw Nico stop and look around for a minute, scanning the crowd, before his dark eyes zeroed in on him. The son of Hades gave a small nod to indicate his recognition before moving again. This time changing his course slightly so he was now heading directly to where Will was standing.

            Will was too impatient to just stand there and wait. He began pushing through the crowd again but this time he is all but running in order to meet Nico half way.

            When they are finally close Will notices Nico’s lips part. Nico probably starting to say something but Will cuts him off by pulling him into a hug. Even with the rather large duffel bag slug over Nico’s shoulder, Will hugs him so tightly he manages to pull Nico’s feet off the floor for a few seconds.

            “Will” Nico hissed a protest. Will wasn’t sure if the complaint was because they were in a public place or simple because Will had picked him up. It really didn’t matter though since Nico returned the hug.

            “Sorry” Will apologized as he reluctantly pulled out of the hug but still kept his hands on Nico’s sides. The son of Apollo was finding himself unwilling to let his boyfriend go completely. “I’m just really excited your actually here.”

            Nico smirked playfully “I could have been here hours ago if…..”

            “Don’t even start” Will warned teasingly. He was too happy to actually have Nico physically there. He wasn't going to let Nico's arrival turn into yet another debate about the merits of shadow travel. 

            Nico readjusted the strap of his duffel bag on his shoulder minutely. Will reflexively reached for it, trying to strip it off Nico’s shoulder. “Here, let me take your bag.” Will offered. The thing looked like it could weigh more than Nico.

            “I’ve got it.” Nico replied casually. He was holding the strap in place firmly, preventing Will from just taking it.

            “Come on, it’s probably heavy.” Will stated insistently “Let me help.” The son of Apollo offered. He made a second attempt to pull the thing off his stubborn boyfriend’s shoulder.

            Nico pulled his shoulder back slightly out of Will’s immediate grasp. “Solace, do I  _look_  like a damsel in distress to you?” he asked.

            “No” Will replied. 

            “Then let me carry my own bags.” Nico insisted.

            Will huffed and went to argue but his mother’s voice cut through the crowd behind him. “William Solace, I know I raised you better then to run off without a warning and without waiting.” She exclaimed as she finally caught up to Will. Stopping at his side the fire in her expression faded as she spied Nico. She immediately flipped a switch, Will could almost see it. She went from annoyed mother, to kindly southern women in an instant. “You must be Nico.” She declared happily “Hello there darlin’”

            “Um yeah” Nico replied looking extremely uncomfortable and unsure. Will’s first thought was how Nico always looked so cute when he was flustered like that. The second was more of a memory. Nico really hadn’t had much experience with non-demigods since he was eleven. That made Will feel a little guilty. He should have probably at least warned him about his mom ahead of time, she could be a bit much. “Nice to meet you Ms. Solace” Nico muttered barely at an audible level as he started down at his shoes.

            “Aw hon, this is the south” Will’s mother declared in a welcoming matter. She was apparently completely unphased by Nico’s general shyness. 

            Before Nico could notice or Will could stop her, Naomi pulled the son of Hades into hug. Will could see Nico visibly tense with surprised at the unexpected contact. Will mentally chided himself for letting it happen. He should have at least gone over some ground rules with his mom- like no touching. 

            “We hug here” She declared as she released Nico so she could better examine him. Nico, for his part looked completely bewildered but didn’t make a run for it. Will knew Nico well enough to know that it had probably crossed his mind. “And you shouldn’t hide that pretty face looking down at your feet like that.” His mom stated patting Nico lightly on the cheek. “It’s practically angelic, don’t you agree Will?”

            Nico’s face reddened and Will had to work hard to stop from laughing. Not that he found Nico being uncomfortable funny. It was just that his boyfriend, the underwear model, still had a hard time believing anyone could find him attractive. Anytime anyone commented on his looks Nico would turn scarlet. Will grinned and nodded fervently in his agreement “Absolutely”

            Nico squirmed and muttered “Thank you Ms. Solace.” Will could tell Nico was working hard not to look down at his shoes bashfully.

            “Sweetheart, you call me Naomi.” his mother insisted “Only my students call me Ms. Solace.” Officially done welcoming Nico, his mother turned on him with a stern expression. “Will help the boy with his bag, it looks heavier then him.” Will caught the edge of disapproval in her voice. He could tell she was thinking she should not have to tell Will these things. If she only knew he had already tried.

            Will ignored his mother’s tone and turned on Nico grinning “Sure.” He declared holding out his hand expectantly. For a moment Nico just stared at him and Will thought Nico might actually protest. Then he sighed and begrudgingly handed over his duffel bag. 

            Will slug Nico’s bag over his shoulder. Once it was comfortably situated he reached over and interlacing his fingers with Nico’s. He hadn’t been sure if Nico would accept the action at all. He at least expected to feel his hand stiffen in his grasp before relaxing but Nico surprised him. The son of Hades clasped his hand tightly. Nico pulled himself close so that as the three of them started back toward the bus station entrance the two of them were walking as closely as they could be managed.

            “Nico, I bet after such a long trip your starving.” Will’s mother stated as she slowly led the way through the now thinning crowd.

            “I’m alright.” Nico mumbled.

            “Nonsense” Naomi declared “I’ll fry up some chicken when we get back to the house.”

            Will caught the bewildered look Nico shot in his direction. “Probably should have warned you about this.” Will snickered as he whispered. “Welcome to the south.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am in love with the idea of the no-nonsense southern women, hence Will's mom.
> 
> Comments and kudos make me smile!
> 
> Come back tomorrow for more on Nico's visit (Cough *Smut* Cough).


	17. Of Nightmares and Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised Double Post!
> 
> Sorry I wanted this up earlier but I forgot how long this chapter was. So yes, long chapter, be prepared.
> 
> SMUT WARNING! I'm serious, there is some serious smut- And I apologize for nothing.

            Will had warned Nico that it was an hour car ride back to his house from the bus station. After spending most of the day spent crammed on a bus Nico had expected that last hour to feel like an eternity. He was surprised to find it was actually relaxing. The son of Hades hadn’t realized tense he was until he saw Will.

Will pushed into the back seat of his mother’s car and sat right next to Nico. Before Ms. Solace started the car, Will slid his hand into Nico’s. Will’s hand was warm and comforting and to Nico it felt like he was coming up for air after months of drowning. His body acted out of reflex, and he let his head come to rest on Will’s shoulder. He heard Will sigh contently before pushing his free hand through Nico’s hair.

            It was only when the car engine turned over that Nico remember they weren’t alone. He stiffened and went to sit up. Will’s mom seemed to sense his tension, even though there was no way she could see him from the drive seat. “Oh, you’re fine hon.” Ms. Solace adjusted the rearview so Nico could see her eyes which were a few shades darker then Will’s. She spoke in her pronounced southern drawl. “I’m a high school teacher. Honestly, it’s nice to see a young couple acting affection instead of just horny.”

            “Mom!” Will protested. Nico could feel his cheeks turn scarlet so he averted his eyes in hopes that Will’s mom wouldn’t notice.

            Country music played softly in the background as they drove. The ride passed surprisingly quickly. Nico and Will held hands and Nico’s head remained on his boyfriend’s shoulder. Occasionally, Ms. Solace would ask him a question or make a comment which Nico would reply to in a sleepy voice.

            Once Nico had adjusted to Will’s mom, he liked her. In some ways she reminded him of Sally Jackson but at the same time was a very different woman. While she seemed kind and accepting she was much more up front then Sally. She, like Sally, was also a wonderful cook. Her fried chicken may have been one of the most delicious things Nico had ever eaten. Even better, he got to watch Will eat an entire meal where nothing had any nutritional value. 

            Every time Nico looked down at his plate and muttered a response to a question. Ms. Solace would tell him to “stop hiding that pretty face your mama worked so hard to make.” The words were always said kindly but there was something about her tone. Nico’s chin reflexively snapped upward.

            When he looked toward his boyfriend with a sense of confusion. Will would was always grin at him. A few times he would just pat his hand sympathetically and say “it’s a southern thing.”

            After dinner, Ms. Solace made sure Nico knew where everything he could possibly need was in the house. The she stationed herself at the kitchen table to grade papers, leaving Nico and Will alone. 

            Nico and Will hung out on the couch in Will’s living room, or as Nico was trying to think of it- his bed for the week. They sat together, their legs intertwined for a long time. They whispering about nothing of real importance for an hour or so before Ms. Solace appeared. She wished Nico a good night and reminded Will to go to bed at a decent time since he had school in the morning.

            Will spent the next ten minutes showering Nico with affection as he said goodnight. Once alone Nico laid in the dark for a while letting his tired mind wonder. It didn’t take as long to drift to sleep as Nico would have thought. The day’s travel had left him surprisingly tired.

            In hindsight, Nico should have been prepared for the nightmare to come. They weren’t always predictable but they often came when he fell asleep early or was especially tired. Unless, of course Will was sleeping next to him. They rarely came when Will was there and were never as intense as they were in his absence.

            He shot awake panting, his lungs burning from the sulfuric heat of Tartarus. He clutched the blankets around him as much as he had the jagged glass earth in his dream. Frantic his eyes searched the inky blackness around him for threats or something familiar. He searched for anything that could help ground him back to reality. For one terrifying moment the place looked completely foreign and the son of Hades didn’t know where he was.

            Panic began to well up in his chest as memories of waking up in the gilded jar swam to the surface of his mind. Nico reached out his hand looking for an anchor into the here. But he didn’t find either of the two things he was looking for: the warmth of Will’s skin, or the cold feeling of his sword.

            His panic worsened and now he struggled to pull in air. His chest burned from the effort and he saw white on the edge of his vision. Nico forced himself to close his eyes. He focused on his breath; pulling in as much air as he could through his nose before pushing it out of his mouth. He focused on one breath and then the next and they started coming easier.

            Nico remembered he was visiting Will’s house in Tennessee. That was why the place seemed foreign. Will wasn’t next to him because Ms. Solace had Nico sleeping on the couch. His sword was absent because it was tucked away in his duffel bag in order to not scare Will’s mom. Nico knew these things were facts, and that he was not actually back in Tartarus or the jar. Even as he reminded himself of these things he still felt like he was teetering on the edge of a panic attack. 

            Nico pushed of the blankets and swung his legs over the edge of couch. He stood up and made his way toward the stairs in the dark. He took the stairs quickly even without turning on a light. As a child of the underworld, Nico had learned to move through the blackness without difficulty.

            The door to Will’s room was at the top of the stairs, and sat ajar. Nico pushed in, wincing as the door creaked. He felt somewhat guilty for breaking Ms. Solace's rules. Will's mom had been so welcoming and the rules she had laid out had seemed pretty reasonable. But Nico knew he couldn't stand to lay in the dark by himself in an unfamiliar place after such an intense nightmare.

            From the little light shining through Will’s bedroom window, Nico could make out Will's form sprawled out on the bed. As the son of Hades moved slowly on to the bed, as not to wake Will, he told himself he would only lay there for a little while. Once the nightmare lost the last of its hold he would go back to sleep on the couch.

            As Nico coaxed a corner of Will’s patchwork comforter over his own body he felt the son of Apollo stir. He looked up toward Will’s face to see his boyfriend’s bright blue eyes blinking open. “Hey you” Will spoke, he voice thick with sleep as a lazy smile spread across his face.

            “Sorry,” Nico apologized in a hushed tone “I didn’t want to wake you.”

            “That’s alright.” Will reassured groggily as he looked at Nico with clear concerned. “Everything okay?”

            “Yeah” Nico replied in a small voice as he moved closer to Will. Their knees touched and Will started run his hand up and down Nico’s arm thoughtlessly. Nico looked down at Will’s chest sheepishly. He didn't want to look him in the eyes when he admitted what had driven him from his sleep. “Just had a bad dream, that’s all.”

            “You sure?” Will asked sounding more alert “Your shaking” He observed.

            Nico had hoped Will wouldn’t notice that or at least that he wouldn’t say anything about it. “I’m fine” The son of Hades insisted.

             “Do you want to talk about it?” Will asked being careful to keep his tone neutral. Nico knew Will was making sure Nico knew it was his choice and Will would accept it either way.

            “No” Nico stated softly, he didn’t think his nightmares were a weight Will needed to bare.

            “Alright” Will agreed softly. Nico turned over so his back was to Will. His boyfriend pulled him close so they were pressed tightly together. Will let an arm come to rest laying over Nico’s waist.

            Pressed tightly together, Nico noticed Will’s hard manhood pressed against his back. He rolled his eyes and snickered. “Seriously Will?”

            “Sorry” Will apologized, sounding sleepy again. “I was having this dream before you woke me.”

            “A dirty dream?” Nico asked curiously. Honestly he liked the idea of talking about something pleasant “Was I in it?” he inquired.

            “You're always in my dirty dreams.” Will admitted with a little laugh.

            Nico felt his cheeks pink although he wasn’t actually all that embarrassed. Nico liked the idea of Will dreaming about him, he found it flattering. “What was it about?”

            Will sighed contently “We were going to make love.”

            Another time Nico would have teased Will for the phrasing but not now. For now, Nico liked the romantic touch of it. Still, he was not going to tell Will that so he replied dismissively. “That doesn’t sound that exciting.”

            “We were in a kind of a naughty place.” Will explained nuzzling close to the nape of Nico’s neck so the son of Hades could feel his warm breath on his skin.

            Nico felt goosebumps spread down his spine in a cold wave. “Where?” he asked trying to hide his own curiosity.

            “The locker room at school.” Will whispered his response. To Nico it sounded like Will was about to fall back asleep.

            Nico didn’t want to keep Will up, he had school in the morning. But he was intrigued “How did that happen?”

            “It was a dream, not bad porno.” Will replied with sleepy amusement. “There wasn’t a whole lot of setup.”

            Nico could still feel Will’s breath on the back of his neck. He could feel the weight of Will’s arm resting atop his hip. Those things were comforts, they made Nico feel safe. Will’s voice was a soft timber, like a lullaby. He wanted to hear more about Will's dream. Partially for the soothing sound of Will’s voice. But also because he genuinely wanted to know more. “Well, how did it start?”

            “You want me to tell you about my dirty dream?” Will asked seeming both unsure and amused.

            “Yeah” Nico replied although this time he felt his cheeks pink with embarrassment. “I mean, if you want to?”

            “Alright,” Will agreed with a chuckle. “from what I remember it started with you kissing me as we kind of stumbled into the locker room.”

            The only experience Nico had with a boy’s locker room had been at Westover Academy. He didn’t know if that was a generalizable experience but he still tried to imagine it. “Oh”

            Will hummed contently. Will's fingers began absently rubbing circles on Nico’s hipbone as he talked. “Yeah, you were gripping my jersey and kissing me kinda roughly. It was like how you would get at camp when you would pull me into your cabin because you were already worked up.”

            “ _Oh_ ” Nico felt embarrassed and was glad in the dark Will couldn't see the emotion on his face. He hadn’t been aware he did anything like that. “Um…” He tried to think of a way to keep Will talking without letting on how interested he was. “So then what?”

            “I pulled off your t-shirt and started kissing your neck.” Will stated, absently before shifted his head. Nico felt the tip of Will’s nose brush against his throat. It was followed by a gust of Will’s hot breath hitting the sensitive skin on the back of his neck. The feeling caused Nico to shiver involuntarily. For a second Nico thought Will was going to demonstrate what happened in the dream by kissing he neck. Nico would have been more than okay with that, but Will didn’t. “You were making these cute little whimpery noises. You always make those noises when your trying not to moan. It was such a turn on.”

            Nico felt his face pink as he bit back a whimper. “I don’t do that.”  Nico protested weakly.

            Will ignored his protest as he continued to describe his dream. Nico felt Will's fingers slide under the hem of Nico’s oversized t-shirt. “Then you pushed me back so you could pull off my jersey.” Will’s hands moved from Nico's sides to his stomach. He pulled Nico more tightly against his chest. “Somehow I ended up with my back against a row of lockers as you kissed and licked down my body.”

            Nico was embarrassingly aware of how Will’s words were affecting him. He could feel his excitement growing between his legs. The son of Hades did his best to ignore it. He was already breaking Mr. Solace's rules by being in bed with Will. He didn't want to show her greater disrespect by letting things get out of hand. He chose to sound playfully dismissive instead “Let me guess, I ended up on my knees?”

            “Mmmm” Will hummed in the affirmative “Gods, the things you can do to me with your mouth! It’s a miracle that I ever manage to last.”

            “Will” Nico protested weakly although he kind of liked hearing Will praise his efforts.

            Will ignored him, and Nico would have sworn he could feel Will’s lips twitch upwards as he spoke. “You kept doing that thing with your tongue that always makes me weak in the knees.” Nico knew exactly what Will was talking about because Will gasped and pulled his hair when Nico did it. “The you started deep throating me.” Will continued. Nico became aware of Will moving his hips, lazily grinding his pelvis up against Nico’s back. It took all the will power Nico had not to arch his back into Will’s motions. “You’re so good at that, I can never manage.” Will commented absently “It feels so fucking amazing.”

            “Will.” Nico protested again although even he wasn’t sure exactly what he was protesting. Will’s entire statement, Will’s language, Will’s motions- Nico had no idea.

            “Sorry” Will apologized but didn’t stop grinding himself against Nico. The son of Hades assumed Will wasn’t apologizing for that. “Anyways, you stopped and I pulled you to your feet.” Will placed the ghost of a kiss on the no-man’s-land between Nico’s shoulder and his neck. “After struggling with your boots a bit I got you out of your pants and briefs.”

            Nico laughed softly “I thought dream sex was supposed to be perfect and easy.” he teased.

            “I’m so used to struggling with your boots” Will sighed “It wouldn’t feel real if I didn’t.”

            The only sound for a moment was there breathing. Both were breathing harder than they had any right to be just lying there like they were. Will were still moving against Nico’s back thoughtlessly. Nico was having an increasingly hard time trying to ignore Will’s hardness. “So we were both naked?”

            “You were naked,” Will corrected “I was still in my cleets, shin guards and high socks.”

            “Oh” Nico found the mental of Will bare except for his soccer foot gear more arousing then he had expected. “Well, then what happened?”

            “We started kissing again,” Will replied contently. “and I picked you up so your legs were wrapped around my waist.” He let out a soft whistle “Gods, you have great legs.”

            Nico felt Will’s nimble fingers slide under the oversized black t-shirt Nico had worn to bed. The son of Apollo’s warm fingers graze the sensitive skin right below Nico’s navel. The son of Hades sucked in a sharp breath before asking. “Then what?”

            “I ended up propping you up on one of the sinks.” Will continued as his fingers slowly pressed under the elastic of Nico’s sweatpants. “Your gorgeous legs still wrapped around me.”

            “Hmm” Nico hummed contently as he listened to Will speak.

            “And the you started sucking and licking two of my fingers as I kissed and bit your neck.” Will paused and sucked in a shuttered breath. “I wrapped my hand around your hard cock and started stroking you.” Will stated. Nico squirmed under Will’s words. He wished Will would do the things he was describing but he wouldn't ask. “I was going slow, didn’t want you to cum yet.”

            Nico was breathing so heavily it would could easily be described as panting. The feeling of Will’s breath on his neck, the way he could feel Will’s lips brush against his skin as he spoke was driving him crazy. “Then what?”

            “Then nothing” Will replied with a sigh “I woke up when you crawled into my bed.”

            “Well that’s…..” Nico let go of a breath he hadn’t realize he had been holding “Disappointing.”

            “Doesn’t have to be.” Will stated as he pulled his hand back. “Nic, roll over.” his voice coming out more huskily than usual.

            Nico shivers at the sound of Will’s commanding tone as he moved, doing as he was told. Will took full advantage of their temporary loss of closeness. The son of Apollo stripped off his pajama and boxers leaving himself completely bare. Nico followed Will’s example, and pushed off his sleep clothes.

            They both laid on their sides facing each other, their legs quickly becoming entangled. Nico let his fingers stroke the well-formed muscles of Will’s chest. Will’s hands ran down Nico’s back possessively “Gods!” Will exclaimed as his eyes roaming over Nico’s naked form hungrily “You look beautiful”

            “Will” Nico whined with embarrassment.

            “Hush” Will insisted. The blonde pressed his lips against Nico’s effectively quieting the son of Hades. Will’s hands ran over Nico’s backside. Nico felt Will grip his muscular cheeks, pulling him closer.

            Nico whimpered at rough treatment but didn’t actually mind. Will’s hand released the grip on Nico’s backside before sliding it down the back of Nico’s legs. Nico managed to stifle a moan but couldn't stop himself from quivering in response to Will’s caress.

            “Oh pretty boy.’” Will sighed. Will sounded pleased as he moved his hand forward running along the front of Nico’s thigh.

            The son of Apollo’s hand came to their erections, all but touching. Will took them both in his large hand. As Will’s skilled hand started to run up and down their shafts, rubbing their firmness together, Nico moaned. “ _Will_ ”

            “You make such pretty noises.” Will praised with a self-satisfied grin plastered across his face. Nico could see the satisfied expression, even in the dark.

            Nico grabbed ahold of Will’s bicep as Will teased them both. No, teasing was not the right word. Will was torturing them going so slowly. It had been so long since they had been together physically Nico couldn’t understand how Will could show such restraint. He needed more,  _now_.

            Nico bit the inside of his cheek hard enough to force his brain to function in English. “ _Please_  tell me you actually have lube this time.” Nico panted.

            Will’s grin widened before he placed a chaste kiss on Nico’s jaw. Nico felt as much as he heard Will whisper against his skin. “Yeah, nightstand.”

            Nico sighed with relief, lube wasn’t his favorite feeling but lotion was awful. Will released Nico’s length from his grip and the son of Hades rolled over on the bed. Rummaging in Will’s nightstand Nico found the brand new bottle of lube easily. 

            Nico turned back to Will and handed over the bottle. He cursed himself as he noticed his hand was shaking with anticipation. Will accepted as he moved his own body closer to Nico’s. The son of Hades watched with dark eyes as Will poured a generous amount into his hand. He shuttered at the sensation of Will taking them both in his hand again.

            The son of Hades whined low in his throat as Will’s hand glided over their shafts effortlessly. It felt so good, but it had been so long Nico didn’t want to go slow. He opened his eyes to look up at Will and found his boyfriend’s eyes closed as he bit his lower lip lightly.

            For a moment, see Will so aroused, gave Nico confidence. He snatched the bottle of lube off the bed where Will had carelessly disposed of it. Finding the cap still off, Nico easily dripped some on his fingers. If Will noticed the action he didn’t show it, as Nico craned his neck upward to kiss Will’s lush lips.

            The son of Apollo moaned softly in response. Nico began sucking Will’s bottom lip as he reached his slicked hand behind himself. Will continued to move his hand along their shafts slowly as he returned Nico’s hungry kisses. 

            Nico’s own thin fingers found the furrowed flesh of his own entrance. The son of Hades nipped at his boyfriend’s kiss-swollen lips as a distraction. The action helped suppress a hiss in response to his own cool touch massaging his puckered rim.

           Nico couldn't hold in the small of sound that spilled from his lips as he felt his cool finger breached himself. He was surprised and confused when Will pulled away from his lips, his eyes wide. The son of Apollo’s hand had stopped working along their erections. After his azure eyes searched Nico’s features for a moment he released them both from his grip.

           Nico felt frozen under Will’s scrutiny, and confused by his retraction. Then he saw the fire-y hungry spread across Will's feature. Before Nico could question it, Will began nipping at the tender flesh of his throat. He tried and failed to stop himself from moaning as Will worked to leave a large love bite on the crock of shoulder.

           Nico had managed to work in the first finger when he heard Will sucked in a sharp breath. Embarrassed, Nico realized Will was gazing over his shoulder, watching him finger himself. “Gods Nico!” Will exclaimed spilling hot breath on Nico’s shoulder. “That is the sexiest thing I have ever seen.”

           Nico could feel his face burn with shame and he went to pull his hand back. The son of Apollo moved like lightening grabbing Nico by the wrist and staying his hand. “Don’t stop” Will commanded in a husky voice. The son of Hades gazed up at his boyfriend through his thick eyelashes unsure. Will met his gaze, his eyes blown wide with pure lust. Will released his wrist and slide his hand over Nico’s hip. Moving his hand between Nico's legs he took his manhood in his hand. Will started to stroke him slowly “Keep going.”  

            Nico’s whole body burned with humiliation but Will’s voice was so commanding. Whenever Will got like that Nico found it so arousing he would do whatever Will asked without thought. Nico repositioned himself slightly to so he could bury his face in Will's broad shoulder. That way Will wouldn't see him blush crimson as he pressed his index finger deeper inside himself.

            Nico gasped softly at the increased intrusion, or at least he thought he did. He couldn’t actually make it out over the sound of Will whimpering. “Oh darlin’” The son of Apollo exclaimed. His southern accent was coming out more thick then Nico had ever heard. 

            The blond placed a series of kisses up from the brunet’s shoulder to the shell of his ear and whispered in a soft voice. “You should add another.” Nico whimpered as he tried to bury his face more deeply into Will’s shoulder. He did as his boyfriend asked, pressing in a second finger.

            Will cooed delightedly. “Perfect darlin’” Nico bit his lip and whined. He still felt a sense of modesty which kept his cheeks colored pink. Will’s hand absently stroking his member kept Nico excited. Will’s praise spoken in such lustful voice made him quiver.

            “Now curl your fingers a little darlin’” Will requested “try to find that spot that…..” Nico knew what Will was suggesting and started to run his fingers along his inner wall. As his fingers ran over the internal rosebud of nerves Nico moaned loudly. “Yum, it’s like you’ve done this before.” Will commented absently.

            The brunet whined and tried to curl closer to Will’s form to hide himself. Nico could feel the blonde’s lips curl into a grin against his shoulder “You have, haven’t you?” Nico whimpered wordlessly as a confession. “Were you at least thinking of me while you did it?” Will asked provocatively.

            “Sempre! Sempre tu Will. Per favore!” The confession came pouring from Nico’s mouth in desperation. Gods, this was one of those times Nico was glad Will didn't speak Italian.

            Now able to work his two fingers easily in and out of himself he went to pull back. As he did so Will again released his length and stayed his hand. Nico whined indignity in response. “Sorry love but it’s been a while since……” Will let the rest of the statement hang in the air unsaid. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

            “ _Will_ ” Nico begged desperately.

            “Nic, add another.” Will commanded.

            Nico nodded as he worked a third finger into himself. Will placed reassuring kisses as he stroked him. The son of Hades whined again when Will released his grip on Nico’s erection. He looked toward the son of Apollo to see him grab the lube off the bed and apply a generous amount to his own hard member.

            Will placed a long, deep kiss on Nico’s lips before declaring “Perfect darlin’.” Quivering, Nico removed his fingers from his entrance, now made open and welcoming. 

            In his lust-filled state he could barely think of anything but how badly he needed Will. Still, the son of Hades made a mental note. He and Will would need to have a serious conversation about Will calling him darlin’ when this was all over. 

            Will placed a soft kiss by Nico’s ear before whispering “Why don’t you lie back and let me take over from here.”

            He did as his boyfriend asked, rolling over to lay flat on his back. Will moves between his legs and pauses to run his fingers delicately over Nico’s inner thighs. The soft touch made Nico shiver and squirm with sensation “Per favore Will! Ho bisogno di sentire te dentro di me! Per favore!” The smaller boy pleaded as he felt a drop of his own pre-cum hit his stomach.

            Will shifting his hips slightly. Nico watched as Will used his hand to line up his own swollen member with Nico’s welcoming entrance. His boyfriend seemed to move impossibly slow. The moment before Will breached him seemed to last forever. Nico could feel Will's hardness pressing against the sensitive entrance. He could do little more than shake with anticipation and try to remember to breath.

            The son of Hades gasped as he felt Will's hardness finally penetrated him, or at least he tried. Any sound he made was swallowed by the son of Apollo as he pressed his lips greedily against Nico’s. He focused on the sound of his own shallow breaths intermingled with Will's ragged gasps. Will worked his length into him slowly. Nico felt the sting of his passage stretching around Will’s girth. He waited for the sting to transform into pure pleasure as it always did.

            Once he was deep as he could go, Will stopped. The blond ran a hand over the smaller boy’s thigh reassuringly. The gentle caress against sensitive skin caused Nico to shiver under Will's touch. The blonde placed a soft kiss on Nico’s collarbone that caused him to shiver more. “Gods” Will panted, his breath hot against Nico’s ear “You feel like perfection.”

            The son of Hades turned his head slightly as he felt his cheeks pink out of modesty again. Will knew saying things like that caused Nico’s whole body to burn with embarrassment. Sometimes Nico would swear he did it on purpose.

            Will playfully nipped at Nico’s jawline before rocking his hips gently. Nico mewed at the shallow thrust and the sensation of Will’s length moving within him. Tiny sparks played behind his lids of his closed eyes. The first small wave of pleasure trickled through his veins. Nico tightened the grip of his legs around Will’s hips. He ran his hands over his boyfriend’s defined shoulders hungrily before letting them come to rest on his biceps.

            The son of Apollo gave a few more testing motions. After each motion, Will paused. Nico knew he was gauging his reaction before settling on a pace. It was by no means fast but every thrust was sharp and deep. 

            Nico tried to say quiet, in the back of his mind he remember they needed to be quiet. He whined and whimpered in time with Will’s movements, biting his lip to hold in the louder cries. The rapidly growing tension in his groin made staying quiet increasingly difficult. Then he felt Will’s warm fingers wrap around the base of his shaft. Even as he bit his lip he could no longer suppress the noise, and a loud moan escaped his lips.

            “Shhhhh” The blond hushed before pressing his lips against Nico. Kissing the brunet hungrily helped muffle the sounds of pleasure escaping his lips.

            Will’s hand started glided up and down Nico’s length in time with the sharp thrusts of his hips. Nico had to give it up to Will’s coordination, or he would if he could think about anything except how good it all felt. How Will managed to maintain the rhythm of his thrusts, the motions his hand, while still kissing Nico roughly was impressive.

            It was also completely unfair. Nico was overwhelmed with sensation; Will’s soft, warm lips against his own. Will’s hand gliding over his still slick length, twisting in all the right places. Will’s hardness dragging over that sensitive bundle of nerves with each thrust. 

            It was too much and Nico felt like his whole body snapped as he climaxed. Throwing his head back, Nico gasped for air as a tidal wave of pleasure ripped through him. He felt his back arch off of the bed, and the balls of his feet dig into the mattress as his toed curled. His hands clung desperately to Will’s biceps. His short nails digging into muscled flesh as he spilled hot across his own stomach.

            Will continued to stroke him though the last pulses of his pleasure before releasing him. As the blinding pleasure passed the son of Hades laid sprawled on the bed. He laid on the bed panting desperately for air as his heart threatened to beat out of his chest. Even through his post-orgasmic haze Nico could still feel Will's hardness within him unmoving. Will pressed a kiss along Nico’s exposed throat before whispering against his tender skin. “You look so hot when you cum.”

            White still pulses in Nico’s field of vision and he was still too blissed to be embarrassed. He tried to mutter something in response but it came out as nonsense. He could feel Will’s warm breath on the sensitive skin just under his ear as the son of Apollo snickered.

            Nico felt the ghost of Will’s skilled fingers run over his buttocks before grasping his thigh tightly. Nico sucked in a sharp breath in surprise at the sudden rough treatment as Will urged his thigh upwards. Will brought Nico's leg to rest higher up his waist. He held it there firmly with a hand gripping Nico thigh just above the knee.

            Will began to move again, and this time the rhythm was fast and hard. If the sensation had been overwhelming before, Nico had no words to describe it now. Every part of him still buzzed with the pleasure from earlier and somehow that made everything Will did feel like  _more_. Will’s fast pace left him little time to recover from one jolt of pleasure before delivering another. The new angle of his hips only seemed to make Will’s motions more effective in hitting the right places. Will had buried his face against in the crook of Nico's shoulder to muffle his own moans. The feel of Will’s hot breath kept sending shivers down the smaller boy’s spine.

            Will moaned his name repeatedly, along with a few half uttered prayers to unnamed gods. Nico was beyond words, mainly mewing and gasping. Occasionally he heard the first syllable of some Italian word slip through his lips. A new wave of pleasure always kept the word uncompleted.  

            Almost as quickly as Will had found a rhythm he began to lose it. His thrusts becoming more desperate and frantic as he neared his own climax. When Will finished, Nico feels his body shutter above him. His grip on Nico’s thigh becoming painfully tight for a moment before relaxing. Will’s hips giving a their last few spastic thrusts as the son of Apollo’s orgasm begins to subside.

            It’s those last motions that surprise the son of Hades by overwhelming him. If his first orgasm was a tidal wave, the second was a wild fire. Ecstasy burns through every inch of Nico’s body. He just barely has enough mental clarity to clasp a hand over his own mouth before he cried out.

            As his body pulsed with sensation Nico forgot where he was. He forgot that time was a thing that passed, or that he should care about those things. He only let his hand fall away from his mouth because it took too much energy to keep it there. As the sensation began to recede he found himself feeling both euphoric and exhausted.

            Will shifted and Nico was a little surprised to find his form still on top of him as he began to come to his senses. Will moved slowly. He was still panting and his arms visibly shaking with the effort of holding himself up. Nico actually shuttered at the loss of Will within him as Will rolled onto his back, lying next to Nico on the bed.

            Nico stared blindly up at the plastic glow-in-the dark stars plastered to the ceiling. He listened to their breathing began to slow to a less labored rate. He was unsure of how much time had passed like, he and Will laying next to each other silently. Then he heard the complaint of the bed springs as Will rolled over and placed the softest of kisses on his cheek. “Nic?” Will questioned.

            “Hmm?” Was the only reply Nico could manage.

            “You okay?” Will asked. Nico started to make out the concerned notes in his boyfriend’s voice.

            It made no sense to Nico. He couldn’t think of anything Will should be concerned about. “Mmmm” Nico hummed approvingly and nodded in the affirmative. If Nico had the energy he would have stated he was far more then okay, but after that he was just too tired.

            “I didn’t ….” Will started but paused shifting so he was closer to Nico on the bed. He placed another soft kiss, this time on Nico’s shoulder “Hurt you?”

            Nico felt a lazy grin spread across his face as shook his head “Nah”

            “You sure?” Will asked sounding skeptical. “I mean, I didn’t mean to get so…” The son of Apollo began to explain sounding apologetic.

            “Will” Nico cut him off firmly “Stop trying to apologize for amazing sex.”

            The bed issued another complaint as Will pushed up on one of his elbows. He looked down at Nico, a satisfied grin spreading across his face. “It was pretty amazing, wasn’t it?”

            Nico pushed up on his elbows in order to kiss Will affectionately. “I’m pretty sure I just said that.” Nico teased before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and going to stand.

            Will caught his hand and pulled him back on the bed “Where are you going?”

            “To get my clothes” Nico explained “and then back down stairs to the couch.”

            “No” Will whined “stay naked with me.”

            “Will if your mom catches us….” Nico started to argue although he wasn’t really sure where he had planned to go with that.

            “Just for a little while.” Will countered “We worked hard to get our bodies to produce all this love inducing oxytocin. We might as well put it to good use with some naked cuddling.”

            “I already love you.” Nico retorted dryly.

            “And I love you!” Will stated proudly before patting the bed next to him. “Naked cuddling after sex will help maintain and strengthen our bond.” he informed “That’s science.”

            Nico rolled his eyes as he laid back down. “You’re a dork” he declared as he pressed himself against Will. “I’m only staying for a couple of minutes.”

            Will hummed contently. He started absently running his fingers through Nico’s hair. “Deal” he declared his voice already thick with sleep.

            Both demigods were asleep within five minutes.    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, Like I said there was smut
> 
> This was going to be this cute little chapter where Will comforted Nico after a nightmare and it clearly turned into some serious smut. Again, I apologize for nothing.
> 
> Don't worry there is going to be lots more cuteness with Nico's visit to Will's house (and lets be serious here, their will be more smut too).


	18. More Awkward Parental Moments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all,
> 
> I know I just posted last Sunday (and Wednesday if you count Outtakes) but it feels like it has been for ever.
> 
> Long chapter ahead :)
> 
> Also no promises but there may be more double posts in the near future- I'm still trying to get the Thanksgiving chapters to line up with the actual holiday. I have no idea when these will be (if they happen at all). It all depends on how fast I write but I swear I am trying.
> 
> Also, I am still taking requests for Outtakes, so as things come up in Normal Lives and you want to see more let me know. You don't tell me I can't say it will be covered- sometimes people point things out to me that I wouldn't think anyone will care about. I can say that Nico modeling is coming up and there is lots of fun chapters with Nico, Austin, and Cecil hanging out in the infirmary.

            Will began to wake slowly. His body and his mind were reluctant to leave the warm comfort of sleep. Everything he could feel in the moment seemed to be trying to lull him back to sleep. Soft morning light steamed though his open window casting away the worst of the shadows. A November chill hung in the air, which made the warmth of his bed even more inviting. Nico’s form curled at his side stood in contrast to the cold, for once the son of Hades bare skin felt warm against Will’s own. The weight of Nico’s head on his chest was comfortably familiar. It acted to anchor him to the comfort of the moment. All of these sensations together were as if Hypnos himself was singing him a soft lullaby.

            Nico sighed in his sleep, spilling warm breath across Will’s chest. Nico's long fingers curled absently against the muscles of Will's chest. Even though his limbs felt heavy Will was able to lift his hand to interlace his fingers with Nico’s.

            Will’s sleep fogged brain couldn’t get past how perfect the moment was. The only thing distraction was a rhythmic  _thud, thud, thud_  coming from somewhere in the room. It wasn’t even a loud sound, it just seemed out of place, and its steady rhythm caught his attention.

 _Thud, thud, thud._ Will listened with a lazy curiosity.  _Thud, thud, thud_. Will thought it almost like the sound of a foot tapping against the wood floor of his bedroom….. A foot tapping against……Shit!

            “William Solace!” Will hear his mother’s voice, sharp with anger, coming from the doorway to his bedroom.

            Will’s eyes shot open. Frantic, he tried to push himself up into the sitting position. Next to him, Nico stirred as result of his sudden movement. Will immediately froze half pushed up on his elbows. His instincts told him to not wake his boyfriend from what looked like a peaceful sleep.

            Body locked in a position somewhere between laying and sitting, Will’s eyes locked on his mother. She was standing in the doorway of his bedroom like a nightmare come to life. Clearly already dressed for work; her blonde hair pulled up in a messy bun, and her glasses resting on the bridge of her noise. She was even wearing her name tag. 

            To anyone else, Naomi Solace would look like a no-nonsense English teacher, slightly intimidating if you forgot your homework but not terrifying. To Will her presence in this moment was more frightening then finding the Minotaur standing in his room.

            She was tapping her foot against the floor rapidly while glaring at Will with rage. Will was familiar with the facial expression she was currently wearing. Will remembered Naomi wearing that exact expression when he had healed the neighbor’s cat of rabies. In his defense, he liked the neighbor’s cat (and the neighbor) and it was a quick and easy fix. 

            “Mom.” Will greeted weakly. The sheer panic he was feeling seeping into his voice “What are you doing here?”

            “You weren’t waking up to your alarm,” She replied flatly. “and then I noticed that the couch was suspiciously empty.”

            “I…I can explain” Will stammered out without giving it any real thought. That was just something you said when you got caught doing something you weren't supposed to be doing. It was  _technically_  true, there was a pretty easy explanation. However, it wasn’t going to help Will out of this situation. “It’s not what it looks like” The son of Apollo offered even though it was  _exactly_  what it looked like. Again, that was just one of those things you say.

            Unnervingly, his mother smirked at him with dry amusement “Alright” She agreed. “I’ll bite. Explain what this is if it isn’t what it looks like.”

            “Um” Will stammered. He hadn’t expected her to go that way. Obviously this was exactly what it looked like but now Will felt like he didn’t have a choice. He to come up with some sort of explanation that wasn't 'Nico snuck into my room last night and we had sex'. 

            Next to him on the bed Nico sighed heavily before rolling over so his back now ran flush against Will’s side. Will was suddenly thankful Nico was such a heavy sleeper because he would have been mortified. At the same time he was more then a little jealous, he would have loved to sleep through this horrible scene as well. “Could we go downstairs?” Will asked hopefully. Nico looked so peaceful he really didn’t want to risk waking him.

            “Is the explanation that complicated?” His mother retorted skeptically.

            Will gave Nico’s sleeping form another fugitive glance before replying insecurely. “No but Nico would literally die if he knew you found us like this.”

            “At least one of you has shame.” Naomi commented off-handedly before gesturing towards the door. “After you.” She offered.

            Will looked at the door and then down at his own body before looking toward the door again. “Um” He sputtered. He and Nico had both fallen asleep pretty quickly the night before. They hadn’t bothered to clean up or get dress. So currently, Will was naked, with only a strip of quilt pooling over his lap offering him any modesty. He itched from dried sweat and probably over things. “Any chance you could give me a minute?”

            “I changed your diapers and bathed you as a child.” She reminded unamused “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before”

            That didn’t make Will feel any more comfortable. He squirmed “This is a very different situation.”

            Will watched his mother roll her eyes at him. “Fine, I’ll be down stairs.” She declared turning on her heels and starting out the door. She paused at the doorway and fixed Will with a warning look “you have  _exactly_  five minutes.”

            His mother pulls his bedroom door shut behind her but deliberately left it cracked and inch or so. Will thought that was a bit unnecessary, honestly what did his mom think he was going to do? He thought to ask but stopped himself. Will was already in enough trouble he didn’t need to add being a smart ass on top of everything.

            Will moved carefully off the bed to not disturb Nico, even though he knew it wasn't necessary. As his feet hit the floor Will mused, Nico could sleep through an earthquake. Outside of the warm blankets and comfortable bed, the room was cold. Hit with the frigid air, Will became painfully aware he was naked. 

            He heard Nico sigh and Will looked toward the bed to see his boyfriend roll into the warm spot he had left behind. In his new position Will could make out a line of angry red love bites running down the side of Nico’s slender throat. Will regretted that he didn’t have time to heal those.

            Even with the sweat tangled hair, and the hickeys Nico looked kind of innocent while he slept. Will readjusted the blankets so Nico’s naked form was completely covered. It was an affectionate gesture he knew the son of Hades would roll his eyes at, but Will didn’t care. He didn’t want Nico to get cold without him.

            As a shiver hit him, Will cursed himself for leaving his bedroom window open the night before. What he had been thinking was beyond him, it was November for Olympus sake. Will shut the window and then rushed to get dressed. The son of Apollo never put too much effort into his looks, much to his half-brother, Austin’s horror. This morning he cared even less then he usually did. He threw on a pair of well-worn jeans and a plan white t-shirt.

            Ready to go and not wanting to keep his mom waiting Will headed for his bedroom door. He only paused when he caught sight of himself in the mirror. On his arm just above his elbow were four oval shaped bruises about the size of Nico’s fingertips. They were already fading into an unpleasant yellow-green color. Still, he could tell they needed a few hours before they would be completely gone. In the meantime, Will grabbed a brown sweater off his desk chair on his way out of the room. He worked to pulled it on over his head as he walked down the stairs. 

            Will found his mother sitting at the kitchen table. She had a mug of coffee between her hands and was wearing contemplative expression. The son of Apollo found himself moving more slowly in an attempt to delay the oncoming conversation. It wasn’t enough, and he found himself slumped in a chair across from her more quickly than he would have liked.

            “Alright hon” His mother declared before sipping her coffee. “let’s hear this explanation.” She smirked at him “I could use a good laugh.”

            Will gnawed at his lip nervously “Umm..” he stammered. He suddenly wished he was a halfway decent liar. Then he could try to sell some wild story to explain how he and Nico had ended up in bed together naked. But he wasn’t, and he couldn’t tell the truth, at least not all of it. “Nico had a nightmare.” He offered weakly.

            “Interesting.” Naomi commented sincerely before sipping at her coffee. “I didn’t realize your dick cured night terrors.”

            “Oh My God mom!” Will gasped in shock and horror at hearing those words come out of his mother’s mouth. What was wrong with her, mothers should not say things like that,  _ever_.

            “Am I wrong?” His mother asked seriously, tilting her head slightly to one side curiously.

            Was she honestly expecting him to answer that, Will wondered. “I….um….mom” Will stuttered uncertainly.

            “Well?” She pressed.

            “It…. it wasn’t like that.” Will muttered.

            “Really?” Naomi asked with fake curiosity. Will could hear the annoyed teacher voice sneaking in around the edges of her words. “What was it like?”

            Will’s first thought was  _amazing_ , and he felt his lips attempt to tug upwards in response to the memory. He shut down that expression quickly, knowing it wouldn’t help him any in this situation. 

            Will decided to stick with his original plan no matter how weak and flawed it was. He would tell as much of the truth as possible without actually _admitting_ they had had sex. “I was just comforting him?” Will wanted to kick himself for the statement coming out as question.

            “Naked?” His mother questioned flatly before sipping her coffee and looking at him expectantly.

            “Alright that doesn’t look good,” Will had to give her that one “But I swear that’s how it started.” Will shrugged and avoided eye contact out of guilt. “The rest just kind of happened.”

            Naomi sighed heavily. She unwrapped her fingers from around her coffee cup and brought them to her temples. She pressed her fingers there lightly and started rubbing in small concentric circles. “Dear lord, you sound like your father.”

            Under different circumstances Will would have appreciated hearing Naomi say something unflattering about the sun god.  In this incidence, however, it made him cringe. It was more a response at the comparison than anything else. Will was proud to be a child of Apollo but personality wise he never thought he had much in common with his dad. Will was fine with that, especially when it came to his relationship. Apollo was exactly known for having the type of relationship Will wanted; long-term, monogamous.

            Will opened his mouth to protest but then the front door screeched loudly as someone pushed it open. Will fell silent to hear his cousin shout from the door. “Yo, Will!” Dean called “Your ride is here!”

            Will groaned at his own misfortune. “Kitchen!” He called out with a complete lack of enthusiasm.

            A moment later Dean appeared in the doorway “Ready to go?” he asked with his typical grin.

            Will’s mother answered for him. “Will is going in late to school today.” She stated with finality.

            Dean looked toward Naomi for a moment before acknowledging her statement. “ _Right_ ” he dragged out the word before looking toward Will inquisitively. “What did you do?”

            Will grumbled. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

            “ _Okay_ ” Dean seemed to assess the situation further. He looked back and forth from Will to Naomi a few times before asking “Where’s the boy toy? I thought he got in yesterday?”

            Oh for the love of the gods, why did he have to ask that Will wonder. And, more importantly, why wouldn't he just leave already. Will fought back a growl of frustration.

            “He’s upstairs” Will’s mom answered plainly. She sipped her coffee before adding dryly. “In Will’s room, asleep.”

            Dean looked confused for a moment. “I thought he was going to sleep on the cou…. _.oooh._ ” Sudden understand spread across Will’s cousin face. Will contemplated punching his cousin in the face when he began to laugh. He resisted the urge but just barely. Dean smacked Will’s arm lightly. “Dude, it’s been less than 24 hours. You have that little self-control?”

            “It’s complicated” Will groaned in response.

            “ _Right_ ” Dean responded doubtfully. “Well, you have fun because she,” He pointed toward Will’s mom. “looks more pissed then the time we put the soccer ball through the bay window.” he pointed out and Will couldn’t help but agree. Then Dean turned toward Will’s mom. “Give him hell Aunt Naomi.” He encouraged enthusiastically. Will glared as his cousin left with a casual wave over his shoulder on his way out the door.

            Once again he was left alone with his mother in the small kitchen. “Mom I -” Will began but his mother stopped him with a hand held in the air.

            “Will, there were rules” Naomi declared firmly. “I think I have been pretty understanding about everything.”

            “I know” Will acknowledged guiltily “It’s not like we meant…” Will wasn’t sure where he was going there. Maybe he had intended that they hadn’t meant to break the rules, which was technically true. They hadn't intended to break the rules because they hadn’t been thinking about anything. Well anything but each other, and the comfort found it each other’s touch. He certainly couldn’t tell his mom any of that. Will whimpered frustratedly at his predicament before declaring “I swear Nico had a nightmare.”

            His mother arched an inquisitive eyebrow. “Will,” She spoke dryly “do I need to point out  _again_  that your di-”

            “Oh dear gods no!” Will shouted before his mother finished that sentence. He was way past his quota for hearing his mother refer to his dick for the next lifetime or two. “I’m scarred enough from you saying it the first time.”

            “Alright then.” Naomi shrugged and eyed Will expectantly, her gaze was firm and unwavering.

            Will sighed as he recognized his own defeat. “I broke the rules.” The son of Apollo admitted with a downcast gaze. “I’m sorry, and it won’t happen again.”

            His mother stared at him critically for a long moment before nodding. “Good” Much to Will’s relief his mother seemed to accept his apology. She took a sip from her coffee mug before placing it back on the table. “Now go wake up sleeping beauty" she made a shoeing gesture in his direction "so the three of us can have a discussion about the  _new_  rules for his stay.”

            “No!” Will exclaimed much louder than he had actually intended but he was panicked. Annoyance flared back up into his mother’s eyes and Will spoke quickly to explain. “I mean I can’t. Nico will freak. He’ll  _leave_.” Worse yet the embarrassment would cause him to involuntarily shadow-travel far away, Will thought. He couldn’t imagine his mother’s reaction to that, but he knew it wouldn’t be good. “And it really was all my fault.” Will reassured desperately. “I’m a bad influence but I swear it wouldn’t happen again. Really.”

            “William this should not come as a shock to you but I am fairly familiar with how teenage boys work.” Naomi stated plainly “I doubt this solely falls on you.” His mother noted much to Will’s distress. He didn’t want her to be upset with Nico. “I bet he climbed into your bed of his own free will.” She stated with a knowing expression.

            “Yeah but….” Will began to stammer but caught the skeptical expression spreading across her face. The son of Apollo growled with frustration before declaring with force. “Mom, he  _really_  did have a nightmare!” Naomi glared at him, clearly beyond annoyed by Will’s repeated statement. Will realized there was really only one way out of this where the consequences would be tolerable. “No mom, I’m serious” The boy sighed and pushed his hair back absently. “There is some things I guess you should know.”

            Will felt guilty, he knew Nico wouldn’t like it, but he didn't another choice. He told his mother the son of Hades tragic life story. It took about twenty minutes but Will was able to touch on all the big events.  Zeus killing his mother, Hades hiding him away at The Lotus Hotel, Bianca leaving him to join the Hunters of Artemis and then dying. He told her about the role Nico played in the Second Titan War, his time in Tartarus, how he was captured. He told her about how Nico had practically sacrificing himself to bring the Athena Parthenos to camp.  

            When all was said and done his mother blotted at her teary eyes absently. “He looks so young and innocent. He’s really been through all of that?” She asked with clear concern.

            Will nodded “Yeah” he admitted before adding. “Honestly, I’m probably leaving stuff out.” Of course, some of it he was leaving out on purpose because it just didn’t need to be discussed, like Octavian. Most of it, Will would admit, he was leaving out because he honestly didn’t know. Nico had scars Will didn’t know the origins of, and there were points of time in his life that Nico always glossed over in when they were brought up. Will didn’t push, Nico would tell him when he was ready. “After all of that it can’t be a surprise he has nightmares now and then.”

            Naomi continued to blot at her eyes as she sat in silence taking all the information in. When she did finally speak her reaction took Will by complete surprised. At lightning speed, she reached across the table and smacked Will’s arm roughly. “What the hell is wrong with you!”

            “Ow” Will exclaimed with surprised as he began to rub the tender spot on his arm. “What the…?” He began confused.

            “That poor sweet boy had a PTSD-induced nightmare and you take advantage of his vulnerability to have sex!” His mother declared reproachfully. She shook her head disapprovingly at him. “You really are like your father.”

            Will groaned audibly at that comment. “Could you stop saying that please.”

            “I’m disappointed” She declared standing up and walking to the sink to dispose of her coffee cup. “I’ve raised you better.”

            Will gapes at her “Mom, it really wasn’t-” He started rather numbly.

            She held up her hands as a signal for him to stop. “I don’t want to hear it.” She declared before shoeing him. “Get your stuff, your already late enough for school.”

            Will stood up and headed for the stairs but stopped in the doorway to the kitchen and looked back at his mother. “So, are we still in trouble?” He asked cautiously.

            His mother point upward likely indicating Will's room where Nico was as she spoke. “That sweet orphan who saved the world and has literally been through hell? No.” She stated. Will couldn’t hold back the sigh of relief that escaped his lips. Naomi then pointed at him “You? Most definitely.”

            Will went to argue but at the last moment thought better of it. His mom wasn’t mad at Nico and that was what mattered. Expecting to come out of this whole situation with more was unrealistic, Will realized. 

            Still, he couldn’t help but wonder why everyone assumed Nico was this innocent thing and Will was a corrupting influence. It wasn’t like Nico looked defenseless. Even being on the small side, Nico had an air about him that screamed badass. If people only knew what Nico was like in private, Will thought, they would be shocked. The son of Hades was far from a reluctant or passive participate in their sex life.

            A thought crossed Will’s mind. He knew it was pushing his luck but he decided to ask anyway. “Does Nico still have to sleep on the couch?”

            “Are you really asking me what I think you’re asking me?” Naomi asked with disbelief and amusement.

            “It’s just I think having familiar things around helps him with the nightmares.” Will explained quickly and with confidence. It was true the best that he could tell, and if he could benefit from it too well that was just a bonus. “We don’t have to share the bed,” He assured before adding “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

            His mother let out a heavy sigh “Fine, he can sleep in your room.” She stated begrudgingly.

            Will had to work hard not to actually jump up and down with excitement. “You’re the best mom ever!” He exclaimed enthusiastically.

            “But William” His mother addressed him with a warning tone. Will knew whatever she was going to say was serious because she actually used his full first name. She never did that, ever.  “I promise you, if I catch you two sleeping naked again no one in the history of time will have ever been grounded to the level to which you will be grounded.”

            Will nodded his understanding “That seems fair.” He acknowledged.

            The son of Apollo didn’t stick around for his mother to come to her senses. He ran up the stairs to his bedroom taking two stairs at a time as he went. After running to the bathroom to brush his teeth he ran into his bedroom to grab his book bag. He found Nico still asleep, now lost in a sea of blankets.

            The son of Hades looked so tempting that way, Will thought to himself. He could easily crawl back in bed with his boyfriend and sleep the day away. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. Will thought about waking Nico up but he looked so peaceful, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. 

            Still, he could imagine Nico waking up naked and alone in his bed. It was such a waste Will wouldn't be there to enjoy some naked cuddling or lazy morning sex. More important then that he knew Nico would go into panic mode almost immediately. Will decided to leave a note in hopes it would at least help stave off the worst of Nico’s dread at least temporarily. It read: 

 

            Don’t panic, everything is good.

            You don’t have to sleep on the couch any more :)

            I’ll call when I have lunch to explain.

                        love you,

                                    Will

 

            Will arrived at school at the start of second period. For him that meant PE so he headed toward the gym and the boy locker room. He was a few minutes late so the locker room was mostly empty. There were still a few guys still there getting changed for gym. Will caught a few mistrustful looks shot in his direction as he passed. He had been getting those more and more since it had gotten around school that he’s gay.

            Will  _tried_  not to be annoyed by the whole thing. How presumptuous was it to think that just because he’s gay he was spending his time stalking the locker room to ogle other dudes? Will knew it could have been worse, it should have been worse. Outside of a few grade A douchebags no one had actually said anything to him. Even the few comments thrown in his direction had been pretty tame. Still, Will had the urge to let the fearful homophobes know they had nothing he was interesting in checking out.

            This morning was not the morning, Will told himself. He walked passed in silence as he headed toward his locker.  He was surprised to find Dean, Watts, and Wash still back there changing. Of course, he wasn't nearly as surprised as Dean appeared to be when he caught sight of him. “Will, your alive?” Dean exclaimed with a bewildered expression.

            Will quickly undid the padlock on his locker. “Why do you sound so surprised?” He asked as he pulled out his gym clothes hurriedly.

            “Because” Dean laughed pulling his t-shirt on over his head. “I was pretty sure Aunt Naomi was going to swallow you whole and spit out your bones like an owl.”

            Will pulled off his sweater and t-shirt. He tossed them as a wrinkled ball of fabric into his locker and pulling on his gym shirt. “Thanks for that mental imagine.” He grumbled as he roughly toed off his sneakers. Will made quick work of stripping off his jeans and replacing them with comfortable pair of track pants.

            “What did you do?” Wash asked as he sat on the bench lacing up his sneakers.

            The son of Apollo pushed his own sneakers back on. He shoved his jeans back into his locker before slamming the door and replacing the lock. “None of your business” Will mumbled as he turned on his heels to head back to the gymnasium proper.

            Will heard Dean snicker as he followed close on his heels. “He got caught having sex” Dean informed with amusement. Of course, Dean had to make that comment as they walked passed one of the few assholes who had said something about Will being gay. Will caught the disgusted look shot in his direction which Will forced himself to ignore. He was already on thin ice with his mom, he didn’t need to get in trouble for fighting on top of everything else. Especially not while Nico was visiting.

            “What?” Watts questioned with amused disbelief.

            “Dude!” Wash exclaimed with clear approval.

            “That’s not what happened.” Will grumbled as they passed the last row of lockers.

            “Sure” Dean proclaimed skeptically. “Aunt Naomi just caught the boy toy in your bed because you were braiding each other’s hair.”

            “You are like the worst kind of person.” Will groaned “And I told you to stop calling Nico that.” After Dean and all his other friends found out about Nico’s modeling Dean had been on a mission to come up with a witty nickname for Nico. About a week prior he had settled on calling him Will’s boy toy. Will had desperately been trying to break him of the habit. Will didn’t want to imagine how his boyfriend would react to being called that.

            “Dude!” Wash exclaimed approvingly again as the four of them walked into the gym.

            Groups of teens pooled around the room in clusters. Will was reminded of camp except the clusters denoted social clichés not cabins. Along one wall of the gym several bosses (targets used in archery) set up. Well at least that was going his way Will thought. Will may not have been the best archer in his cabin at Camp Half-Blood but naturally he still had above average skill. So at least it would be an easy class.  

            “I think you’re my hero.” Watts stated as they made their way further into the gym.

            “You guys take forever!” Ruby declared as she approached them. Her auburn hair clashed with the emerald tank-top she was wearing. All Will could do was wonder why she would wear a tank top to gym in the middle of November. The girl was  _clearly_  cold.

            “Seriously, how long does it take to change?” Nora agreed. Her dark hair was pulled up in a messy knot revealing a round face. She was dressed much a bit more sensibly in an army green t-shirt. Her expression turned from mildly annoyed to concerned as her eyes zeroed in on Will. “Oh my god Will! What happened to your arm?” She exclaimed alarmed.

            Will followed her eyes, looking down at his bicep to see the bruises left by Nico’s fingers the night before. They were practically faded, but that just meant they looked their worst. Each oval mark was a marbling of putrid green and sickly yellow. Will had completely forgotten about them or he would have worn his sweater through gym to avoid this conversation. “What?” Will asked trying to fake confusion. He tugged at his sleeve hoping to hid the marks but the bruises were closer to his elbow then his shoulder. Short of pulling his shirt half way down his arm there was nothing to be down. “Nothing” Will explained awkwardly.

            “Ouch hon” Ruby stated sympathetically as she leaned in to get a better look. “Those look like … finger prints?”

            “So what were you saying about not having sex?” Dean asked teasingly.

            Will pushed passed his friends to find a place to sit on the bleachers to wait his turn at one of the targets. “I said we didn’t get caught having sex, not that we didn’t have sex” Will hissed and glared at his cousin. “There’s a difference!”

            “Wait, what’s going on?” Ruby asked looking around her boyfriend to looked down the bench at Will and Dean.

            “We’re confused” Nora added also looking down the bench at the two cousins locked in a silent feud.

            “Will’s boyfriend is visiting.” Dean explained with a grin.

            “What!?!” Chorused the two girls with clear surprise.

            Will looked down the bench at Watts and Wash with surprise. “You didn’t tell them?”

            “You told us not to” Watts replied with a casual shrug.

            “I also told you not to tell them I’m gay,” Will reminded seriously. He was seventy-five percent sure them telling the girls was how his sexual orientation became public knowledge. The other twenty-five percent went to Will not really trusting Felix. “that didn’t stop you.” Both guys shrugged in unison in response.

            There was silence between them for a moment. Will watched as clusters of teens slowly shifted around the room to form haphazard lines. “Alright,” Wash broke the silence with a thoughtful expression. “I have an important question” he declared looking down the bench at Will. “So do you guys just have a ton of sex?” he asked seriously. “Like sex all the time?”

            Will corked his lips into a lopsided smirk with amusement. “Are you asking about me and Nico specifically or gays in general?”

            Wash considered the question before replying “Gays in general”

            “Wash!” Ruby shouted disapprovingly before smacking her boyfriend on the arm “That’s a stereotype.”

            Will tries to stop himself but he can’t, his grin widens. He and Nico certain gave it their best effort to have sex as often as possible, he thought proudly. Dean noticed “Which judging by Will’s face” Will’s cousin commented. “it just happens to be true, at least for him.”

            Will was met with expressions of surprise and admiration from his friends and slight disapproval from their girlfriends. “What?” Will tried to defend but it came out with a slight chuckle. “We’re in a committed relationship.” He pointed out and both Nora and Ruby’s disapproval seemed to soften. Will couldn’t help but grin wider as he added. “And we’re both young and attractive….. why waste it.” Alright, Will thought to himself, there he did sound a bit like Apollo.

            “Dude, really?” Wash asked thoughtfully.

            “What,” Watts laughed and shot Wash a teasing look “you thinking about converting?”

            Dean snickered and joined in. “You know you would have to suck a dick eventually, right?” He reminded.

            Wash blinked hard a couple of time before a look of repulsion spread across his face. “Yeah that's a deal breaker, I'm going to have to pass.” Wash declared and Watts and Dean snickered.

            “Oh my god!” Nora shouted “You’re all horrible!”

            Ruby chose to express her disapproval with a stern glare before turning her attentions on Will. Her expression softened as she asked “So when do we get to meet him?”

            “Never” Will scoffed. Both girls looked down the bench him in complete outrage. Will looked back at them completely unaffected. “You did just hear that last conversation, right?”

            “Dude, you can’t keep him tied to your bed for the entire week he’s here.” Dean pointed out before a grin slowly spread across “Wait, that’s where he is right now, isn’t he? Tied to your bed?” Will’s cousin nudged him playfully as he teased.

            Will rolled eyes “Just because we’re gay does not mean we are into weird 50 Shades of Gray stuff.” he pointed out.

            “Says the guy covered in sex bruises.” Dean reminded

            Ruby reached over Wash in order to smack Dean’s arm, and judging by the loud crack sound she hadn’t been gentle. “But seriously, we want to meet him.” she told Will sweetly.

            “Ow” Dean rubbed his arm “Wash your girlfriend is abusing me.”

            Wash shrugged “Nothing I can do about that.”

            “Coffee after school today.” Nora offered. Although if Will was being honest it sounded more like an order then a suggestion. “You bring him.”

            “I don’t know” Will said with reluctance. Will’s school friends were great but all kidding aside they could be a bit much. One of them would end up saying something to upset or offend Nico, and Will didn’t want that. “He got in pretty late last night,” He explained weakly “he’s probably still tired.”

            “Yes, that’s why he’s tired” Watts agreed sarcastically “from the traveling. It has absolutely nothing to do with the rough se-” Nora pinched him viciously. He stopped mid-sentence to exclaim “Owww!” loud enough that several people nearby paused in their own conversations to look in their direction.

            “Alright, how about tomorrow?” Ruby offered.

            Will realized saying no wasn’t really an option. Will wouldn’t have been surprised to find the two girls with their boyfriends in tow making a surprise visit to his house. “I guess.” Will agreed reluctantly. Both girls squealed with excitement and Will groaned as he could already tell this was going to be a bad idea. “But there will be rules!” Will informed them firmly. He did his best to ignore the amuse looks his friends gave him. This was going to end badly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I get far to much joy from Nico and Will getting caught in compromising situations.
> 
> I feel where Naomi is coming from- I could cry over Nico's life story too.
> 
> Also we literally have no idea what Nico did or where he lived or anything for years- From the point he left camp at the end of Titan's Curse until he was captured in Mark of Athena we know very little. Someone needs to write a fic about that, just saying (it's on my list but that is a long list at this point).
> 
> As always I live off of comments and Kudos :)


	19. Conversations on a Train

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday All
> 
> You know what I haven't written in a while- Percy asking Nico inappropriate sex questions. 
> 
> Obviously there is going to be mentions of sex (do I even need to warn people about this anymore? I would just assume at this point readers know what they're getting into at this point.)

            Percy and Annabeth were about a day into a three-day train ride from California to New York. They were going New York to spend Thanksgiving with Percy’s mom and Paul. Annabeth’s dad would be there as well but he was flying in. Annabeth had actually had the nerve to suggest the three of them could all just fly together. She had argued that after everything with Gaea, Zeus would be over the fact that Percy existed.  The Lord of the Sky would refrain from striking the plane from the sky, she argued. Percy had experienced enough god drama for a lifetime and was not going to do anything to invite more.

            After some debate they had decided to take the train. They would get into New York on Wednesday. This was unlike years earlier when they had attempted to take a train cross country on their first quest. This time they were doing it with some level of comfort. They had gotten a sleeping car, which he had currently been kicked out of for being  _distracting_.

            Another perk of taking the train was they got to miss two days of classes. That was a perk at least from Percy's point of view. Annabeth, on the other hand was the perfect student. She had gone to each of her professors to get the reading and work she would miss. Since they had boarded the train that was what she had been working.

            Annabeth had covered the majority of the bed with books within an hour of them pulling out of the station. The daughter of Athena didn’t seem to appreciate Percy’s attempt to pull her attention off her studies for more physical pursuits. In Percy’s defense, they had a sleeper car, and they had never had sex on a train.

            Anyways, that was when Annabeth had drove him from their room. She told him to do something useful and let her study. Naturally, Percy headed toward the dining car to get himself a snack. They had quite a selection of snacks to be had, much to Percy’s pleasure. He ordered a panini thing that had a fancy name he didn’t care about. All he cared about was that it had bacon in it. He also ordered a large soda and a blue velvet cupcake. How could he not, it was blue.

            The car was pretty crowded but he managed to find an empty table. Percy set down his goodies and slide into the chair closest to the window. He was about to take a bite for his delicious bacon-filled sandwich when his phone buzzed aggressively in his pocket. For a brief moment, he considered ignoring it and enjoying his sandwich but then it buzzed again. The older women sitting at the table right next to Percy’s looked up and gave him a very pointed look.

            Percy sighed, set down his sandwich, and pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. A quick glance at the screen told him the call was from Nico. He was a bit surprised by that, he knew Nico had gotten into Tennessee the night before. Percy had figured Nico would be too busy during his visit with Will to call anybody. 

            The phone buzzed again in his hand before Percy answered. “Hey bro, how’s Tennessee?” He greeted before pointing out teasingly. “I’m still pissed your blowing of me and Thanksgiving at my mom’s off to hang out with your  _boyfriend_  so you can tell me it’s horrible.”

            On the other end of the line Percy heard Nico take a long breath like he was trying to steady himself. Percy wondered if something was actually wrong with the son of Hades. “Jackson, can you.... I don’t know, not be you for five minutes?” Nico asked in an annoyed voice.

            “I don’t think so.” Percy replied. He was no longer worried about Nico. If the son of Hades sounded mildly annoyed, then he was fine. “Why? And who would you rather I be?”

            “I have a bit of a crisis.” Nico hissed. There was a pause on Nico's end of the line. Percy figured the other boy was thinking about the question Percy had just asked. “Can’t you at least try to be more like Jason for a minute?” He suggested sounding cautiously optimistic.

            “Dude, if you wanted to talk to Jason why didn’t you call Jason?” Percy asked.

            Nico let out a heavy sigh before admitting. “Because I can’t talk to him about this!”

            That peaked the son of Poseidon's interest. Nico and Jason were pretty close, there wasn’t much they didn’t talk about. “Why not?”

            “It’s kind of related to my sex life.” Nico mumbled almost inaudibly on the other end of the line.

            “Seriously?” Percy laughed with a bit of surprised amusement. Sure Nico couldn’t talk to Jason, because the son of Jupiter was dead set on believing Nico was still a virgin. That wasn’t even the best part, Percy realized. Nico wasn’t one to talk about his sex life. He usually bucked when Percy asked so whatever happened, Nico was clearly desperate. “What happened?” he asked before scooping up his sandwich and took a medium size bite.

            “Forget being more like Jason.” Nico retorted dryly. “Can you just be less like you?”

            “Dude, calm down.” Percy snickered at the son of Hades general sullen attitude. He took another bite of his sandwich and chewed thoughtfully for a moment. “So what? Does Will want to try something kinky?” Percy asked around a lump of food before swallowing. Percy caught the same women from before shoot him a disapproving look.

            “I don’t know what I was thinking.” Nico declared “I’m hanging up, I’ll just Iris Message Reyna.”

            Percy snickered “Fine, I’ll behave I promise.” He offered sincerely. Well, at least he would try to behave. di Angelo was really too touchy about the topic of sex. He needed to loosen up a bit, and Percy was fine with helping him out with that by bringing up as much as possible. He took another bite of his sandwich and chewed as he waited for Nico to say something.

            Nico sucked in a sharp breath like he was trying to brace himself before declaring. “I think Will’s mom caught us.”

            Percy practically choked on his sandwich before he managed to cough and swallow. “What?!? Like having sex?” He exclaimed with a bit of a laugh. Percy saw the women at the other table glared at him. 

            It took Percy a minute to process the initial shock of what Nico had said. Once he did he realized it didn’t completely make sense. “Wait do you think? How do you not know whether or not she caught you?” Percy couldn’t imagine what it would be like if his own mother caught him and Annabeth. He shuttered at the thought. “I would think that would be pretty memorable.”

            “I was asleep.” Nico stated.

            Percy grinned. “Dude, what sort of kinky stuff are you and Will into?” He asked teasingly. The angry women at the other table slapped down her book loudly, to catch Percy’s attention. He looked over to her to see her stern and disapproving expression. She clearly didn’t approve of the topic of conversation. Percy smiled at her and gave a small wave.

            “Gross Jackson, get your mind out of the gutter.” The son of Hades hissed disapprovingly. “It wasn’t like that.”

            “Alright, maybe you should start from the beginning.” Percy suggested while still locked in an eye contact war with the disapproving women.

            “Fine” Nico sighed on the other end of the line at about the same time as the women begrudgingly returned to her book. “So, I’m supposed to be sleeping on the couch.”

            “Right, that makes sense” Percy acknowledged with a nod. “I mean my mom’s pretty awesome and she won’t even let me and Annabeth sleep in the same bed.” He admitted as he began to pick at his sandwich.

            “But I had a nightmare.” Nico continued to explain.

            Percy cringed and dropped his sandwich back on his plate with sudden disinterest. “Oh was it that Tartarus one with the jars?” He asked hoping against hope that it wasn’t  _that_  nightmare.

            “Yeah” Nico admitted. The son of Hades voice was carefully neutral in his response.

            “Sorry” Percy apologized sincerely. He had remembered Nico describing the dream to him the first time he had it. It was pretty horrible sounding.

            “Doesn’t matter.” Nico declared sharply, a clear sign he didn't want to talk about the dream further. “So I went upstairs and crawled in bed with Will.”

            “Makes sense, find something familiar and comforting.” Percy agreed letting the topic of Nico’s nightmare drop. The son of Poseidon understood the urge. Percy often reached out to Annabeth in the night when he was struck with a Tartarus nightmare. Percy shoot the disapproving women a fugitive glance before grinning. “So did you guys fool around?”

            “It’s been two months, what do you think?” Nico asked sharply.

            Percy grinned widened “You guys totally fooled around.” He declared. The disapproving women huffed before standing up and walking out of the dining car. Point Percy.

            “Of course we fooled around!” Nico hissed back like Percy was an idiot. The son of Hades than made a noise that was somewhere between a growl and a sigh. “This is all Will’s fault. Him and his stupid sexy dream.” Nico let out a long whine of frustration. “Anyways, we must have fallen asleep. When I woke up Will was gone to school. His mom was gone to work. There was this weird note." Nico sighed "I think I might actually die of embarrassment and shame.”

            “Calm down.” Percy snickered. He wanted to point out that Nico was being overly dramatic. However he didn’t knew the son of Hades would have appreciated the comment so he kept it to himself for the moment. “At worst she caught you two cuddling. She probably thought it was cute.” Percy eyed the sandwich on his plate. Deciding his appetite had returned. He picked up what was left of the delicious thing and took a large bite. He chased it down with a large swig of his soda.

            Nico huffed loudly on the other end of the line. “We were naked.” He informed. Percy again nearly choked on his food. Once he managed to swallow everything down he started laughing, hard. A few nearby patrons of the dining car directed concerned looks in his direction.  The son of Hades growled on the other end of the line. “I’m going to stab you the next chance I get.” He promised flatly.

            “Dude sorry,” Percy attempted to apologize. He doubted it sounded sincere when he still was laughing. “but it’s funny!”

            “This is  **not**  funny” Nico declared with force.

            “Yes, it is.” Percy insisted as his laughter subsided. “I mean if you told me we would be having this conversation when we met.” Percy thought back to the Nico Di Angelo he met at Westover Military Academy. “You were a hyper little nerd!” he declared remembering how Nico bounced on the balls of his feet as he asked a million rapid fire questions. “I would never have believed you.”

            “Thanks for that.” The son of Hades responded less then enthused.

            “For a guy who just got laid,” Percy observed “You’re really wound tight.”

             “Will’s mom found us in Will’s bed, naked.” Nico reminded sharply. “I’m stressed.”

            Percy bit back another fit of laughter and tried to be helpful. “Well, what did the note say?”

            “Huh?” Nico asked sounding confused.

            “The weird note.” Percy reminded. He popped the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth and chewed before continuing “What did it say?”

            “Oh it was from Will” Nico replied “It said not to freak out, and that he’ll call to explain” he explained. “And I don’t have to sleep on the couch anymore.”

            “Well, there you go.” Percy declared with finality. “Everything is fine.”

            “Everything is  _not_  fine” Nico hissed. “Will’s mom caught us nak-”

            “Yeah, she caught you naked.” Percy finished the son of Hades thought. “I heard you the first seven times.” He explained. “Will said not to worry and he’d call to explain. Until he does you should take his advice and not worry.” The son of Poseidon summed up before adding with a shrug. “It’s not like it’s helping you any”

            Nico was quiet for a long time before speaking. “I guess.” he sounded less-than-convinced.

            “Dude, would ever steer you wrong?” Percy asked.

            “Yes” Nico replied dryly.

            “Hey!” Percy exclaimed with fake offense. “When you say stuff like that it hurt’s my feelings.”

            “Sure it does” Nico retorted doubtfully.

            There was silence for a long stretch. Percy took a large gulp from his soda and began contemplating his blue cupcake before he asked with a grin. “So what was the dream about?”

            “I told you” Nico replied confused “it was the one with the jars.”

            “Not your nightmare.” Percy declared “I have my own Tartarus induces nightmares to deal with. And the train moving along the tracks sounds like the River Phlegethon, I’ll be lucky if I sleep at all the next three days.” He explained with a stifled a shutter. “I don’t need the added horror of you describing that particular nightmare again.”

            Again, Percy remembered when Nico first told him about the nightmare. How the son of Hades described seeing the people that mattered most to him, both alive and dead. Each one stuffed in a jar much like the giants had done to him. The jars dangled off a rope like morbid Christmas lights. It was a disturbing mental image, to say the least.

            “Your sympathy is overwhelming.” Nico stated with heavy sarcasm. Percy was very sympathetic, he really was. But he also remembered how upset Nico had become the first they had talked about it. The shadows in the room had become impossibly thick, and Percy had been worried the son of Hades was going to lose control. He didn’t want Nico to speak about it again, especially since Will wasn’t around to keep him grounded.

            “I was talking about Will’s dream.” Percy corrected. He was happy to direct the conversation to a more pleasant topic. “You know the stupid sexy one.” He reminded as he began to smirk. “I’m assuming he told you about it, which is probably why you ended up naked.”

            “Why am I friends with you?” Nico questioned “For that matter why did I call you? What was I thinking?”

            “Come on, I’m bored!” Percy pleaded.

            “How is that my problem?” Nico questioned exasperatedly “Have Annabeth entertain you.”

            “She’s doing homework” Percy explained before begging shamelessly. “Pleeeaaaassseee.”

            On the other end of the line the son of Hades growled before gritting out a reply. “It was a sex dream.”

            “Yeah” Percy laughed “I figured that out all on my own.”

            “Then what else is there to say?” Nico inquired.

            “Dude,” Percy rolled his eyes. He knew the younger demigod was being purposefully dense. “Details.”

            “No” Nico replied firmly.

            “Come on!” Percy whined.

            “No, I’m not telling you the details of Will’s sex dream.” Nico hissed “No.”

            “Why not?” Percy asked “Was it kinky? Were there dwarves involved?”

            “No, it was not  _kinky!_ ” Nico replied “It’s just private.”

            Percy huffed with resignation “Fine, but your no fun.”

            “I’m okay with that.” Nico retorted flatly.

            “So how was the sex then?” Percy asked with a grin. Too bad, he thought, the disapproving women had already left. She definitely wouldn’t have liked this conversation. “Ow, ow, who was top and who was bottom?” Percy asked with a curious sort of excitement. “Or was it like that time I walked in on you guys?” It wasn’t every day that you walk in on one of your closest friends having sex, so Percy remembered it well. 

            Ever since he had figured out he was bisexual, Percy had been trying to figure out what it would be like to be with another guy. When he had walked in on Nico and Will it really hadn’t been what he had imagined. They looked much more intimate then Percy had ever imagined. 

            “You know how you were on top but Will was-” Percy was cut off by the long beep that told him that Nico had hung up on him.

            Percy looked at phone with surprise for a moment. He snickered to himself amused that Nico had actually hung up on him. It was even more amusing that Nico would think that would stop him. He pulled up Nico’s contact information and called him back.

            Nico answered on the second ring in a clipped tone. “What?”

            “Dude,” Percy chuckled “I can’t believe you just hung up on me!”

            “Really?” Nico retorted sarcastically. “I’m pretty sure you were warned.”

            “For someone who has so much sex you’re really uptight about the topic.” Percy observed.

            “I’m not uptight,” Nico hissed. “I’m private!”

            “Whatever you say” Percy conceded. He could tell when the son of Hades was officially done with a conversation. And when Nico was done, he was done. As much fun as it could be to push him a bit was, Percy did actually try not to push him too far.

            They fell into a comfortable stretch of silence. Percy’s mind wondered back to a conversation he and Annabeth had a little while back. “Could I ask you a question?” He inquired sincerely.

            Nico let out a heavy sigh before responding with a question of his own. “Is it about my sex life?”

            “No.” Percy replied but then thought better of it and added “Well, at least not directly.”

            “I know I’m going to regret this,” Nico declared with clear resignation “but yeah, go ahead.”

            “So a little while ago” Percy began to explain. He remembered the conversation he and Annabeth had a few weeks earlier. “Annabeth made this comment that I can’t really figure out.”

            Percy paused as he tried to remember exactly how Annabeth had put it. Clearly uncomfortable with the silence the son of Hades hummed unsure “Um...?”

            “She said I needed to explore my sexuality more.” Percy explained before asking. “What do you think she meant by that?”

            There was a long pause before Nico asked a bit shortly. “How would I know?”

            “Well, we were talking about how I’m bisexual.” Percy elaborated.

            “Alright” Nico replied, chewing over that bit of information. “I still don’t get why you’re asking me. I’m gay, not bi”

            “Yeah, but your experienced." Percy stated before elaborating with emphasis. “With guys.”

            “What does that have to do with anything?” Nico asked flatly.

            “I don’t get what she means by explore!” Percy declared and even he would admit he sounded kind of whiney. “I mean, I’ve watched gay porn.” Percy explained. The son of Poseidon couldn’t help but grin as he heard Nico groan disapprovingly on the other end of the line. “I just don’t know what other exploring I could do without hooking up with an actual guy.” he continued with a small huff of frustration. “But it’s not like I could actually cheat on Annabeth.”

            “Why are you talking to me about any of this?” Nico asked with annoyance. “Why not talk to Annabeth?”

            “Because, like I said you have experience.” Percy justified. If Annabeth had planned on explaining herself she would have done so, Percy knew that. To spite what people may have thought Percy did get sick of his fiance looking at him like he was dense beyond belief. And that was exactly what she would have done if he asked. He got the distinct impression that he was supposed at least try to figure this one out on his own. “I just thought you might know of something- like more then what I’ve done, but not requiring another guy.”

            “Dude” Nico sighed and Percy grinned to himself. It was such a modern word from the old-fashioned demigod. He was a little proud of his younger friend. “I’m not comfortable with this whole conversation.” He stated “You should talk to Jason.”

            Percy scowled even though the younger boy couldn’t see. “Why would I talk to Jason?” He asked confused. For some reason the idea about talking to Jason about this made his stomach drop. The son of Poseidon knew it was a strange reaction. It wasn’t like he and Jason didn’t talk about sex or even about being bisexual. Still, for some reason he didn’t want to talk to the son of Jupiter about  _this_. “He’s never been with a dude. He’s got just as little experience as I do.” Percy exclaimed. There was a deep silence on the other line for a long moment and he started to wonder if Nico know something he didn’t. “Or wait, has he done stuff with a guy?” Percy inquired curiously. “I know the Romans had a thing about that.”

            Nico let out a sound that was somewhere between a disgruntled sigh and a frustrated groan. “You know the Greeks had a thing about that too,” he informed. Percy heard a note of anger on the edge of the younger demigod’s voice. “and neither culture was as accepting of homosexuality or homosexual sex as you may think.”

            Percy made a mental note to himself to follow up on that topic with Annabeth. He had been under the impression that the Romans had been pretty pro-gay. “That was the part of the statement you thought was important?” He asked “Did Jason tell you something he didn’t tell me?”

            “Percy, Jason and I don’t talk about that sort of stuff.” Nico stated firmly.

            “He told you he was bi before anyone else” Percy pointed out.

            “That’s different.” Nico retorted “But, for the record, no I don’t think Jason has ever done things with another guy.”

            “If you guys don’t talk about that stuff how can you know?” Percy asked more to annoy Nico then out of general curiosity.

            “He probably would have told Will.” Nico informed. Percy didn’t have to be there, he could hear a grin spread across the son of Hades face. “and Will definitely would have told me.”

            “Then why would I call Jason?” Percy asked. This time the question came more out of a general interest in what his friend was getting at. The initial gut reaction of ‘ _Dear gods, I can’t talk about this with Jason_ ’ had subsided substantially.

            “He may not be  _experienced_  but he certainly seems well informed on the topic.” Nico replied simply.

            On that Percy couldn’t really argue. “Yeah, I guess he does.” He agreed with a bit of reluctance. The apprehension may have subsided but it hadn’t completely disappeared. Still, he had to wonder was Jason seemed so knowledgeable about the subject when he had no hands-on experience. Maybe it was a Roman thing, they were a lot like the Boy Scouts- they were always prepared.

            “Or” Nico stated cutting into Percy’s thoughts and bringing him back to the conversation at hand. “you could just  _talk to Annabeth_.”

            “Alright, you make a good point.” Percy declared not exactly sure what point he was referring to. Again, Percy recognized when Nico was done participating in a particular topic of conversation. Beside, Percy was bored with talking about serious stuff. It was far more fun to rile Nico up by asking him questions about his sex life. “So one more question, me and Annabeth were talking and it got me wondering. Does Will’s whole child of Apollo healing abilities affect his stamina in bed?”

            Rather predictably Nico growled on the other end of the line. “Jackson, if you don’t get off the topic of my sex life right now I’m hanging up.” He threatened and Percy believed him.

            Percy choked down the worst of his laughter. “Fine I’ll just ask Will the next time I see him.” Unlike Nico, the son of Apollo had no problem talking about their sex life in detail. If Percy would follow through on the threat was less likely. He and Will got along well, and things weren’t nearly as awkward between them as it had been when Nico and Will first started dating. Still, he wasn’t as friendly with Will as Jason was. Nico didn’t know that of course so it was a fun threat to make. “I know he won’t have a problem telling me.”

            “Hold on a second Percy.” Nico declared. There was a pause and the sound of shuffling before Nico returned. “Oh thank the gods Will’s calling. I got to go.”

            “Dude, we talked about this.” Percy teased. “It hurts me when you blow me off for the boyfriend.”

            “Shut up Jackson” Nico responded but his words lacked the heat of real anger.

            “Talk to you later Nico.” Percy replied before hanging up. He tucked his cellphone back in his pocket before turning his attention to his neglected but not forgotten blue velvet cupcake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1- I totally made blue velvet cupcakes after writing this chapter and they were delicious  
> 2- I don't know why Percy got such enjoyment out of pissing off the disapproving woman in the dinning car but he just seems like that type that would do such like that (maybe I'm projecting because I'm the type that would do stuff like that). Either way it was so fun to write I couldn't help myself.  
> 3- The thought of missing two days of classes gives me anxiety and I'm not even in school anymore- I'm with Annabeth on this.  
> 4- Annabeth's right, Percy has a weird fascination with Nico's sex life. He's like Jason's polar opposite.   
> 5- Nico hanging up on Percy made me more happy than it should.  
> 6- There is some foreshadowing in here (it's slightly less subtle then it was in the Percy and Annabeth chapter but it's still subtle). If you don't see it yet don't worry it all gets explained soon-ish.


	20. Alternative Uses for the Kitchen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Lovies,
> 
> First let me just get this out of the way SMUT WARNING. There be smut ahead.
> 
> So originally this was going to be a cute chapter with lots of fluff but then I realized it was chapter 20 and in After the Wars chapter 20 is the first time Nico and Will actually have sex so I thought this chapter needed smut. The next chapter is really fluffy and adorable.
> 
> So I've gotten lots of comments about Nico meeting Will's friends, and how excited people are for that. First, thanks for all the comments because I love them (even if they just say good job). With everything going on right now (I'm American, and now very ashamed of that fact) I can use anything that will make me smile. So please never stop commenting, comments are my fuel. Second, now that I have finished writing the chapter where Nico meets Will's friends I feel comfortable saying its coming, Chapter 23 to be specific. I know that is a wait but I'm think it will be worth it- the chapter is currently 28 pages long (for reference most chapters are between 12 and 15 pages). Editing usually adds length so it could easily hit 30 pages. Writing it felt like a marathon but I'm happy with the end product so hopefully you guys will be too.
> 
> Side note: I finally got this site to indent every paragraph. It's only taken me six months of regular posting but I've finally found something that works. I am probably more happy about that then I should be.

           When Nico had woken up naked and alone in Will’s bed to find a note telling him not to worry he immediately began to worry. He didn’t think he could wait until Will called whenever that would be. Talking to Percy had helped in the sense it served as a distraction. Still, when Will actually called he was ready to jump for joy. That was until he actually talked to Will.

           When Will told him he had actually had the nerve to tell his mother about his nightmares. Will had even gone further to tell her why he had them. For most of the conversation Nico had to fight the urge to hang up on the son of Apollo. He couldn’t believe Will would do that without talking to him first. He was beyond angry and he made sure Will knew it.

           He seriously considered shadow travelling back to camp. Nico didn’t think he could take a whole week with Will’s mom looking at him like he was broken. Nico Di Angelo was the son of Hades; he did not need sympathy from anyone. The only thing that stopped him from leaving was the promise he made during the summer. He had sworn on the river Styx never to run away from a fight again.

           So he stayed and tried to find ways to occupy his time while taking his mind off of his anger. He shuffled though his luggage to find the bottle of drought he had packed and took a large sip. It was enough to help the line of marks Will had left running down the side of his throat fade within the hour.

           He poked around Will’s room a bit. He was surprised at how clean and orderly it was. Will did a great job of keeping the infirmary and the Apollo cabin in order. However, when it came to his own stuff Will never seemed to take the same level of care. Will was the type that just shoved his clean clothes in a drawer rather than actually folding them. He stopped looking around when he accidentally broke one of the strings on Will’s guitar.

            After that Nico struggled to find something to occupy his time and his attention. He warmed up some leftovers, and thoroughly enjoys Ms. Solace’s amazing cooking. He read a little and tried to do some of the homework Chiron had assigned him before he left. He played with his camera for a little bit, but Will didn’t live in a very scenic area so there wasn’t much to catch on film. He tried to watch television but found it was too passive. Whenever Nico got frustrated or just needed a distraction at camp he would practice with his sword but that wasn’t an option.

            Nico still had an hour before Will got home and he had completely run out of things to do. He remembered that video game thing Will pointed out the night before when he was showing Nico around the house. It sat under the television in the living room exactly where Will had pointed the night before. After staring at it for five minutes Nico admitted he had no idea how to use the thing. 

           Nico was  _not_  going to be bested by a hunk of metal and plastic. He decided to call Jason this time. It wasn’t until the phone began to ring that he remembered that Jason was probably still at school. He was going to hang up when Jason actually answered. “Hello” the son of Jupiter greeted.

           “Jason?” Nico replied surprised.

           “Nico? Hey, how’s Tennessee?” Jason replied.

           “Fine, I guess” Nico shrugged “Why aren’t you in school?”

           “Oh, we had a half-day.” Jason explained “So, what’s up?”

           Nico stared at the black box “How do I turn this thing on?” He asked with clear annoyance.

           The son of Jupiter chuckled on the other end of the line. “You know I can’t see what you’re talking about right?”

           Nico huffed frustratedly. “It’s one of those things, like Chiron has in the big house.” the son of Hades explained. “Although this looks newer.”

           “Are you talking about a video game console?” Jason asked bemused.

           Nico thought about it. That sounded right but it had never been something Nico had really taken an interest in so he couldn’t be sure. “Is that what you call the machine you guys used to play that weird game with the gorilla driving the cart?”    

           The son of Jupiter laughed “I am so glad you called me with this question and not Percy.” Jason declared “Yes, that is what we call it.”

           “How, am I supposed to know?” Nico bit back with frustration “It’s not like these things were around when I was young.”

           “But the way you said it,” Jason explained still sounding amused. “You sounded like an old man.”

           “Technically, I’m in my 90’s.” Nico reminded flatly.

           “That may be true but you’re a teenager  _now_.” Jason retorted.

           “Are you going to tell me how to turn this thing on or not?” Nico growled. He didn't see why Jason was being so difficult about this.

           Jason snickered “What kind is it?” he asked. “I’m going to guess Will has something newer then a Nintendo 64”

           Nico sighed heavily. He hadn’t even realized there was more than one kind of these things. The son of Hades examined the nondescript box from a variety of angles and found no clue what the thing was called. “It doesn’t say.”

           This time Jason sighed. “So glad you didn’t call Percy” he mumbled before asking “Can you describe it?”

           “It’s black and rectangular.” Nico replied plainly.

           “Okay, so not a Wii” Jason informed. “Does it have any symbols on it?”

           Nico eyed the thing again before replying. “It’s got a silver circle with two lines crossing in the center.”

           “Alright, it’s an Xbox.” Jason explained “The silver circle is the power button, you just have to push it.”

           “That’s a button?” Nico responded surprised. He pressed the button and expected nothing to happen. Surprisingly, the machine kicked on issuing a small noise and lighting up. “That doesn’t look like a button.”

           “Dude, does Will have Halo?” Jason asked “Cause we could totally play together.”

           Will did have Halo, all of them, because there was apparently more than one of those too. Nico agreed to play because he literally had nothing else to do. Still, Jason had to explain how to use the console, the controller before they could start to play. Jason didn't even try to explain the headset saying they could just talk over speaker phone.

           Nico was surprised how entertained he was by the game. As he and Jason played the time had passed surprising fast. Nico was a little surprised when he heard the front door open singling Will’s arrival.

           “That makes no sense” Nico declared as he recognized the creak of the door opening. He was careful to keep his eyes locked on the screen. Nico hadn’t really decided how he wanted to deal with Will. While his anger had subsided substantially he still wasn't exactly happy either.

           “Why not?” Jason asked.

           “Because it’s a sword!” Nico replied as he played. His eyes carefully focused on the screen as he heard Will walk in the room.

           “Hey, I’m home” Will declared and Nico bit back the urge to point out that was more then obvious. Being snarky wasn't going to help the situation any, he know. “Are you playing video games?” Will asked surprised.

           Nico rolled his eyes and held up a finger indicating Will would just have to wait. He instead spoke to Jason “Swords don’t have a limit on usage.” He explained. “And it’s a laser sword so you don’t even have to worry about it getting dull.”

           “Who are you…..?” Will began to ask as he looked around the empty room for Nico’s conversation partner.

           Jason chuckled. “Yeah, I think you would be better off not applying real world logic to video games.”

           “Oh” Will exclaimed with understanding.

           “Well, it’s stupid!” Nico declared still ignoring Will “I like my glowing sword and I don’t want to have to reload it!”

           Will Solace was either incredibly persistent or couldn’t take a hint. Nico sighed inwardly know it was actually a bit of both. It was one of those things he really loved about Will most of the time. “So” Will started his voice dropping barely whisper as he leaned over the arm of the couch. “Are you still mad at me?”

           “I wouldn’t say he’s mad” Jason replied for him. Nico had to give Jason credit, even after the number of times he was knocked unconscious he still had incredible hearing. “More like annoyed and slightly hostile.”

           “Hey Jason” Will greeted flatly, shooting Nico’s phone an annoyed look.

           “Hey Will” Jason replied pleasantly. Nico took advantage of Jason’s temporary distraction to cut down his avatar. “Gods damn it!” Jason shouted as he realized “Did you just literally stab me in the back?”

           Nico snickered “Sorry, Jason.”

           Nico heard Will sigh. “Alright, since your entertained I’m going to go shower.” The son of Apollo declared sounding resigned and somewhat sad. Nico felt a pang of guilt for giving his boyfriend the cold shoulder. Will once again leaned over the side of the couch and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “I’m all sweaty from practice.”

           Nico tried to push down the guilty feeling as he shrugged with disinterest. Nico dared the quickest of glances in Will’s direction as he heard the other boy walk toward the kitchen. The son of Hades internally kicked himself for looking, Will looked incredible. 

           The blonde wasn’t lying about being sweaty. Nico could tell by how his hair looked more mussed than usual. He was still in his soccer uniform: green shorts and a matching green jersey. The shorts displayed Will’s thick muscular legs. The jersey clung to the well-formed muscles of Will’s shoulders and upper back. Also green was  _definitely_  Will’s color.

           “Stupido, fidanzato attraente” Nico hissed under his breath. He really shouldn't have looked.

           “Pay back!” Jason declared excitedly.

           “What?” Nico turned his head back to look at the screen. While he had been so thoroughly distracted by Will, Jason had managed to kill his avatar. “Oh, right” Nico replied although he really didn’t care anymore. He shot a wayward glance over his shoulder to where Will had been standing. Will was gone, disappeared into the kitchen. Nico could still picture his perfection in his mind. “Ah I got to go Jason, talk to you later.” He declared and quickly hung up before Jason could question him about it.

           After shutting off the console he followed Will into the kitchen. He found Will with his back turned as he poked around the refrigerator for something. Nico leaned himself against the counter. For a moment, he just enjoyed the view as Will bent down to reach something far back on a shelf. “I thought you were going to shower?” Nico inquired as he announced his presence.

           “I am.” Will replied as he stood up right. Shame, Nico thought absently. “Just thirsty.” Will turned around to face him, letting the refrigerator door fall shut. To accentuate his point, Will held out the bottle of water in his hand for a moment before opening it. He took a large gulp and Nico watched his large Adam's apple work with the effort of swallowing.

           “Oh” Nico nods with understanding.

           Will eyed him inquisitively for a moment before asking “So we’re okay?”

           There was a part of Nico that wanted to be stubborn and say no but it wasn’t as large a part as it once was. Maybe he was relaxing in his old age, or maybe Will just looked to good to actually stay mad at. If Nico had to guess he figured it was the later. He shrugged “I guess”

           “Good” Will grinned widely “Cause I can’t stand when you’re mad at me.”

           Will’s smile was infectious. Nico feels the corners of his lips pull upward even though he was trying to force them back down. “So where’s your mom?” He asked giving a look around the room to indicate she wasn’t there. Nico figured if Will had already attended school and soccer practice, his mom would be home any minute.

           “She got talked into helping with the school play.” Will informed. He took another long pull from the water bottle before setting in on the counter behind him. “They have try-outs tonight so she’ll be home in a couple hours.”

           Nico couldn’t believe his ears or his luck, but at the same time he wasn’t going to question it. The son of Hades pushed himself off the counter and crossed the room in three large strides. Pushing up on his toes Nico kissed Will’s lips deeply. They were still slightly cold from the water and soft as always. Pulling back slowly he met Will’s vibrant blue eyes and whispered. “We could do a lot in a couple of hours.”

           Will grin’s turned mischievous as he brought his hands to rest on Nico’s hips. His thumbs rubbed lazy circles over the protruding bones there. They threatened to slip under the hem of Nico’s t-shirt but never actually did so. At the same time Will's other fingers gripped Nico tightly. He pulled Nico close until the two were flush up against each other. “You’re right” Will agreed in a husky voice. His tongue absently wetting his own lips. Nico watched as it did, wondering if Will could taste the kiss they had just shared. “And it would practically be a crime if you wasted such a golden opportunity.”

           There was a moment, it felt like an eternity but lasted no more than a heartbeat where they did nothing but stare into each other’s eyes. When the moment passed, it was like a dam giving way to a flood. They kissed like they needed each other’s lips to survive.

           Will’s soft lips were demanding as they moved against Nico. Again, the son of Hades pushed up on his toes to meet his boyfriend’s kiss with an equal amount of hunger. He brought his hands to rest on Will’s biceps, clinging to the thick muscles to keep his balance.

           Nico sucked playfully on Will’s bottom lip and the son of Apollo gasped. Nico felt Will’s grip on his hips tighten as he began to nip at first Will's jaw then his neck. Soon playfully bites grow deep enough to leave marks on Will’s tan flesh. The blond didn’t complain but rather he moaned. He tilted his head back offering the smaller boy more skin. Nico purred contently before sucking a mark into the crook of Will’s neck and then soothing the angry mark with his tongue.

           “Oh gods, Nico” Will moaned contently as he tried to pull Nico more tightly against himself.

           Nico slide his hands from Will’s arms over his shoulders and down his toned back. When he reached the hem of Will’s jersey he tugged it upwards. The taller boy bent down and lifted his arms to allow Nico to stripe him. The son of Hades tossed the jersey aside thoughtlessly. The shirt hadn't even hit the ground before moved in to mark along Will’s collarbone.

           Will growled and yanked at Nico’s t-shirt. The son of Hades paused in his assault to allow Will to pull off his shirt. The son of Apollo pulled the piece off black fabric over his head. Will's motions were so rough Nico was shocked he didn’t hear fabric tearing. Not that he would care if he had, it was just clothes.

           Both shirtless, Nico paused to appreciate the view of Will’s bare chest. Will reached out toward him, running his fingers down Nico’s stomach gingerly. Will's hand continued moving downward, hooking his fingers in the waist band of Nico’s pants. Swiftly, Will pulled Nico in while turning them both, switching their position. Will step forward, forcing Nico back until the son of Hades felt the cool surface of the refrigerator against his back.

           Will once again gripped Nico by the hips pinning him against the refrigerator before pressing his lips against Nico's. The blonde pressed forward slotting his knee between the smaller boy’s legs. Nico felt the hardness of Will’s thigh brush against his own growing excitement. The contact was like the most thrilling shock of electricity. The son of Hades gasped against his boyfriend's lips at the sensation.

           The noise seemed to make Will more eager. Nico wasn’t surprised Will always got increasingly aroused when he made excited noises. The son of Apollo pressed himself more tightly against the brunet. His weight further pinning the smaller boy to the refrigerator. Every point of were their skin touched burned like ecstasy. Nico could feel his boyfriend’s arousal pressed against the hinge of his groin.

           Will moved from his lips and started kissing along Nico’s jaw. The son of Apollo kissed a hungry trail up to Nico’s ear. As Will licked the shell of his ear, Nico could feel his hot breath on the sensitive spot just below his ear. The sensation sent chills down his spine and the son of Hades bit his lip to hold in a moan. The brunet let his head fall back so it pressed against the door behind him. His eyes flutter close as he reveled into the sensation Will was providing.

           In that moment Nico unraveled until he was only his senses. The taste of Will’s lips that still lingered on his own. The smell of Will, a pleasant mix of his own musk and lemony soap. The sound of their heavy breathing intermingled and the sound of his own heart thumping in his chest. The feel of Will’s warm breath, wet lips, and firm body against his skin. And then there was an explosion of fireworks behind his eyes as Will moved his thigh against Nico’s groin. “Will” He moaned with pleasure. 

           Will pulled away at the moan and Nico forced himself to open his eyes in confusion. He met Will’s gaze and saw nothing but lust. Will’s pupils were blown so wide Nico could barely make out the sky blue that should have been there. Will’s eyes remained locked on Nico’s as he worked to undress him the rest of the way. First he roughly undid Nico’s belt before moving onto the clasp and zipper of his pants. 

           Nico watched as Will pulled his pants and briefs midway down his thighs in one swift motion. As cool air hit the hot skin of his own erection Nico took a shuttered breath “Will”

           Will kept their eyes locked even as he moved to his knees. The blonde licked his lips absently. He made slow work of pulling Nico’s pants and briefs down until they pooled at his ankles.

           Will never broke eye contact even as he pressed his lips softly against tip of Nico's manhood. The son of Hades’ eye’s screwed shut at the sensation. He cried out wordlessly at the pleasure of Will’s warm kiss. It felt like fire coursing through his veins, and Nico desperately wanted is more. The smaller boy tried push forward into Will’s tentative touches. The son of Apollo’s strong hands pinned him to the refrigerator by his hips stilling his motions.

           Will’s tongue began lapping over the head of his erection lazily. Nico could do little more than stand there while Will slowly drove him to madness from the pleasure of his soft lips and warm tongue. After a few more kitten licks at his tip, Will dragged his tongue a long underside of shaft. “Will, per favore.”

           Will may not have understood his words but he seemed to recognized the plea in Nico’s tone. The words were barely out of his mouth when Nico felt Will’s soft lips envelop his girth. He sighed at the sensation as Will started working up and down his length with his warm mouth.

           Will’s pace started slow but with every swallow he took more of Nico’s length. Will’s hands no longer pinned him to the fridge, but rather gripped them for leverage as he increased his speed. Soft whimpers escaped Nico’s lips at the constant pleasure. He ran his hands through Will’s hair. He grasped at a clump at the crown of Will’s head in an attempt to ground himself in reality.

           “Oh miei dèi” Nico cried as Will managed to take him deeper than he had ever done before. The unexpected tightness almost enough to push Nico over the edge he hadn’t realized he had been nearing. His fingers tighten involuntary as he tried to hold on to reality. In one hand fingers tightened around Will’s hair while the other grasped at the fridge behind him. 

           “Mmmm” Will hummed as he pulled back releasing Nico’s hardness. Nico forced his eyes open to look down at his boyfriend with desperation and lust filling his dark eyes. 

           Will met his gaze and smiled mischievously. Nico could feel calloused fingers trace along his skin as the son of Apollo moved his hands from Nico’s hips. One came to wrap firmly around the base of his throbbing erection. 

           Nico took a shuttered breath at the contact. Still he tried to keep his eyes on Will even as Will's hand started to move slowly up and down his shaft. The son of Hades watched as his boyfriend brought his free hand to his own mouth and began to suck two of his fingers.

           Nico could do little more than watch and whimper in anticipation. Will looked up at him as he wet his fingers. The blonde continued to stroke him teasingly with his free hand. Will's blue eyes so filled with lust it was overwhelming. Nico was beginning to think Will’s hungry stare might actually burn him up. The brunet whimpered as Will pulled his fingers from his mouth with a wet pop.

           The son of Hades let his head fall back and his eyes fall shut as he waited for what he knew was coming. He felt Will’s wet fingers slide between his crease and quickly find his entrance. As strong fingers began to tease the tight ring of muscle Nico felt Will’s tongue drag across his length. Once again the blonde took Nico's erection into his warm mouth.  

           As much as Will played at teasing, Nico could tell his boyfriend was feeling just as eager as he was. Nico gasped as Will pressed two fingers into his channel. The burn at being stretched so much so quickly was unexpected. Any pain soon gave way to pleasure as Will started pistoning his fingers. The rhythm of Will large fingers matched the pace at which his mouth worked up and down Nico's shaft.

           Fireworks sparked in a rainbow color on Nico eyelids. His body burned with Will’s every motion. He got lost in the feeling of it all, and began moaning wantonly. He pleading for more in Italian without thought or care. Every cell of his being screamed with pleasure as Will worked him slowly.

           Then all of a sudden it stopped. The warmth of Will’s month vanished and the sensation of his strong fingers slipped away. Nico slumped against the refrigerator trying to catch his breath. He scowled down at Will with frustration. “Will, ho bisogno di te.”

           Will grinned “We should go upstairs.” he declared climbing to his feet.

           Will was barely to his feet when Nico pushed off the cold metal of the refrigerator and crushed his lips against Will’s. The force of the kiss caused Will to stumble back a few steps. Nico followed not wanting to break the kiss, still he managed to kick off his pants as he did.

           Will took another few steps back as they continued to kiss hungrily. Nico pawed at Will’s muscular chest, his sculpted sides in a desperate attempt to feel  _more_  of Will. His hands landed at Will’s hips and his fingers dug into flesh as Nico tried to pull Will’s body closer to his own. At almost the same time he tugged frantically at Will’s shorts trying to get them  _off_.

           Will chuckled against Nico’s lips “I take it we’re not going to make it upstairs.”

           “No” Nico admitted “Per favore Will, ho bisogno di te!” Nico moved to placing hungry kisses along Will’s jaw.

           Will growled low in his throat. “Nico,” Nico felt his hands down run down his back and over his buttocks possessively. “you are going to get me in trouble.” The son of Apollo whispered in his ear. Will grabbed both Nico’s ass roughly and brunet gasped. When he got over his shock at the rough treatment Nico throw his arms around Will’s neck allowing Will to lift him off his feet.  and wrapped his legs around Will’s waist. Nico wrapped his legs around Will's waist as he carried him. Nico still trying to kiss him where ever he could manage.

           When Will set him down Nico felt the hard surface of the kitchen table under his backside. His legs dangled off the edge of the table as Will took a step back from him and Nico watched. Will pulled off his shorts and boxers swiftly revealing his own erection. The head already glistening with pre-cum.

           Will stepped in closer and Nico opened his legs wide, allowing Will to stand between them. “You look amazing.” Will declared in a hushed tone. Nico felt heat creep into his cheeks, he doubted he would ever be able to hear Will say things like that and not blush. 

           Will’s fingers traced over his skin as light as a feather. Such a light touch after some much heated contact sent shivers down Nico’s spine. Will traced the sun on Nico’s chest with his thumb. “So amazing.” The son of Apollo murmured. 

           “Will” Nico pleaded as Will’s fingers stroked sensitive flesh on the inside of his thigh. Nico’s eyes, eager and pleading, locked on Will’s as the blonde began to wet his length with his own saliva.

           Nico took a shuttered breath as Will grabbed him firmly just behind the knees. The son of Apollo pulled him forward so his backside was just barely on the table. Nico's heart was beating rapidly in his chest with anticipation and excitement. He laid back so he was propped up by his elbows.

           Will leaned over him, one hand slayed on the table’s surface for support. Nico laced his leg over Will's arm holding himself wider. Nico felt like he was presenting himself to Will as an invitation. If he wasn't so aroused Nico would have probably been embarrassed by that thought. Nico watched with anticipation as a look of concentration spread across Will's face. He saw Will used his free hand to line himself up with his stretched entrance.

           “ _Ohhhh_ ” Nico moaned in anticipation as he felt the blunt head of Will’s erection press against his puckered rim. Will moved slowly, pressing forward at a steady pace until he was buried in Nico to his hilt. 

           Nico let his head fall backward as he adjusted to the feeling of Will’s girth within him. “è così piacevole.” Nico moaned with pleasure. He felt Will’s hot breath on his skin with each exhale. Will brought his other hand down on the table, sliding it under Nico’s knee and coaxing his other leg higher.

           For a moment, Will was still. His head hung forward, his hair grazing Nico’s bare chest with his slightest motion. “You ready?” Will panted out the question. As a reply Nico only managed a frantic nod.

           The son of Apollo’s first motion was small, he rocked his hips forward gently. Still, it elicited a rather dramatic moan from the smaller boy. The feeling of Will’s substantial manhood moving within him was a pleasure beyond description. The current angle brought Will thrusting into sensitive bud of nerves within him.

           Will’s second thrust showed greater confidence. The blond snapped his hips forward with increased force. Nico managed to bit his lip to muffle the worst of the moan he knew he wouldn’t be able to contain. The son of Hades was trying to ignore the fireworks that blossomed behind his eyes and blood turned to fire. He wasn't ready for the pleasure to end.

           “Nic” Will whispered in a husky voice. Nico opened his eyes and met Will’s hungry gaze “Moan for me.” The blonde punctuated his request with one forceful thrust.

           The motion was so unexpected, the sensation was so overwhelming Nico couldn’t fight it. His head fell backward as he cried out “ _Will!_ ”

           “That’s it” Will purred.

           Will quickly found a rhythm that had Nico moaning and crying with his every motion. He cried Will’s name, he begged for more, he praised Will and the sensation of him. Above him Nico heard Will moan his name like a mantra intermingled with a few absent prayers to unnamed gods. As the speed of Will’s motions increased, the fire-y pleasure that ran through Nico's body began to pool in his groin. Nico’s cries turned to meaningless babble.

           Still working within him Will leaned forward and nipped at Nico’s collarbone. The slight bit of pain as Will’s teeth grazed against his skin was enough to cause the son of Hades come undone. The tension in his very center snapped as cold pleasure washed over his body. Nico felt himself spilled hot across his own chest and stomach with his climax. “WILL!” Nico screamed in ecstasy. He throw his head back as his body arched and he was overrun with pleasure.

           A moment passed and Nico’s body continued to pulse with Will’s every motion. After an especially deep thrust Will shuttered above him. Will moaning Nico’s name as found his own release. Even after Will’s orgasm had clearly subsided they both stayed where they were, connected and panting.

           When Will stepped back Nico sighed at the loss, the feeling of Will within him. Nico gave in to the pleasant buzzing on the edge of his senses and let his elbows give way. He laid flat on his back on the kitchen table with his arms thrown out at his sides and his legs dangling off the edge.

           Will leaned over him. He placed a few affectionate kisses on his chest and stomach. “We’re really good at that.” The blonde declared playfully.

           “Mm” Nico hummed in lazily agreement. The sound seemed to resonate with the pleasant buzzing of his body that still covered him like a warm blanket.  As he stared up at the yellowing ceiling thoughtlessly he smirked. “We should do porn.” Nico suggested playfully. 

           Will was silent, too silent, like he was holding his breath. Nico looked down his own body to where Will stood at the edge of the table. His boyfriend was looking back at him bewildered and uncomfortable. Nico felt his smirk turn into grin. “That was a joke” The son of Hades informed.

           Will rolled his eyes but visibly relaxed. “It can be hard to tell with you.” he informed as he moved away from table and started picking clothes off floor.

           “So I’ve been told.” The son of Hades retorted pushing up on his elbows so he could keep his eyes on Will. His tan skin glistened and his blond hair was spiked and disheveled from sweat. Nico always marveled, Will managed to look his best after sex when everyone else would look like a mess. Maybe it was those post-sex hormones Will had mentioned the night before clouding his perception.

           Will managed to find his shorts and boxers. He was attempted to detangle the two when Nico commented “We broke our tradition.”

           Will freed his boxers and stepped into them. As he worked to pull them up his legs, he asked. “What tradition?”

            Nico tilted his head to one side, surprised. He figured Will would have noticed the pattern as Nico had. “Whenever we fight, whoever caused it always bottoms for the make-up sex.”

           Will paused one leg in his soccer shorts “Really?” He asked inquisitively. Nico rodded in the affirmative as a reply. Will eyed him critically for a moment before asking. “Had you wanted to top?”

           Nico hadn’t actually thought about that when he made the observation. He felt heat creep up his neck and spread across his cheeks at the question. It was still a hard topic for him to think about, although it had gotten better. Still old-fashion ideas still crept around in his head – allowing someone to do that meant you were weak, actually liking it was unthinkable. Still, Nico did like it.

           It may have been strange but Nico found it comforting when Will was the one to top. Maybe it had to do with trust. He was trusting Will so completely that he was letting him  _inside_ his  _body._  He knew Will would bring him pleasure. After a fight, no matter who caused it or who was at fault, Nico wanted to be comforted. Of course, he could barely think about that let alone consider trying to explain it to Will. He turned head to hid the worst of his embarrassment as he replied simply. “No”

           “Good” Will grinned cheerfully as he returned to dressing. “Cause there is no way that table would hold my weight”

           “We could’ve just had sex on the floor.” Nico pointed out plainly.

           “I like the way you think.” Will smiled at him before snatching his discarded jersey off the floor. “We will have to revisit that idea in the near future.” Will tugged the shirt of his head. Nico wondered absently why he was even bothering to get dressed since he was probably going to shower. Will walked over to him and pressed a soft kiss on his lips. “You can top if you want.”

           Will walked back toward the refrigerator and picked up his long forgotten bottle of water. Nico laid back on table still too blissed to care he was naked and splayed on Will’s mother’s kitchen table.

           “Um” Will declared nervously breaking the silence. “So some of my friends want us to go for coffee tomorrow after school.”

           “Oh?” Nico questions as he stared lazily up at the ceiling. He made no attempt to move.

           “Yeah” Will answered. He was speaking quickly with a nervous sort of energy. “but don’t worry I’ll get us out of it.”

           Nico scowled as he processed what Will had just said. Pushing up on his elbows he asked. “You don’t want me to meet your friends?”

           “No” Will assured. He still sounded nervous so Nico didn’t find it all that assuring. “It’s just I know how you are with people.”

            Nico arched a sardonic eyebrow at his boyfriend with annoyance. “And how is that?”

           “That came out wrong” Will assured. At least this time he didn’t sound so nervous so the statement was at least somewhat successful. “I didn’t mean it that way” He promised. “It’s just you’re not social” He explained rather unhelpfully. Nico blinked at him. He hoped the next thing that came out of his boyfriend’s mouth was at least somewhat thought out. Will sighed and looked at Nico nervously. “I’m going to be bottoming for the rest of our relationship, aren’t I?”

           “If you keep talking?” Nico asked before shrugging. “Probably.”

           “Sorry” Will apologized. He scrubbed his own face ruthlessly with his hands. “Could you maybe get dressed?” He requested sweetly before explaining. “Seeing you all sexy and naked short circuits my brain.”

           Nico blinked at Will again. “We  _literally_  just had sex.” Nico reminded dryly.

           “Just because my body is unable doesn’t mean my mind is unwilling.” Will defended.

           Nico rolled his eyes dramatically before pushing off the table. “Fine” he huffed stumping across the kitchen to where his clothes were laying in a heap. He picked his briefs out of the pile and made quick work of pulling them on. He turned to Will and asked. “Better?”

           “Those are  _really_  tight” Will replied regrettably.

           “Dear gods Will!” Nico hissed picking his pant off the floor and pulled them on. He shot Will an expectant look.

           “Thank you” Will gave him an approving nod before getting back to the topic at hand. “What I was trying to say is, I don’t want you to be overwhelmed” He explained. “I love my friends but they can be overwhelming”

           “I’m friends with Percy and Austin” Nico reminded dryly “I think I can handle it”

           Will let out a resigned sigh before throwing up his hands. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a lot of the fics I have read either have Nico understand no technology or all technology. I figure he would be somewhere in the middle and know the things he'd been exposed to and be oblivious to the stuff he hadn't been exposed to. Hence he can operate a cell phone but is completely oblivious to a Xbox.
> 
> The discussion Nico and Jason have about the glowing sword- totally based on me the first time I played Halo, You should not have to reload a sword.
> 
> The 'Tradition' Nico mentions is present if you look back though After the Wars and Normal Lives. I did not do it on purpose at first but when I noticed it I stuck with it til this chapter and I just had to mention.
> 
> I actually had to do research on this (my internet history must look so bizarre) but historically speaking Nico is right. Societies have tended to view the one being penetrated during sex between to men as being worse or lesser then the one being penetrated. This goes back to ancient Roman. NOT SAYING I AGREE WITH IT BECAUSE I DON'T!!! Just saying Nico's internal struggles are realistic to the era he is from.
> 
> I swear to god(s) when I started writing After the Wars, in my mind Nico was more of a top. But the more I have written the more difficult it has been to write him in that role. It is so much easier (meaning it writes more smoothly, and I spend less time trying to work on the logistics in my head) when he bottoms. I have no clue why this is, it just is.
> 
> So as I said in the note at the beginning of the chapter: Comments are my fuel so please feel free to comment even it is just to say you enjoyed the chapter :) 
> 
> For those of you reading Outtakes, I will be talking to you on Wednesday. Take care til then.


	21. Southern Hospitality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello on this fine Sunday.
> 
> So if the last chapter was smut this is fluff with a few serious moments thrown in there because I apparently can't help myself.
> 
> Also there are a few minor (like super minor) references to smut. Will is a child of Apollo- he has a dirty mind and an overactive libido.
> 
> For those of you that remember me mentioning wanting the thanksgiving chapters up by thanksgiving....thats not going to happen (as this Thursday is thanksgiving). They are still a few chapters off and I just started working on them and they are long since the first will be from Percy and Nico's POV and the second will be Annabeth and Will's POV. 
> 
> But in good news I have a few days off of work (three to be exact) and I'm hoping to get some extra writing done so that maybe there can be a double post in the near future.

           After what had to have been the hottest kitchen sex in the history of kitchen sex, Will had headed to the shower. The image of Nico laying naked on the kitchen table like a wet dream come to life still alive in his mind. Will had left Nico sprawled on the couch still looking blissed to clean off. Will had already been sweaty from soccer practice; he could only imagine what he looked like after such an athletic round of sex.

           Under the warm spray of water Will scrubbed himself thorough to wash away the sweat and sticky fluids. The son of Apollo had wished his boyfriend had joined him. At camp they had showered together a lot, and gods Nico looked good with water dripping down his body. He had thought about asking but knew they didn’t have enough time before his mom got home, so he showered alone. Will did make a mental note to make sure he and Nico showered together before Nico left at the end of the week.

           As the water started to run cold Will shut off the spray and stepped out. Without the steady beat of water Will was met with a foreign sound; laughter. It was a sound Will heard so infrequently it took him a long time to recognize it. It was actually the sound of Nico laughing. It was such an unexpected and musical sound Will acted without thought. He just had to know what was causing Nico to laugh. The son of Apollo barely bothered to dry himself off before slinging a towel around his waist. Still dripping wet, Will hurried down the stairs to investigate the sound further.

           Will finds Nico in the kitchen still laughing at something Naomi had said. His mother was standing at the stove with her back to the rest of the room. She was cooking something and if the smell was any indication, it was ham. Nico stood to her right leaning on the counter by the fridge. The same fridge they had made out against less than an hour before, Will had to work not to visualize that.

           Instead, Will focused on the present. The way Nico’s cheeks were colored from the effort of laughter, the way his eyes twinkled. Nico was pinching his side with one hand while he held a large knife in the other. There was a strong smell of onions in the air, so Will figured that Nico had been chopping before he was overcome by laughter.

           Nico and his battle tested reflexes noticed Will’s appearance first. He turned and looked toward Will whipping a tear from his eye with the back of his hand. “Did you really eat a stick of butter?” Nico asked with clear amusement. 

           It was such an unexpected question and it was so out of context Will didn’t get it at first. When he finally realized what Nico was referring to he groaned and rolled his eyes. “I was five, I didn’t know better!” Will defended.

           “Bless his little heart!” His mother stated with laugh as she looked over her shoulder at Nico. “Butter and cool whip, I always had to hide them.” Instead of snickering at Will’s expense which was the reaction Will would have expected. Nico seemed to give the information some serious thought, like he was filing it away for later use. Will didn’t get why until he put himself in Nico’s shoes and thought  _cool whip_. Will at least hoped that was what Nico was thinking about. Will was all for licking cool whip off sensitive parts of his boyfriend’s body.

           His mother was still working over a frying pan on the stove as she talked. “Did you remember…” She began as she turned her head toward Will. Once she actually saw him she stopped. He was standing in the doorway in nothing but a towel and a puddle quickly forming at his feet. She blinked at him before asking. “William, what are you doing?”

           “I heard…..” he began to explain.

           “You’re dripping everywhere!” She exclaimed “Go put some clothes on!” Naomi ordered before turning back toward the stove. “The kitchen is no place to be naked.”

           Will managed to keep a straight face for which he thought he deserved a metal. The son of Apollo was careful not to look at the kitchen table. Even though he had cleaned away any sign of their earlier interlude Will still couldn’t get the mental image of Nico laying naked and on display.

           From a quick glance Will could tell his boyfriend’s thoughts had gone to the same things at Naomi’s comment. Unlike Will, Nico was having a much harder hiding his thoughts. The son of Hades had taking a sudden and intense interest in the onion he was chopping. With his back turned Will could make out the blush creeping up the back of Nico’s neck.

           Will felt a grin tug at his lips. It was both amusing and cute how Nico could act so bashfully when earlier had totally been Nico’s idea. That, Will realized, was why people always thought Nico was innocent. Will kept those thoughts to himself. He gave a quick nod in his mother’s direction even though she wasn’t looking and replied. “Yes ma’am.”

           Will headed back upstairs and made quick work of getting dressed. When he returned to the kitchen Nico and his mom had switched places. Now, Nico stood at stove stirring something in a sauce pan while Naomi stood at the counter chopping ham.

           They both seemed to hear Will’s entrance this time. Nico turned ever so slightly and smiled at Will over his shoulder. It would have been considered a small express from anyone else but from Nico it was huge. Will loved being on the receiving end of looks like that from Nico, he felt privileged.

           His mother turned and pointed at Will absently breaking Will’s train of thought. It had been something about Nico’s smile, about its beauty and mystery, but the thought was gone. “The boy knows how to how to cook, marry him” She declared seriously. The statement caused Will to blush. If it were up to him, Will would gladly marry the son of Hades but figured the other boy should have a say in things too. Naomi turned toward Nico and explained. “Be warning, Will can’t cook to save his life.”

           Nico maintained his attention on the cooking in front of it. It conveniently allowed the son of Hades to keep his back to all of them as he grumbled his response. “That’s good to know.”

           Will didn’t take offense at Nico shying away from the idea of commitment. He understood it and it had nothing to do with Nico’s feeling for Will. It was a common enough problem amongst demigods, especially those that had been around for both the Titan and Giant wars. When you lose so many people you care about, it can be hard to remember it’s not your fault. 

           Will had struggled with it himself at times. He had been close with Lee and Michael and both half-brothers had died bloody. The son of Apollo could only imagine it was worse for Nico. The son of Hades had lost his mother, been ripped from his own time, and lost his full-blooded sister. Will figured that was why Nico was so touch averse with most people. It was Nico’s way of saying  _Don’t touch me, I’m physically poison_.

           His mother didn’t think much of Nico’s reaction or had decided not to comment. Will didn’t know which one he was hoping for more. “He and Dean almost burned the house down trying to make popcorn when they were younger.” Naomi informed cheerfully.

           Nico paused and looked over his shoulder at Will again. This time he wore an expression of clear confusion. “How old were…?” The brunet began.

           Will sighed at the memory as much as the question. “Older then you’d expect.” Will admitted begrudgingly. Nico snickered with amusement as he turned back to the cooking.

           “I wanted to be mad but they looked so pitiful with black smudges on their faces I just couldn’t.” His mother continued to reminisce. “I think I still have the picture of them if you want to see.” She declared glancing in Nico’s direction. She didn’t wait for Nico to answer before turning her head toward Will. “Will, go get the big photo album from the living room.”

           “What?” Will exclaimed with a sudden sense of panic. His mother, like all mothers, spent the first ten years of Will’s life creating a collection of pictures capturing the most embarrassing moments in Will’s life. He did  _not_  need Nico seeing pictures from his most awkward life moments.  “No mom, Nico doesn’t want to look at old pictures.” Will tried to dismiss the idea casually, like he didn’t actually care either way.

           Nico clearly could tell how Will was actually feeling about the idea. He grinned at Will wickedly before replying sweetly to Naomi. “Ms. Solace, I would love to look at old pictures.”

           “See, now go get the photo album like I asked.” His mother declared absently shoeing him over her shoulder.

           “Mom, please!” Will begged. “Don’t do the stereotypical mom ting where you show my boyfriend naked baby pictures.”

           Nico’s grin turned into a truly devious smile, his eyes twinkled with mischief. “I would especially like to see those.” The son of Hades informed.

           “Oh don’t worry hon I’ve got plenty of those.” Naomi informed. “When Will was about three he just refused to wear clothes.”

           “Mom!” Will protested.

           “Oh calm down,” His mother reassured teasingly “it’s not like the boy hasn’t seen you naked.”

           Even at the poor angle, where Will could only see half of Nico’s face he could see how the playful expression drained at Naomi’s common. Will watched as a deep blush that spread up Nico’s neck and over his normally pale cheeks.

           “It’s all fun and games until she went  _there_  huh?” Will teased. Nico glared at him over his shoulder. The expression wasn’t as intimidating as Nico probably meant it because he was still blushing scarlet.

           His mother stopped chopping and rested her knife on the table. Cutting board in hand she walked over to the stove were Nico was still stirring something in a sauce pan. She tipped the cutting board over the pot and poured the pieces of ham in as she spoke. “Stop grinning smugly and get the photo album.” Mother shoed Will. She gave him an expression that told Will it was an order and not a request. To Nico she informed kindly “I can take care of it from here hon, you’ve helped enough.”

           “Fine” Will groaned pushing himself out of his chair. Still grumbling he went to the living room and dug the large photo album out of one of the side tables. The thing was so big and heavy it was more like a college text book and less like a collection of family memories.

           When he returned Nico was sitting at the kitchen table looking bored. Unceremoniously Will dropped the heavy gold photo album on the table. “You really don’t want to look at stupid old pictures.” Will declared. He wished he had charmspeak like Piper so he could effectively talk Nico out of this.

           After putting the dinner in the oven Naomi joined them at the kitchen table. Nico started flipping through the picture book. she would stop him to point out specific pictures that had amusing stories to go with them. To Will, it seemed like she had a story for almost every picture and none of them were particularly flattering.

           They were three or four pages into the book when they came to the first of many naked toddler Will pictures. In the image a three-year-old Will with white-blond hair and chubby legs was standing on the back of the couch.  The naked toddler was clearly very proud that he had conquered the couch. “Oh gods.” Will groaned at the sight of the offending image.

           “Yup,” Naomi began with clear delight as she ignored Will’s protest. “here’s Will during his naked phase.” She paused to chuckle at the memory before going on to explain. “For a good six months he would throw a huge fit whenever I tried to get him dressed. If we didn’t have to go anywhere I just let him run around the house naked.”

           Will moaned “This is so embarrassing.”

           “Oh stop being silly! You were adorable” His mother declared patting his arm absently. “Just look at your little…”

           “Mom!” Will protested with outrage. His hands flew out to cover the image. Next to him, Nico’s efforts to contain his own laughter was actually causing his slender body to shake noticeably. The son of Apollo turned on his boyfriend with little amusement. “You wouldn’t be laughing if the situation was reversed.” he pointed out flatly.

           Nico didn’t even try to hide how he grinned triumphantly. “Luckily I don’t have to worry about that.”

           “Which is so unfair.” Will declared slouching back in his chair. He eyed his gothic boyfriend as he pouted. “I would pay money to see you in your old school uniform.” Will commented. Maybe it was weird but the thought of Nico in something besides he’s usual black on black was appealing. The idea of Nico dressed up like an innocent Catholic school boy was more than just appealing. Will wondered if Nico would be willing to play dress up. As if Nico could read Will’s thoughts, the son of Hades rolled eyes wearily.

           Luckily his mother didn’t notice the nonverbal exchange or didn’t realize the less then PG-13 thoughts had inspired it. She continued to flip through the album pointing to pictures and telling stories. Will was only half paying attention. The rest of brain was too busy trying to think of where get a school uniform in Nico’s size. He was going to have to ask Wash, he had gone to Catholic school before getting expelled.

           “Ow here it is!” His mother declared coming to the picture that inspired this whole stroll down memory lane. Dean and Will stood side by side grinning with the exploded microwave in the background. Both had black smudges on their faces and in their hair. Will remembered the day well, it hadn’t been that long before the whole camping incident. Who knew you couldn’t put metal in the microwave? 

           “You look like you’ve been through a war.” Nico observed.

           “Yeah, it kinda felt like it at the time.” Will remembered. The fun, if a bit embarrassing, memory was quickly replaced with less pleasant memories. “That was only a couple months before…I left for camp.”

           At that comment all the amusement drained form his mother’s face. Clearly the fight they had before Will had ran off to camp was an unpleasant memory for her as well. The tension quickly became oppressive and Nico clearly noticed it. His dark eyes darted questioningly from Will to his mother and back again. Whatever Nico thought was going on between Will and his mother he didn’t comment. Will couldn’t have been more appreciative of that.

           “Dinner is about done.” Naomi informed. Her voice lacked all its earlier cheer. “Will, why don’t you put this away.” She requested absently as she pushed away from the table and walked toward the stove.

           Nico looked at him inquisitively and Will was sure he was going to ask what all that had been all about. Nico surprised him as Nico often did. Instead of doing what Will expected, he did what Will needed. The son of Hades placed his hand over Will’s. Nico's cool skin stood in stark contrast to Will’s normally warm hand. Nico's fingers squeezed his in a gentle and reassuring way.

           It helped but even with Nico’s comfort the awkwardness seemed to linger in the air well into the meal. They talked but the conversation lacked any of the playfulness from before. Will actually missed his mother telling embarrassing stories from his childhood.

           After dinner, Will and Nico helped clear the table before his mother shoed them from the kitchen so she could use the table to grade papers. Will wasn’t going to complain because that meant he and Nico could hang out in the living room by themselves. 

           They spent the next few hours curled up on the couch watching television. What they actually watched Will couldn’t say he was too focused on cuddling with Nico. He played with the other boy’s hair, which was surprisingly soft and whispered softly in his ear. More than once the son of Apollo thought he could get used to this.

           Will lost track of time like that until he mother’s voice cut through the warm haze. “Well, this might be one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.” She declared with a small chuckle.

           “We do our best.” Will replied his voice thick with sleep.

           Against him Nico shifted with a soft hum before his body stiffened and pushed off of Will. “Ms. Solace” The son of Hades exclaimed as he rubbed at his eyes. Will hadn’t even realized it but Nico must have fallen asleep at some point in the last few hours. “I…he…we…”

           “Oh bless your heart.” Will’s mother interrupted “Sweetie, it’s  _Naomi_.”

           “Sorry Ms. Solace” Nico muttered an apology.

           Naomi looked toward Will with a grin “He really is the most adorable thing?”

           The son of Apollo grinned at the comment and how it caused Nico to frown. He stretched as he spoke “I think so.”

           “You two should get to bed” His mother informed “Will, do you know where to find your old sleeping bag?”

           “Yeah, I think so.” Will replied. He swung his legs off the couch and pushed himself to his feet. “I’ll go get it.” He informed before looking toward Nico who still looked groggy. “Go upstairs and I’ll meet you up there.”

           Surprisingly Nico didn’t argue, a sure sign that he was still at least half-asleep. Instead, he pushed himself off the couch and dragged his feet toward the stairs. “Night Ms. Solace.” He grumbled.

           “It’s  _Naomi_  sweetie.” Will’s mom reminded yet again. Her tone was light and she clearly found the whole thing somehow amusing.

           “Sorry Ms. Solace” Nico muttered so quietly as he started up the stairs Will could just barely hear him.

           Will’s mother let out a small laugh as she watched Nico make his way up the stairs with heavy feet. When she turned back to Will she exclaimed with a grin “I’m going to get him to call me Naomi if it’s the last thing I do.”

           “He will” Will shrugged “It’s just going to take some time. He can be stubborn and a bit thick-headed at times is all.”

           Naomi seemed to accept that bit of knowledge before heading back to the kitchen to finish her work. Will went to the linen closet and dug out his old sleeping bag before heading up to his bedroom.

           When he got there, he found Nico had already changed into his sleep clothes. He was wearing a black undershirt that fit Nico’s chest and abs better than most of his clothes and a pair faded black sweats. At the sight Will’s first thought is how good Nico looked. Although, to be fair, Will always thought Nico looked good. His second thought was to wonder how Nico could sleep in so much clothing. The mere idea of sleeping in sweatpants made Will feel like he was going to overheat.

           “You look nice.” Will commented. He dropped the sleeping bag unceremoniously in the middle of the floor.

           “Don’t you even start.” Nico warned firmly. The son of Hades eyes darted around the room nervously. It was like he expected a monster to pop out of a dark corner at any minute.

           “What?” Will questioned playfully “I was just giving you a compliment.” He declared before shucking off his sweater.  

           “Yeah, sure that’s how it would start.” Nico declared rolling his eyes. Will had to give his boyfriend credit. Nico was the only person he had ever meet that could roll his eyes in annoyance and look adorable at the same time. Will was reluctant to look away from Nico even for the second it would take to strip himself of his t-shirt. He did it but he hadn’t been particularly happy about it. “It always starts out as something innocent, like that and the-” Nico stopped abruptly. His dark eyes shifted downward as Will worked to unfasten his jeans. The son of Hades eyes went impossibly wide and a flush rose to his cheeks. “ _Will_ ” Nico hissed with disapproval. His dark eyes darted nervously toward the bedroom’s open. “What are you  _doing_?” 

           Will paused in his undressing, his hands still clasped on the zipper of his pants. “Getting ready for bed.” He answered with a mix of confusion and amusement.

           “You’re” Nico shifted from foot to foot nervously and once again looked at the open door. “taking off your clothes.”

           “Yeah?” Will chuckled at Nico’s squeamishness. “I never sleep in anything but my boxers, you know that.”

           Nico looked down at his hands and started picking at his nails. Will grinned as Nico's dark eyes clearly lingered on his hands still holding the zipper of his pants. “But…your mom.”

           “She also knows that” Will informed. Matter now solved Will went back to stripping himself of his jeans. He pushed his jeans off and stepped out of them. Now in only his boxers he looked up to see his boyfriend staring at him in clear panic, a dark blush on his cheeks. It was cute but Will felt a little bad. He sighed “Would you feel better if I slept in a shirt?”

           Nico bit lip and nodded. “Yeah.”

           “Fine.” Will chuckled as he scooped his soiled clothes off the floor. After tossing his dirty clothes in the hamper he moved to his dresser. The son of Apollo began to rummage in his drawers looking for an especially thin undershirt to wear to bed. He needed something thin or he swore he would be cooked by his own body heat. Grinning to himself, he commented over his shoulder playfully. “It’s adorably how bashful you’re being considering earlier.”

           “Will!” Nico hissed a protest.

           Will finally found a white undershirt that met his needs and snatched it out of his drawer. He turned with every intention of teasing Nico about how sex on the kitchen table had been all his fault. Luckily, he took in the scene before he actually opened he mouth. Nico was busying himself by unrolling the sleeping bag and making up the floor. His dark hair was acting as a vail but Will could still see the he was blushing so red his face was practically purple. In the doorway, leaning on the door frame stood his mother with a knowing smirk.

           Will quickly pulled on the undershirt before assuring. “I was talking about this morning.”

           “Uh-hu” His mother hummed doubtfully. “I think we need to have a discussion about the word  _sneak_  at some point.”

           Nico continued to busy himself by making up the floor. He was clearly being careful not to look up at Will or his mother. The son of Apollo felt heat rise to his cheeks with slight embarrassment. “I’ll look it up.” He muttered.

           “That’s a good idea.” Naomi nodded in agreement. She wrapped her knuckle against the door frame twice before informing. “The door stays open.”

           The son of Apollo gave that some thought as he pulled on the undershirt in his hands. He couldn’t help but scrunch his face in an expression of displeasure. “Well, that’s going to make sneaking difficult.” He commented off-handedly.

           “Will!” Nico hissed in protest. He stopped in his work of making up the floor to look up and glare at Will.

           Naomi arched her eyebrow at him knowingly. “I think you two have had enough sneaking for one day.”

           Nico dropped the pillow he had been holding and covered face with both his hands. “Oh my gods.” He exclaimed, his voice muffled but his fleshy palms.

           “You boys get some sleep.” She instructed pushing off the door frame as if she intended to leave. She eyed both boys critically for a moment before adding in all seriousness. “I expect you both to be clothed come morning” The comment caused Nico to issue a muffled whine. “I’ve had enough nakedness for the week.”

           “Night mom.” Will replied. He doubting Nico could take much more of the exchange.

           “Goodnight sweetie.” His mother returned before leaving.

           As the sound of her footsteps faded down the hallway Nico finally dropped his hands from his face. “I might literally die.” He exclaimed.

           “Darlin’ don’t worry, she’s clearly not bothered.” Will assured. Nico takes a moment to glare at him clearly not reassured before lower himself to the floor. Will stopped him before he could situate himself on the makeshift bed. “What are you doing?”

           Nico’s response was one of confusion. “Laying down?”

           “Darlin’ you’ve got the bed, I’ve got the floor.” Will informed.

           Nico continued to look up at him in confusion. “But it’s your bed.”

           “And you’re the guest.” Will explained “It’s a southern hospitality thing, don’t question it darlin’”

           Nico was silent for a long time. He was looking up at Will with an expression the son of Apollo knew meant he the smaller boy was thinking about something deeply. “Will” He sighed as he pushed himself back up to standing. “You have to stop calling me darlin’” The son of Hades informed him seriously.

           “It’s a term of endearment” Will reasoned.

           Nico crossed his arms over his chest. A sure sign to Will that the brunet was not going to budge on the issue. “I’m not a southern belle.” He informed.

           Will couldn’t stop the small chuckle that escaped him. Nico was a great many things but he was right he certainly wasn’t that. “Fine, I’ll just go back to Pretty Boy.” Will shrugged casually.

           Nico didn’t protest the nickname as he moved to sit on the bed. He was still careful not to make direct eye contact with Will. The son of Apollo couldn’t help but smile to himself over Nico's continued modesty. Over the summer, Will had frequently commented on Nico’s looks. When they were alone he called Nico pretty boy far more than he ever used his actual name. 

           While the son of Hades adjusted to the nickname over time, Will knew Nico still had a hard time seeing himself as attractive. The whole thing was made even more comical by the fact that his boyfriend was now an underwear model but still couldn’t see how gorgeous he was. Will didn’t point any of this out, he knew Nico just needed time. Slowly he would start to see himself the way the rest of the world did. Until then Will planned on reminding him he was beautiful as often as he got the chance.

           Once Nico had settled on the bed Will shut off the light before moving to the nest of blankets on the floor. The blonde took a moment to push blankets and rearrange pillows to get as much comfort out of the hard surface as possible before settling down. The floor wasn’t going to win any awards for comfort but it was no worse than sleeping of the floor of the Hermes cabin. Will figured it would take a while to fall asleep on such a hard surface but closed his eyes anyways. He focused on keeping his breathing slow and steady in hopes of dozing off.

           “Will, this is ridiculous.” Nico declared in the dark. “It’s your bed, you should be sleeping in it.”

           Will grinned to himself. “If you want me to join you love, all you have to do is ask.” He replied teasingly, although maybe there was some hope in it as well. Honestly, his mother had already pretty much gave them permission to have sex as long as she didn’t find out about it. How mad could she get if they shared the bed for the night, and all they did was sleep.

           “I’ll take the floor.” Nico replied seriously. “I’ve slept on the hard ground most nights for years, I’m used to it.”

           Will resisted the urge to question that bit of information about the mysterious years of Nico’s past. Although the thought of Nico, his Nico, alone, in the dark, sleeping on the hard ground made Will sadder then he could ever truly express. “All the more reason you should have the bed” He replied stubbornly.

           He heard Nico make a frustrated huff before the mattress springs squeaked in protest to the brunet’s movements. Will heard blankets being roughly tossed aside before Nico’s feet hit the floor. A pillow was thrown to the ground for dramatic effect. Nico’s dark figure stood over Will in his nest of blankets as he declared with finality. “I’m not sleeping in the bed while you’re on the floor.”

           Will chuckled and rolled over so he could get a better look at Nico even though he was little more than a darker patch of darkness. “Nic, the only way I’m getting in the bed is if you physically pick me up and put me there.” He informed plainly.

           “You think I can’t?” Nico asked in defiance.

           “You’re a badass but I’ve got six plus inches and gods knows how many pounds on you.” Will explained while trying to stifle a yawn. “So no I don’t think you can physically lift my dead weight and hoist it half a foot off the floor and on to the bed.”

           There was a long stretch of silence and Will began to wonder if Nico was going to actually try it then Nico issued an indignity sigh. There was the sound of blankets being roughly pulled from the bed onto the floor. “I’ll just lay on the floor then and no one will sleep on the bed.”

            Will was glad for the dark so Nico could see how he grinned triumphantly. “If that’s what you want.” He declared with disinterest.

            The son of Apollo waited until Nico fully settled himself on the floor before he threw an arm around his slender waist. Will pulled the smaller boy close so their bodies were flush against each other. A contented sigh escaped his lips as he nuzzled against the crook of Nico’s graceful neck.

            “Will” Nico protested as he squirmed in Will’s grasp.

            “The door is open and our clothes are on. We’re good” Will reassured. His voice coming out far groggier they he had expected it to. Nico remained tense for a moment before letting out a long sigh. His body relaxed into Will’s embrace.

            They fell into a comfortable silence, the only sound in the room was that of their steady breathing. Will felt sleep tugging on the edges of his mind. He was content to give into until Nico’s voice cut through the darkness. The son of Hades spoke in barely a whisper and his tone seemed unsure. “Will, can I…..ask you something?”

           “Mmm” Will replied lazily. He nuzzled into Nico’s neck again and wiggled in an attempt to bring them closer together. Of course, it was unsuccessful because they were already as close as they could physically be.

           “You never talk about the year you stayed at camp.” Nico stated “Why you stayed.”

           “Nic” Will sighed. He should have figured this question would come at some point especially after the awkwardness at dinner. Still, he didn’t want that bad memory tainting this perfect moment. “That’s a long, complicated story.”

           “Right, I can understand if you don’t want to tell me.” Nico responded sounding deflated.

           “I do want to tell you.” Will reassured “I want to tell you everything.” The son of Apollo placed a soft kiss on a bit of Nico’s exposed skin before continuing “Just not now, too comfy.”

           Nico said nothing in response. Will began to worry Nico was upset with him. Then he noticed the soft rise and fall of Nico's chest and realized the son of Hades was fast asleep. With Nico next to him the floor no longer felt hard or uncomfortable and soon Will too was asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So most of the fun Will stories are based off things I have experienced  
> -When my sister was little my mom totally caught her eating a stick of butter so it happens.  
> -In college my dorm had a fire alarm go off because some guy put tin foil in the microwave. 
> 
> Just picturing these two cuddling on a couch makes me so happy I can't even handle it.


	22. Plotting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday,
> 
> I hope everyone in the states that celebrates it had a nice Thanksgiving and everyone else just had a weekend.
> 
> This chapter feels short to me but that may be because everything I have written lately is 10,000+ words.
> 
> I realized I haven't written a single chapter from Piper's POV which this far in didn't seem right, so here it is (there will be more when I get into wedding stuff).
> 
> Next week is a two POV chapter (Starts with Will and ends with Nico) and is the much awaited chapter where Nico meets Will's friends.
> 
> For now please enjoy this bit from the ladies of PJO

           Piper sat on the floor of the McLean house’s rather expansive living room playing with the cutest baby satyr ever to exist; Chuck. She was amazed that coach Hedge had helped create something so adorable. Mellie must have done must have done most of the work.

           Using here scarf she hide her face from the giggling baby before quickly revealing herself in a game of peek-a-boo. Honestly, Piper really enjoyed babysitting. Before Jason had left she had cooed about how adorable baby Chuck was and how much she wanted one. She had enjoyed the panicked expression on Jason’s face. Sure, she wanted a baby someday, but that didn’t mean she wanted one any time soon.

           When the phone rang, she had to crane to reach the receiver to answer. “McLean Residence.” she greeted.

           “Piper, it’s Annabeth.” Responded the familiar female voice on the other end of the line.

           “Hello Annabeth Chase, how’s your trip to New York going?” She asked in a chipper tone. as she picked up baby Chuck off the floor and brought him to rest on her hip. With the phone pressed to one ear she started for the kitchen. She figured now would be as good a time as any to feed Chuck lunch.

           On the other end of the line Annabeth let out an audible sigh “I’ve been stuck on a train for a day and a half. I feel claustrophobic. I’m going to be stuck on a train for another day and a half, and I want to kill Percy for refusing to fly.”

           Piper snickered as she put Chuck in his highchair. “So it’s going well?” She teased. Still Annabeth had her sympathy. Piper always hated long trips. Not the demigod-quest kind of trips, but the long do-nothing-but-sit-there kind of trips. She couldn’t imagine being stuck on a train with very little to do for three days.

           “As well as can be expected.” Annabeth agreed “What are you doing?”

           “I’m at home babysitting Chuck for the Coach and Mellie” She replied. With Chuck strapped into the highchair she walked into the kitchen to quickly grab Chuck’s lunch. “Where’s Percy?” She asked as she pulled the prepared plate of veggies out of the refrigerator.

           “It’s Percy Jackson, where do you think?” the daughter of Athena asked. She quickly answering her own question “The dining car” Piper had to admit that made a lot of sense. She strolled back into the dining room with the plate of food in hand. At the sight, Chuck giggled happily and kicked his hoofs. “Is Jason around?” Annabeth inquired.

           The daughter of Aphrodite placed the plate of food in front of the little satyr. She took a seat next to him as he happily began to eat. “No, he had a track meet.” She explained.

           “You’re not there watching?” Annabeth questioned.

           “He runs around the track, occasionally he jumps over things, it’s not that thrilling.” Piper replied. She was all for support Jason’s efforts at being a typical teenage, she really was. She just wished he had picked a more exciting sport to play. As she saw it track really had only one redeeming quality. “Although the shorts are nice.”

           “I remember when Percy did swim last year.” Annabeth reminisced “The speedo was nice.”

           “Now if Jason run around in a speedo I would definitely go to watch.” Piper replied with a laugh which Annabeth joined her in.

           “So” Annabeth broke the short stretch of silence with the sloppy segway. “have you talked to Jason yet?” Piper could tell by Annabeth’s tone what she was really asking about. It had been a topic of conversation between them quite frequently. At least when their respective boyfriends weren’t around to overhear. Really ever since they had come up with idea together a few months earlier.

           “No” Piper admitted. She had been trying but it was shockingly hard to get a moment alone with Jason lately. “I was going do it yesterday but Nico called and they ended up playing Xbox until well after my dad got home.”

           Annabeth was silent on the other end of the line for a long moment before she asked. “He was playing Xbox with Nico?”

           “Yup” Piper replied picking a piece of broccoli that had fallen off Chuck plate off the floor. “Halo, I think.”

           “Nico di Angelo?” Annabeth questioned critically.

           “Yes.” The daughter of Aphrodite replied. She could understand Annabeth’s confusion. She had had a similar reaction when she had asked Jason who he was playing with.

           “The son of Hades?” The daughter of Athena inquired.

           Piper got up from her chair to dispose of the tainted piece of broccoli as she replied. “Yup, that would be the one.”

           Annabeth was quiet on the other end of the line. Piper figured she was processing this new and unexpected information. When she broke the silence, she admitted “I didn’t think Nico knew what an Xbox was.”

           “I don’t think he did.” Piper assured. She remembered hearing Jason the day before trying to explain how to use the game controller. Every once and a while Jason would have to stop and hold the phone away from his mouth as he choked down an amused laugh. Piper couldn’t help but find the whole thing sweet. How Jason always went out of his way to make sure Nico never felt out of place even though he was born in a different time.

           The daughter of Aphrodite pushed the thought of her boyfriend’s thoughtfulness aside for the moment. She brought her attention back to the topic at hand. “Have you talked to Percy yet?” She asked as she once again took her seat at the table next to the happily eating satyr.

           “I’ve been trying.” Annabeth let out a huff that was clearly born of frustration. “Gods knows I’ve been trying but Percy can be so dense sometimes.”

           “That does sound like Percy.” Piper agreed although she still thought it was odd. Not only was Percy insightful on the battlefield he was often that way with other people. He figured out Leo had met Calypso before anyone else had. He pegged Nico and Will as liking each other after seeing them interact for all of two minutes. Although if she was being fair, that one wasn’t really that hard to figure out. Still, on other things he could be so blind. From what Annabeth had told her, Percy had walked around oblivious for years about her feelings for him. Not to mention most of camp had figured out Percy was bisexual before he admitted it to himself. “Maybe you should try being less subtle” she offered.

           “That was my thought.” Annabeth let out a heavy sigh before continuing. “So yesterday I start asking him about his bachelor party.” The girl on the other end paused and Piper heard her growl. The daughter of Aphrodite had to bite her lip to hold in a laugh. She knew that sound, it was Annabeth’s ‘I’m dating an idiot’ sound. “Sorry,  _bro’s weekend_.” the blonde corrected with clear irritation.

           “It weird he’s planning his own bachelor party.” Piper commented “Isn’t that usually the best man’s job?”

           “Normally, I think so,” Annabeth admitted. “But I can’t imagine Tyson putting together the weekend filled with debauchery Percy’s looking for.”

            “Wait, Tyson is going to be Percy’s best man?” Piper exclaimed trying and failing to hide her surprise. She had been trying to get wedding details out of Annabeth since Percy had proposed. Tyson being best man hadn’t been mentioned once. Granted, Annabeth seemed to try to avoid the topic as much as she could so that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Still, Piper hadn’t seen that coming and was a little disappointed. “What about Jason?”

           “That was the problem.” Annabeth began to explain. Piper recognized her friend’s tone. It was the same tone Annabeth got when she was explaining why a building had to be built just so. “There was Jason, Nico,  _Grover_ , Leo, Frank, I could go on. So many people we’ve been through so much with it’s impossible to pick just one person.” Clearly the daughter of Athena had given this particular problem a lot of thought. “Tyson is Percy’s brother, it’s the easiest choice, and the others will be groomsman.”

           “I guess that makes sense.” The daughter of Aphrodite admitted reluctantly. She was still disappointed for Jason. A thought crossed her mind and she had to ask. “So who’s going to be your maid of honor?”

           “I have no idea.” Annabeth admitted flatly. “Can we get back on topic?”

           “Yeah, of course. Percy’s bro’s weekend.” She summed up quickly “When is that going to be anyway?”

           “Percy’s thinking around New Year’s.” Annabeth replied “We have off from school and they won’t break ground for the Roman baths at camp until after the holiday so Leo should be free.”

           “Oww” Piper exclaimed excitedly as she was struck with the best idea. “I have off from school too! You, me, Hazel, and Reyna can go look at dresses.”

           “Piper, we haven’t even picked a date yet.” Annabeth sighed. “It’s a little early for dress shopping.”

           “It is never too early for dress shopping.” Piper explained. “And you don’t have to buy anything yet, you can just look.” She offered before adding “It will be fun.”

           “I don’t see how” The blonde replied doubtfully. “And since when are you so into clothes?”

           “I’m not, it just…. it’s a wedding” Piper explained a little exasperated that Annabeth even had to ask. “It’s exciting!” Honestly, Piper didn’t think she would have to explain this to the bride. Annabeth Chase might be the worse bride in the history of brides, she thought disappointedly. “Just think, Nico has a phone now so we can send him pictures of dresses and ask his opinion.” She offered in hopes of getting Annabeth on board with the idea of dress shopping. “It will drive him crazy but he has great taste.”

           “He really does,” Annabeth admitted “especially for someone that refuses to wear color.” The girl on the other end of the line let out a resigned sigh. Piper grinned as she knew she had won even before Annabeth spoke. “Alright we can go dress shopping, but I’m not buy anything.”

           “Of course,” Piper agreed before adding under her breath. “unless we find the perfect dress.”

           “I should know better than to talk about these things with a daughter of Aphrodite.” She declared off-handedly. “Let’s get back to my conversation with Percy.”

           Piper cleared the now clean plate off the table before baby Chuck before the little satyr decided to make a meal out of it as well. “Yeah sure.” She agreed cheerfully as she deposited the dirty plate in the sink.

           “No more disruptions about the wedding?” Annabeth inquired with clear doubt.

           Piper sighed as she took Chuck out of his highchair. “I’ll do my best.”

           “Alright” Annabeth seemed to accept Piper’s reply as good enough. “So we’re talking about the  _bro’s weekend_  and Percy tells me he doesn’t plan on inviting Will.”

           “What? Why not?” Piper asked confused. Over this past summer Will had really become part of their group, it seemed strange for him to be involved. Also, she couldn’t see how Percy was going to get Nico to go along with things if Will wasn’t there. “Will is adorable!”

           “I know!” Annabeth exclaimed.

           “Will and Jason get along great.” Piper commented as she walked back to the living room with the baby satyr on her hip.

           The way Piper saw it, some ways Jason got along better with Will then he did with Percy. They both had a more regimented approach to leadership, while Percy lead but instinct and charisma. Still, Piper was still amazed that they made it work. Jason’s years in the legion had made him a rule follower, and a man of few words. Sometimes to Piper’s frustration, Jason believed strongly in private was for  _private_. While Will wasn’t as ostentatious as some of his siblings he still didn’t seem to have any sense of privacy. Worse, Will could make almost any conversation about his sex life with Nico much to Jason’s horror. Sometimes when she didn’t have anything to do she would watch Jason talk to Will on the phone. She always laughed when Will said something that made Jason blush and sputter. Needless to say, Piper was one-hundred percent team Will.  

           “I know, but Percy says it would be  _weird_.” Annabeth whined. “You know, because Nico used to have a crush on him and now he’s with Will.”

           “Well, I guess on some level I can see that.” Piper admitted. She could see how that could be uncomfortable especially know how possessive Will could be. Still, Percy hadn’t seemed to have any trouble with Will being around over the summer. “But it still makes no sense. Didn’t Will help Percy figure out he was bi?”

           “Yes!” Annabeth exclaimed. Piper figured she had pointed out the same thing to the son of Poseidon and it must not have had much of an effect. The daughter of Athena sighed heavily. “I don’t know, Percy and logic are so rarely friends”

           “I call B.S.” Piper declared. “He just doesn’t want to watch Nico and Will be all affectionate, or deal with them sneaking off to have sex in semi-public places.”

           “From what I remember of fourth of July, Nico is an affectionate drunk so those things would likely happen.” Annabeth agreed.

           Piper pinched her nose at the memory. Whenever she tried to think of that night she was struck with the ghost of a headache right behind her eyes. “My memory of that night is fuzzy but didn’t Nico sit in Will’s lap at one point?”

           “Yes he did.” Annabeth answered. “For like twenty minutes, Jason looked like he was going to have a stroke the whole time.”

           “Right, yeah now I remember.” Piper acknowledged. More specifically, she remembered having to listen to Jason’s concerns about it the next day. “Those two are such a cute couple.” the daughter of Aphrodite sighed thinking of Nico and Will. She figured her mother would also approve of the couple. “I love them together.”

           “That’s the problem!” Annabeth groaned. “If Percy doesn’t invite Will I’ll just have to wait until after the idiotically named bro’s weekend to bring it up.”

           Piper was having a little difficulty following Annabeth’s train of thought which was impressive. As a child of Aphrodite, she usually had an inherent understanding of emotional thinking. “Annabeth, I agree Percy should invite Will but I don’t think you need to change your plans if he doesn’t.” Piper reasoned. “I guess I don’t see the problem.”

           “Are you joking?” Annabeth laughed humorlessly on the other end of the line. “Percy is already inappropriately obsessed with Nico’s sex life.” That was true and the polar opposite of Jason. While the son of Jupiter adamantly denied Nico had a sex life, the son of Poseidon would not stop asking questions about it. “You want me to give Percy permission to have a gay experience, and send him off for Nico to deal with?” Annabeth sighed with frustration before adding. “In a situation involving  _alcohol_  without Will around?” The blonde groaned “No, I think Nico’s been through enough trauma for a life time.”

           Piper gave the situation some thought before reasoning. “You know, I don’t think Will being there would stop Percy from saying something inappropriate to Nico.” Percy rarely thought before he spoke and he rationalized all inappropriate sexual comments as ‘just a joke among bros’. “Now that I’m thinking about it, it might be better if Will isn’t there. I can imagine after a few drinks, Percy suggesting something really lewd to Nico as a joke and Will murdering him.”

           “And what happens when Percy has a few drinks and suggests something lewd and Will’s not there?” Annabeth asked the question through clinched teeth.

           Piper laughed at the thought. She would honestly pay to see that. “Nico stabs him with the nearest piece of cutlery and grumbles something like,” She paused to put on her best Nico voice. “Shut up Jackson” Returning to her own voice she continued. “and I’m sure there would be some of that famous son of Hades glaring too.”

            Annabeth huffed “I guess” she declared not sounding at all convinced.

           “Besides, it’s not like you’re telling him to go have gay sex and then throwing him at Nico” Piper reassured.

           “That’s what it feels like.” Annabeth admitted. Piper could help but appreciate the irony of the situation. The whole thing had been Annabeth’s idea in the first place and Piper had been the one that need the convincing. Now Annabeth was calling her for reassurances.

           “No, you’re telling Percy to go out and have gay sex, I’m telling Jason the same thing and we are throwing them at each other.” Piper stated. That, at least was how Piper saw things.

           On the other end of the line Annabeth let out a sincere laugh. “I still can’t see Percy and Jason actually having sex” the other girl admitted. “They’re too competitive.”

           “That’s exactly why they would wind up having sex.” Piper explained before adding. “Might be good for them, help ease some of their competitiveness.”

           Annabeth replied doubtfully “I don’t see how.”

           Piper sighed and explained further. “Cause half of their competitiveness is masking sexual tension. If you stop looking at it rationally and start looking it emotionally you’ll see it.” It was at that moment Piper remembered she hadn’t actually spoken to Annabeth in days. Excitedly she asked. “Did I tell you I caught Jason watching gay porn the other day?”

           “No!” Annabeth chuckled with amusement.

           “Yup, one of the actors looked just like Percy.” Piper informed.

           “Seriously?” Annabeth questioned “Did you tell him?”

           “Gods no!” Piper laughed. “He was freaked out enough with me walking in on him. No need to make things worse by pointing out he may be sexually attracted to one of his best friends.”

           “That makes sense.” Annabeth agreed. There was a commotion on Annabeth’s end of the call before Piper heard Annabeth speak. “Oh hey Percy you’re back. Did you bring me back a snack?” There was a pause in which Piper assumed Percy replied. “But why is it blue?” Annabeth answered.

           Piper snickered and answered even though the question hadn’t been directed at her. “Because it’s Percy.” She grinned wickedly even though her friend couldn’t see her. “Oh my gods, please tell me you’re talking about food and Percy didn’t just show up with blue condoms.”

           “Piper I have to go” Annabeth replied clearly trying to hold in laughter. “Talk to you later.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have a big thing when it comes to cheating- I fucking hate cheating, I can't read fanfics where it takes place and I probably won't ever write it. (We all have our lines). That being said I really want to explore some Percy and Jason stuff because I agree with Piper.
> 
> Also nothing will happen with Percy or Jason involving Nico (outside of maybe a few inappropriate jokes from Percy). Nico and Will together are like my life I can't write them with other people (another one of those lines).
> 
> Alright, those might be the most serious notes I have written about a chapter ever. Now those are out of the way:
> 
> Not really trying to disrespect track- a few of my friends ran track in high school so I love you guys ;)
> 
> More on the bro's weekend to come.


	23. Coffee with Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Happy Saturday.
> 
> I had mentioned the potential for an early post and here it is. The much awaited chapter where Nico meets Will's friends.
> 
> WARNING: This chapter contains homophobic language (Apologizes).

Will-

           Will wanted to be thankful to be out of Dean’s tiny Honda but all he could think was how this was a horrible idea. He found himself dragging his feet as they walked from the parking lot to the front entrance of the café. He was only barely aware of Watts, Wash, and Felix’s continued complaining being squeeze into the backseat of Dean's car. He was too busy imagining all the different ways this could go horribly,  _horribly_  wrong.

           “Dude” Watts exclaimed as they came to the sidewalk. Will stopped and turned to look at his friends “if you think we are such awful people why do you hang around us?” He asked “I mean I get with Dean you don’t have much of a choice, he’s family. But the rest of us you hang out with of your own accord.”

           “Except for Felix.” Dean added with a grin, nudging Felix to show it was all in jest.

           “Well yeah.” Watts agreed teasingly.

           “I can go.” Felix replied dryly.

 _That would be great_ , Will thought but had enough presence of mind not to voice it. “I don’t think your awful people.” The son of Apollo insisted. It was true, he's friends were great people really. “I just think you can be loud and inappropriate, and you only get worse when you are all in a group.”

           “Dude, that’s part of our charm.” Wash commented with a smirk.

           “I like Nico a lot, alright.” Will argued. He figured the statement was enough even if it was the understatement of the century. “I don’t want you guys to scare him off.”

“How are we going to scare him off?” Dean asked incredulously.

           “It’s just Nico’s kind of …..shy.” Will informed.

           “He’s an underwear model.” Felix replied doubtfully “He’s not that shy.”

           “Besides,” Dean commented “I’ve already seen him practically naked.”

           “Dude we’ve all seen him practically naked.” Watts laughed “The whole country has seen him practically naked.”

 _Thanks Watts_ , Will thought,  _like I need a reminder_.

           “Yeah, I think I covered that with  _underwear model_.” Felix pointed out.

           “No, you guys have seen pictures of him in nothing but his underwear.” Dean corrected “I’ve seen him in real life wearing nothing but a sheet.”

 _Oh yeah_ , Will thought,  _this is the worst idea_. The son of Apollo glared at his cousin for talking but it had little effect, the damage was already down. Nora and Ruby had come strolling up behind them just in time to here Dean’s statement.

           “Oh my god!” Nora exclaimed as she slipped her hand into Watts’ grasp. “Seriously?”

           “I’m jealous!” Ruby added. She was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet as she came to stand next to Wash.

           “He’s gay.” Wash reminded flatly, like it was something he was really sick of having to bring up. Will understood Wash's feelings on the matter. Ever since the girls had learned Nico was his boyfriend they would  _not_  stop talking about it. Specifically, they wouldn’t stop talking about how Will was  _so_  lucky because Nico was  _so_  hot. Watts and Wash weren’t enjoying hearing their girlfriends talking about another guy being attractive. Will wasn’t a fan either, not that he felt jealous. If it was another guy talking about Nico that way it would have been a different story entirely. Still, he wished the girls would at least tone it back a bit.

           “So?” Ruby questioned clearly undeterred by the mention of Nico’s sexual orientation. “He’s still gorgeous.”

           “Yup, I’ve changed my mind.” Will declared seriously. He turned on his heels and took a step in the direction of Dean’s car. “We’re not doing this.” He’s friends were almost too much for him to deal with he couldn’t subject Nico to them.

          “Calm down Will” Dean sighed stopping Will in his tracks. “We’ll behave, promise.” he reassured, although the amused grin he was wearing was less then reassuring.

           Will still felt uneasy about the whole thing. He looked at his friends and didn’t find anything that made him more comfortable with the idea. “Maybe we should go over the rules again.”

           The group shared a collective groan. Felix rolled his eyes before declaring “We’ve gone over them a hundred times, I think we’ve got it.”

 _Seriously_ , Will thought as he glared at Felix,  _who invited him_. Felix seemed to notice the annoyed look being shot in his direction and didn’t care. Will decided to ignore his not-exactly-friend and instead addressed the rest of the group. “No mentions of …” The son of Apollo began as he looked at the others expectantly.

           “His modeling.” Nora supplied with a sigh.

           “His scars.” Ruby added as her shoulder slumped disappointedly.

           “Your sex life.” Dean offered in a tone that sounded like he was reading of a cue card.

           “Or sex in general.” Wash added with an annoyed eye roll.

           “No questions about his childhood, his family or school.” Watts listed, ticking each one with his fingers.

          “Good.” Will declared. He tried to sound satisfied even though in reality he only felt marginally better. Just because his friends remembered the rules didn’t mean they would follow them.

           “Are we allowed to bring up the weather?” Felix asked with clear sarcasm “Or is there a rule against that too?”

           “Yeah Dude I think there’s a rule against that too.” Dean nudged Felix as he joined in on the joke. Will resisted the urge to gag or call his cousin a traitor. Since Dean and Felix were the only single ones in the group they had started to develop a bond of sorts. It had been subtle at first, when Dean didn't know Will was gay, but once that had come out it had gotten a lot worse. Dean and Felix were bonding over checking out girls or something like that, Will guessed. Now that Dean knew Will was gay he was left out. Will wasn’t jealous, absolutely  _not_! He just wasn’t a fan of Felix.

           “Shut up, alright.” Will grumbled defensively “Nico’s very-”

           “Dude” Dean interrupted. “if you say shy I’m going to slap you with a dictionary.”

           “Introverted.” Will completed his thought.

           “That’s just a synonym for shy” Dean pointed out dryly. Leave it to his cousin, the aspiring journalist, to correct Will's vocabulary.

           The son of Apollo rolled his eyes before he whined. “This is such a bad idea!”

           “Dude you’ve reviewed the rules, we’ve promised to behave.” Dean reasoned suddenly taking a more serious tone. “Let’s get on with it already!” His cousin nudged Will’s shoulder to encourage him to move. “Before you work yourself into a panic attack.”

           “Fine!” Will gave in mentally even though his feet remained firmly planted on the pavement. “But if he dumps me because of you people I’ll hate you forever.”

           “That fair.” Dean agreed. The other blonde placed one hand firmly on Will’s shoulder. He began pushing until the son of Apollo actually started to move toward the entry.

           The others let Will lead the way into the café. Although, Will realized, that may have been because Dean remained behind him steering him forward when necessary. The café looked like it always did. The lighting was low and the walls were a dark chocolate-y brown. The warm tone when combined with the eclectic furniture gave the place a warm and cozy feel. Still, the dim light made seeing the whole room clearly challenging. It took Will longer then he would like to find Nico. 

           The son of Hades was sitting at a large circular table toward the back of the room. He had his back to the wall and a cup in his hand. Once Will's eyes found the dark Italian he couldn’t understand how it had taken so long to see him in the first place; Nico looked amazing. His neatly trimmed hair fell back in with a soft wave. From a distance, it looked as if Nico had deliberately styled it that way but Will knew he that wasn’t the case. It was more than likely Nico’s hair had just fell that way because Nico kept running his fingers through it. With his hair swept back, Nico’s sharp facial features more distinctive. His large eyes appeared larger and his pouty lips seemed poutier.

           Nico was wearing the leather jacket he bought over the summer with the girls. Unlike his bomber jacket, this one wasn’t oversized. It fit the slim frame of his shoulders and chest snuggly. Nico could look intimidating wearing that jacket. It added to the air of mystery that already surrounded him. But not now because he was also wearing gray and purple scarf which made him look  _fashionable_.

           Will would never have believed that one day he would describe Nico as fashionable. The son of Apollo knew Nico had nothing to do with it. Mitchell had started buying Nico clothes like the son of Hades was his own person my-size-Barbie. Since Nico couldn’t care less about buying clothes he accepted all of it. Will wasn’t going to complain, the son of Aphrodite had managed to get Nico to wear color. Not a lot of it just the occasional splash of jewel tones as an accent to Nico’s usually black but it was something.

           “He’s prettier in person!” Nora declared with quiet squeal. Will looked over to see the girl literally bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet.

           “None of that.” Will reminded in a hushed tone. He moved through the café, walking toward where Nico was sitting. With every step he felt more nervous. He didn't think he was this nervous for their first kiss. Well, afterward maybe, but not before.

           Will knew Nico had been aware of their presence from the moment they walked through the door. Still, he didn’t look toward them until they neared the table. As Nico looked up at him, Will suddenly felt nervous and awkward. Maybe it was just that this situation was so out of their usual interactions Will didn’t know what to do. “Hey” Will greeted with a small wave before moving to rub his hand absently at the back of his neck.

           “Dude, you look so different with all of your clothes on!” Dean exclaimed loudly from Will’s right. Nico’s expressive eyes grow wide before he looked down at his coffee cup. Will knew he was trying to hide how he was blushing but Will could still tell by how the tip of his ears pinked.

          “Dean!” Will protested as he shot his cousin a disapproving look.

           “What?” Dean questioned with a little amused laugh. “It’s true!”

           Will fixed his cousin with a serious expression as he hissed. “What did we just talk about?”

           “Will, if we followed your stupid rules we would have nothing to talk about.” Dean informed dismissively. Will realized too late that if he wanted Dean, or any of his friends to keep their mouths shut it would require large quantities of duct tape. Dean waved him off “Calm down, it’s fine.”

           “Rules?” Nico questioned. He looked up at Will with an inquisitive and slightly concerned expression. He realized giving his friends a bunch of rules for interacting with Nico could look bad. And, unfortunately the son of Hades tended to jump to the worst possible explanation.

           “I just wanted them to behave.” Will whined in his own defense. It was the truth too, Will just didn’t want his friends making Nico uncomfortable. He hoped Nico would understand that.

           “You wanted us to not talk.” Felix corrected rather unhelpfully.

           After a moment of thought Will had little choice but to shrug and accept the truth of that statement. “More or less, yeah.”

           “So rude.” Ruby declared shaking her head disapprovingly at Will, Dean, Felix. She turned to Nico with a friendly smile. “I’m Ruby.” She stated introducing herself “And you are seriously pretty.” Will rolled his eyes and he heard how Wash groaned softly. Nico, for his part, blinked at her in confusion, like she was speaking a different language. While the son of Hades self-image had improved drastically since he and Will had first become friends he still didn’t see himself as attractive.

           “So pretty!” Nora agreed excitedly before adding “Can I touch your hair?”

           “Um…” Nico managed with a nervous look to Will. They had been interacting for less than five minutes. Nora had already managed to ask what had to be the most inappropriate and awkward question. Will didn’t know why he let everyone talk him into this, it was a horrible idea.

           “Oh my god, we’re literally right here!” Watts exclaimed as he gestured to himself and Wash “Boyfriends remember?”

           Nora and Ruby both looked toward their significant others inquisitively. “So?” They asked in unison.

           “I am so sorry.” Will apologized to Nico feeling slightly defeated. He dropped himself in the next to his boyfriend. Nico was wearing the critical expression he got when he was assessing the situation. It was the same expression the son of Hades wore before charging into a fight. “I can’t believe I actually have to say this.” The son of Apollo declared with a sigh as he looked up at the two girls. “There will be  _no_  touching!”

           “Awww” Complained both Ruby and Nora.

           “Could have called that.” Dean snickered “You know how Will is.”

           “What does that even mean?” Will questioned.

           “Dude,” Dean started with a sympathetic tone. “You’ve got a lot of great qualities but your also possessive as fuck.”

           “I am not!” Will countered as he tried to ignore the little smirk had spread across Nico’s face. Luckily for Will’s ego, Nico didn’t actually say anything to indicate his agreement. The son of Hades just smirked knowingly before taking a sudden interest in his coffee cup.

           “Dude the other day I asked you if I could borrow a pencil and you looked like you wanted to stab me.” Felix informed.

           “Who doesn’t bring a pencil to math class?” Will defended.

           “Mine broke and you had four” Felix replied.

           Will went to argue. He opened his mouth to speak but then he felt the familiar weight of Nico’s hand coming to rest on top of his own. Will pushed the gesture further by moving so their fingers became intertwined and sighed. It wasn’t worth the effort it would take to argue Will thought to himself. “Whatever” he muttered.

           The rest of the group arranged themselves around the table and began to take their seats. Will realized he should probably make some introductions. It felt a little strange, he had mentioned his school friends to Nico plenty. His school friends wouldn’t let him not talk about Nico. It felt like they should all already know each other. “So you’ve already met Ruby and that’s Nora” Will began gesturing around the table at people as he spoke. “Then there is Wash.”

           “Yo” Wash greeted with a wave taking a seat between Ruby and Nora.

           “And Watts” Will continued.

           “Hey” Watts acknowledged as he took a seat between Nora and Felix.

           “Wash is dating Ruby and Watts is dating Nora” Will explained.

           “And don’t worry if you can’t keep it straight.” Dean offered as he moved toward the seat to Nico’s left. “We all have that problem.”

           “You’ve met Dean.” Will pointed out. Although Will himself would have preferred to never speak of that incident ever again.

           “Hello again” Will’s cousin gave a small wave. “Seriously though you look so different with your cl-”

           “Dean is going to suffer an unfortunate and painful accident if he does not stop talking  _right_  now.” Will explained quickly as he shot his cousin a warning look.

           “Understood and shutting up.” Dean responded as he stared at the only remaining chair at the table critically.

           “And this-” Will began point toward the last person to be introduced at the table.

           “Felix” Nico supplied with a bit of a nod. “I figured.”

           “Why do I get the feeling that means you talk about me.” Felix directed the comment toward Will. “And not in a good way”

           “Dude please.” Will denied. He knew he had complained about Felix’ general existence to Nico on more than one occasion over the last several months. “You’re not that important.”

           “Felix,” Dean, who still hadn’t actually sat down for some reason, nudged Felix’ shoulder to get the other guys attention. “switch seats with me.”

           “No.” Felix replied plainly.

           “Dick.” Dean hissed before looking across the table toward the others. “Wash, Watts one of you switch seats with me.”

           “Why?” Watts questioned. 

           “Cause I’m single and would like not to be at some point.” Dean explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I can’t have single girls walking by seeing me sitting next to an underwear model and making a mental comparison.” Will’s cousin actually shuttered with that statement like it was truly horrifying. “Your girlfriends have already made the comparison and are still willing to date you.”

           Wash and Watts exchanged a look before replying in unison. “Nah”

           “Oww I’ll-” Ruby began to volunteer.

           “Absolutely not!” Wash declared before Ruby could finish her sentence. Will was glad for that because if Wash didn’t say no, Will would have.

           “Oh my god Dean sit down before I make you!” The son of Apollo hissed in the most threatening tone he could manage.

           Dean let out an exaggerated sigh before declaring. “Fine.” He dropped himself into the chair next to Nico without any additional complaining.

           Will turned to Nico. The son of Hades had once again taken a serious interest the side of his coffee cup. He was scratching absently at the thick material with his short nails. Nico’s other hand was still interlaced with Will’s. As Will offered an apology he gave the smaller hand a reassuring squeeze. “I am so sorry.”

           “Dude, why are you apologizing?” Dean questioned. “That was a compliment.”

          The son of Apollo looked up long enough to scowl at his cousin before returning his attention to Nico. “We can leave whenever you want, just say the word and we’ll go.” He offered.

           “I’m fine” Nico replied with an indigently huff. It was a very convincing act if you didn’t know Nico as well as Will did.

           The son of Hades resituated in his seat ever so slightly. Will recognized the motion for what it was, a squirm. He dark eyes were careful to not look directly at the others but still kept the door within his eyeline. 

           Will had known Nico wouldn’t actually take him up on the offer. Even if he was uncomfortable, he had already made it clear to Will that he thought it was important that he meet and got along with Will’s friends. Will let out a sigh in resignation to that fact.

           “It’s so nice to meet you” Nora declared.

           “Finally” Ruby added.

           “We just found out he existed like two months ago.” Wash pointed out dryly.

           Ruby turned to Wash with a clear expression of annoyance. “Why are you being difficult?” Wash didn’t reply, at least not verbally. Instead he just looked back at Ruby like he was dumbfounded she actually had to ask.

           “Um… It’s nice to meet all of you.” Nico spoke softly. He glanced up at the others briefly before looking back at his cup. “Finally have faces to go with the stories.”

           “There’s stories about us?” Watts asked with a grin.

           “All good, I hope.” Dean commented.

           “Knowing you idiots.” Felix offered with a grin speaking more to Dean then the rest of the group. “Probably not.”

           “Aright, who invited Felix?” Dean questioned teasingly.

           Felix rolled his eyes “You’d be bored as fuck if I wasn’t here Solace and you know it.” With that comment Dean and Felix began to bicker which was pretty typical. Wash and Watts would throw the occasional comment at the two of them which only encouraged the whole back and forth.

           Will was happy to have the attention on them for a minute. He took advantage of the sudden lack of prying eyes and turned toward Nico. The son of Hades was looking at the two boys bicker with a critical expression. The son of Apollo leaned in so his lips were barely an inch from Nico’s ear before he whispered. “Sorry about them.”

           Nico’s fingers tightened around Will’s and his cheeks took on a rosy color. Will smiled to himself as he moved out of Nico’s space. Still, he enjoyed how easily he could get a reaction out of his boyfriend. “It’s fine, really.” Nico grumbled the reassurance.

           “How was the walk?” Will asked quietly. The café wasn’t that far from Will’s house but it wasn’t exactly close either. He had offered to pick Nico up after school but Nico had insisted he wanted to walk. Will had found it a bit suspicious. Nico must have picked up on Will's  because he swore he would actually walk and would not use shadow travel. The son of Apollo searched Nico’s features for signs of recent shadow travel but didn’t find anything. That didn’t actually mean anything, Will knew. A year and a half after the Athena Parthenos, Nico had completely recovered from the strain. His abilities to handle his underworld powers seemed stronger than ever. 

           Will’s question must have been overheard because before Nico could reply Ruby jumped in. “Walk? You made him walk?” She asked with clear disapproval. “What’s wrong with you?” She questioned before smacking him on the arm.

           “Ow” Will complained rubbing the abused spot while looking at the girl in shock. For such a small girl she really hit hard.

           “She hits hard for a little thing, doesn’t she?” Dean asked.

           “We would have come pick you up.” Nora told Nico after giving Will a disapproving look. He was suddenly very glad that from where she was sitting he was out of reach. Will was sure if she could she too would have slapped him too. “There’s plenty of room in my car.” She explained.

           “No there’s not.” Watts corrected. Will had to agree with her boyfriend on this. Nora’s car might have actually been smaller then Dean’s tiny Honda.

           “I wanted to walk.” Nico explained insistently. “Really, it was fine.”

           “Yeah, he’s a model, he probably needed to burn the calories.” Felix commented in a joking tone.

           “Wouldn’t all the sex would cover that?” Dean asked with a laugh.

           “Dean!” Will hissed in protested as he stared at his cousin with wide eyes.

           “Dude, why are you always yelling at me?” Dean questioned seriously.

           “Because your mouth is constantly trying to ruin my life!” Will replied with great annoyance. Dean just rolled his eyes like he thought Will was being dramatic. Will considered asking Nora or Ruby to smack his cousin around a bit. Both girls had slapped Dean on more than one occasion and it hadn’t had much effect so Will doubted this time would be any different.

           Nervously, the son of Apollo looked toward his boyfriend. Nico’s face was the color of a ripe strawberry and he was glaring daggers at Will. The blonde sputtered as he tried to remember how to make words. It took an embarrassingly long time but Will eventually managed to get out a coherent sentence. “I swear I haven’t said anything about anything.” Once the words were out and he heard Dean snicker, Will realized that wasn't the best thing to say. He had just admitted they were having a lot of sex by not denying it. Denial just wasn't his first instinct because Dean was right.

           Nico rolled his eyes with clear disbelief before declaring in a firm tone. “Will that is the most unbelievable lie I have ever heard in my entire life.”

           Will understood why Nico would see it that way. They had a few heated discussions about Will’s tendency to overshare about their intimate life with his friends. In addition, Jason kept telling him he had a serious problem with oversharing. Will figured he was exaggerating because he was Jason and anything involving Nico and sex freaked him out. 

           If it was the truth and Will really did overshare that was different because that was with his camp friends. Will viewed honesty the same way he viewed lying, both were a slippery slope. At camp, Will didn’t have to worry because the whole being a demigod thing was already out there. With his school friends, things were different. He had to kept them in the dark about a huge part of his life so he tended not to volunteer to much unsolicited information about himself. 

           “No, it’s true” Watts assured sounding a little disappointed. “He’s been annoyingly tight lipped about anything involving sex.”

           “Which reminds me,” Wash jumped in “I have questions.”

           “Dude, rules!” Will reminded before Wash could actually ask any questions. Will had no idea what Wash had intended to ask and he didn’t want to find out.

           Wash blinked at Will for a moment before stating. “I thought we already established we’re not following those.”

           Will went to protest something but just then their waiter showed up. Will was actually grateful for the guy’s arrival. It effectively stopped the conversation in a way Will knew he would never be able to.

           Will only vaguely recognized the waiter. That wasn’t surprising since they didn’t come to the café later in the day because of soccer practice. This guy was probably just another college student since that was all the place seemed to hire. Unlike Dean's crush, Molly, this guy had never gone to Will’s high school. 

           The waiter, who’s name tag read  _Jack_ , was a tall, skinny guy. Whatever his natural hair color was Will didn’t know. Currently messy strains of blue hair was sticking out from under his black beanie. He had three silver loops sticking through his left eyebrow. There was also one silver stud sticking out on either side of his bottom lip. Will didn't want to try to count the number of piercings in his ears they were so many. 

           Dean slumped in his chair, clearly disappointed that Molly wasn’t their waitress. Will bit his lip to resist the urge to snicker at his cousin’s reaction. The other guys weren’t nearly as thoughtful, and Will heard several snickers from around the table.

           “Sorry.” The waiter apologized. It was clear to Will, the guy was talking to just Nico. “I wanted to find that info.” He explained before pulling a small card and handing it across the table to Nico. “The dude who does the piercings is named Allen. I know is the stupid name, but he does fucking amazing work.”

           Nico reached out and took the card the waiter was offering. The son of Apollo noticed how his boyfriend shot him a nervous look as he did so. “Thanks” he muttered.

           “Ow what are you getting pierced?” Nora asked excitedly.

           Nico went to speak but Will beat him to it. “Nothing” he declared without thought as he snatched the card out of Nico’s hand. “Not happening. What if it got infected?” Will reasoned, shaking his head no at the mere thought. “No, I’m putting my foot down.”

           The words were out of Will’s mouth before he thought about how they sounded. He looked toward Nico who was visibly annoyed. His hand outstretched, still grasping at the card that was no longer between his fingers. “Is that so?” The son of Hades asked and while he sounded annoyed he also sounded a little amused.

           “That came out wrong.” Will exclaimed.

           “I would hope so” Nico commented with an annoyed huff.

           The waiter snickered which Will didn’t appreciate at all. The guy jutted his head at Nico's cup. “Can I get you another latte?”

           “Yeah thank.” Nico replied before taking a sip from the cup in front of him absently.

           “Sure” The waiter scribbled on the pad in his hand. Once he was finished writing the guy looked back up “What can I get everyone  else?”

           Will placed his order quickly and turned his attention to Nico as the others placed their own. He dropped his head on Nico’s shoulder and looked up at a clearly irritated son of Hades. Even though keeping his head on Nico’s shoulder had his neck kinked at an awkward angle. Will did his best to look innocent. He batted his eyelashes up at his boyfriend. “Forgive me?”

           Nico looked down at him “Why?” he asked dryly.

           Will sat up straight and pretended to look shocked. “Because I’m cute.”

           “Fine,” Nico rolled his eyes as a small smirked tugged at the corner of his lips. “but try to tell me what I can and can’t do again and I will stab you.”

           Will could help but grin triumphantly. “Understood” He acknowledged before leaning in to press a kiss on Nico’s cheek. 

           “Will” Nico hissed in protest. He was blushing and his eyes darted between Will and his hands. “We’re in public.” He complained.

           “So?” Will questioned with a grin. Nico scowled and picked at his cup.

           “Oh for the love of god!” Felix groaned. Will turned and noticed that the waiter had left, he hadn’t even noticed. He wondered when that had happened, but decided he really didn’t care. “We should have been warned your one of  _those_  couples.”

           “What couples?” Will questioned confused.

           “Once of those cutesy couples.” Dean explained “The kind that spews their cuteness everywhere making unsuspecting bystanders nauseous.”

           “You’re just jealous.” Will declared with a satisfied grin before slinging his arm around the back of Nico’s chair. Nico stared at Will’s arm wrapped around his chair critically for a long moment. For a minute Will thought Nico was going to protest but he silently allowed it.

           “You two are just adorable!” Ruby squealed excitedly “How did you two meet?”

           Will and Nico exchanged a look before answering in unison. “Camp.”

           The excited expression Ruby had been wearing faltered slightly. She blinked at them both for a second. “That’s not what I meant.” She pointed out.

           “We want all the romantic details!” Nora explained “Like first thing you noticed about each other.”

           “Feel free not to answer their questions.” Watts offered prompting Nora to smack his arm.

           Will gave the question some though as did Nico. He noticed how his boyfriend began to grin. “Will’s hands were really sweaty” Nico commented casually before sipping his coffee. Pulling the cup away from his lips he glared at it disapprovingly. “Where’s my refill?’

           Will’s jaw practically hit the floor. He stared at Nico completely bewilderment. “Who told you? Percy or Jason?” He asked.

           “What?” Nico looked at him, his eyebrows knotted together in confusion “No one told me, I remember.”

           “You REMEMBER that?” Will exclaimed in horror.

           “You almost tripped over a table. It was memorable.” Nico explained. He looked back down at his cup which Will figured was empty at this point. What Nico said next was mumbled so quietly Will just barely made it out. “Besides you were one of the few people who was nice to me.”

           Will stared at Nico for a moment that felt like an hour as he processed what he had just heard. “I’m torn between smothering you with kisses ‘cause your adorable or being offended that the first thing you remember noticing about me was my sweaty hands.”

           Nico let out an amused little sound “Like you could do much better.”

           “I can” Will retorted “You have these little gold flecks in your eyes.”

           Nico looked up from where his hand was still wrapped around his empty cup. He wore a doubtful but amused expression. “That is not the first thing you noticed about me.”

           “Yes it was.” Will assured.

           “Will?” Nico questioned.

           “Alright I may have noticed how adorably short you were first.” Will admitted “But the eye thing was second.” Nico was still giving him a doubtful look. Will sighed “Maybe third.”

           “That’s what I thought.” Nico commented before moving his cup toward his mouth. He got it about half way their before he seemed to remember it was empty. He brought the cup back down to the table with a frustrated expression.

           “Aww” Nora and Ruby cooed together

           “You two bicker like an old married couple.” Dean pointed out dryly.

           “It’s so cutesy” Felix commented with a clear eye roll. “I think I may gag.”

           “Seriously?” Will shot a critically look in Felix’ direction. “Who invited Felix?”

           “Dude, it’s funny when Dean pulls that shit, not you.” Felix retorted.

           “I wasn’t trying to be funny” Will informed.

           “Weren’t you two just bickering like an older married couple five minutes ago?” Nico asked in a matter-of-fact tone directing the question at Dean and Felix.

           “What? No? We were arguing that totally different” Felix sputtered in his own defense.

           “No dude, you two were totally bickering.” Watts corrected as he tried to contained his own laughter. Down the table Wash was openly snickering.

           Will couldn’t help himself, he leaned in and pressed another kiss on Nico’s cheek. “Will” Nico complained again although this time with less emotion then before.

           “You’re just the most perfect thing.” Will explained with a grin.

           “Your always saying things like that.” Nico grumbled self-consciously.

           “Only ‘cause it’s true.” Will assured. Nico rolled his eyes like he thought Will was ridiculous. His cheeks flushed slightly which let Will know Nico understood he was sincere.

           “Yeah, I’m kinda with Felix on this.” Dean declared “You two are so cutesy you should come with a warning label.”

           “You’re just jealous ‘cause you’re single.” Will retorted with a casual shrug. He was fine being in a cutesy relationship if it was a cutesy relationship with Nico.

           To Will it was clear Dean was ready to argue or comment. Then Molly showed up at the side of their table with a tray of drinks and her present took all his attention. “Hey guys I’ve got your order” She declared placing the tray down on the table next to theirs “Or half of it. Jack is coming with the rest.”

           “Thanks Molly,” Dean exclaimed awkwardly and rather unnecessarily, Will thought. He wasn’t the only one that thought that way. Pretty much everyone rolled their eyes and Felix actually groaned. “You’re the best.”

           “Just doing my job, Dane.” Molly replied absently as she started handing out drinks. Dean’s face dropped as the waitress got his name wrong. Around the table almost everyone had to work hard to hold in a laugh. Will did feel a little bad for his cousin but the whole thing was a little funny.

           “It’s Dean” The other Solace corrected.

           “Oh sorry hon” She apologized “it’s been one of those days.”

           The waiter from earlier showed up behind her carrying the last of their drinks. Molly helped him pass them out. Nico was handed his drink last. Clear as day scrolled across the side of the cup was a phone number.

           Nico blinked at the cup for a second before looking up at the waiter with clear confusion. “Um?”

           The guy shrugged casually. “Yeah, I figured if you wanted to ditch grandpa.” He jutted his chin in Will’s direction “you could give me a call. I’d love to show you around Nashville.”

           “I’m right here!” Will exclaimed in frustration as he looked around the table at his friends. “Everyone can see me, right? I haven’t turned invisible or anything, right?”

           “Thanks for the offer.” Nico replied. The statement seemed too well-practiced for the usually anti-social son of Hades. “but I’m not interested.”

           The waiter gave another shrug and actually smiled. Will wanted to point out to the cocky bastard that he had just gotten rejected. When Nico placed a hand on his knee and squeezed reassuringly Will figured it wasn't necessary. “You’ve got my number if you change your mind.” The waiter pointed out.

           “Seriously?” Will growled.

           “You guys enjoy your drinks” Molly offered nervously. She grabbed the other waiter by the elbow and pulled him along as she walked away from the table. They were almost out of eye shot when she spoke to the guy with the blue hair “You’re so bad!”

           “Underwear model.” Was the guy’s response as they both slipped behind a door marked employees only.

           “I hate your job.” Will declared sincerely.

           Nico let out a resigned sigh “I’m not a big fan of that part either.”

           “Does that happen a lot?” Will asked trying to keep both his irritation and his panic out of his voice. He honestly had never really thought about guys recognizing Nico as an underwear model and flirting with him. He had definitely thought about guys using the ads for something besides helping them decide what kind of underwear to buy. Now, having seen it first hand, he realized he should have been more concerned about the in-person flirting.

           Nico didn’t go to respond right away which made all the panicked thoughts swirling around Will’s mind kick into high gear. “Nic?” Will questioned when the silence became too much.

           “I wouldn’t say it happens a lot.” Nico replied clearly choosing his words carefully. “But yeah it happens sometimes. Like Jordon got extra annoying for a while after the first ad came out.”

           Will stared at Nico in surprise, and could tell the son of Hades felt guilty by the way he refused to meet Will’s eyes. “Why am I just hearing about this now?” He questioned.

           “Because I know how you can get.” Nico replied thoughtfully. “And I took care of it so there was no need to worry you.”

           “Dude, your dating an underwear model.” Felix commented. At the moment his voice reminded Will of nails against a chalkboard. “You didn’t think people were going to hit on him? Really?”

           “Felix when I want your opinion I’ll ask for it.” Will retorted his eyes still locked on Nico. He really wanted to know what his boyfriend meant by  _he took care of it_. “And I wouldn’t hold your breath if I were you.” 

           “Hey Will, if you get into Columbia next year you’ll be in New York full time. You can spend your free time keeping guys away from your model boyfriend.” Dean commented. Will was sure by his cousin’s positive tone he was trying to be reassuring. It’s not like Dean could know that that was one of the worst things he could have said. That didn't stop Will from turning his attention to his cousin with a desperate expression. He hoped Dean would see it and stop talking before he made things any worse. “What little time you’ll have being pre-med and all.”

           Will had spent so much time worrying about his friends saying something that would make Nico uncomfortable he hadn’t thought about them spilling secrets. Will hadn’t even thought to tell them not to bring that up. “Dean!” Will protested.

           “What?” Dean questioned clearly confused.

           “Next year?” Nico question fixing Will with an intense look. The son of Apollo squirmed nervously in his chair. The expression Nico was wearing was so intimidating. Will had little practice being on the receiving end of that expression he didn’t know what to do. He had to look away before the intensity of Nico’s dark eyes burned holes in his soul. “Will what’s he talking about, college next year? You’re only a Junior.”

           “Oh shit.” Dean exclaimed now realized the problem with what he had said. Too late for Will’s sake but he still offered a weak apology. “Sorry Will.” He shrugged.

           The son of Apollo shot his cousin a dirty look before turning his attention back to his boyfriend. He sighed still unable to meet Nico’s gaze. Instead, he focused on Nico’s long fingers wrapped around his coffee cup. “I swear I was going to tell you” Will began. “but things have been a little crazy with finding out you’re modeling and everything.” He reasoned and did his best to ignore how both Ruby and Nora hissed with disapproval at that statement. “It just hasn’t been the right time.”

           “Don’t make this about me modeling, Will.” Nico stated firmly. “What’s he talking about?”

           Will sighed. This wasn’t the time or the place he wanted to have this conversation but he recognized he had no other choice. “I’ve always taken an extra class or two. Then that year I spent in New York I go through a lot of course work since I didn’t have soccer or anything so….. I have enough credit to graduate a year early.” The information spilled out of him the words falling over one another like rocks in a landslide. “Technically, I’m a senior.”

           Will dared to look up expected to see Nico glaring at him angrily. What he found was so much worse, Nico looked  _hurt_. “When were you going to tell me this?” The son of Hades asked in a forced neutral tone that Will knew meant he was forcing down a volcano worth of emotion.

           “I don’t know.” Will admitted. Over the last few months he had kept telling himself he was waiting until he knew more. More, like where he was going to go to college. If he was being truthful with himself, he would have admitted he was nervous to bring it up. Nico so often surprised him with his reactions that Will was nervous that it would upset the son of Hades. He was being overprotective which was probably the most ridiculous thing because Nico was the strongest, most resilient person he had ever met. “This is a good thing.” Will reassured “If I go to Columbia, I’ll be in New York City. We’ll see each other all the time.”

           “Will, I know how you are when you’re doing something you think is important.” Nico replied anger sneaking in at the edges of his words. “You forget to eat!”

           “He’s got you there.” Dean commented absently.

           “Shut up Dean!” Will hissed as he turned to glare daggers in his cousin’s direction. “You’ve helped enough!”

           When the son of Apollo turned his attention back from his cousin he found Nico slouching down in his chair. The son of Hades pushed his coffee cup toward the center of the table as he spoke. “I’ll never see you.” He declared bringing his arms to rest across his chest.

           “Alright, I know I have a tendency to get tunnel vision.” Will admitted because there was really no point in denying it. It wasn’t like Will hadn’t thought about that. He knew being pre-med meant his classes would be challenging and would keep him busy. He had already come up with the perfect solution to that problem. “But I figured if we got an apartment together…”

           “Dude you’re going to abandoning me to the dorms by myself!” Dean interrupted with his protest.

           “Aww” Both Ruby and Nora cooed.

           “Oww” Wash, Watts, and Felix all hissed with disapproval. Wash even pushed his chair back several inches from the table like he need to put physical distance between himself and Will’s words.

           “What?” Nico questioned his eyes large with surprise.

           “Um…” Will didn’t understand what the big deal was or why everyone was looking at him the way they were. He repeated his earlier statement. “We could get an apartment together?”

           If anything Nico’s eyes grow wider. He sucked in a sharp breath before declaring. “I need air.” The son of Hades kicked out of his chair. Being small he easily maneuvered from behind the table. He was already pushing out the front door of the café when Will had the presence of mind to wonder what was going on.

           “What just happened?” Will questioned feeling both numb and confused at the same time which he didn’t think was actually possible. 

           “You just asked your boyfriend to move in with you,” Felix replied flatly. “and he bolted from the building like it was on fire.”

           “I get that reaction.” Wash admitted as he slowly moved his chair closer to the table. “I kind of want to run just from hearing that.”

           “Too much?” Will questioned unsure. He didn’t see why it would be a big deal, he and Nico had been practically inseparable over the summer. If they moved in together, he didn’t see how it would be all that different.

           “No” Ruby replied as she gave Will’s hand a reassuring pat. “You two have talked about moving in together before, right?”

           “No, not really.” Will admitted.

           “Oh” Nora said and her tone was not at all reassuring. “Maybe it was just a bit unexpected then?”

           “Fuck yes it was too much!” Dean exclaimed ignoring the girls’ efforts to comfort his cousin. That was one of the things Will usually love about his cousin. Dean didn’t sugar coat things, so if Will did something stupid Dean didn’t hesitate to point it out. Although in this situation Will would have been alright with a little sugar coating. “Why didn’t you propose while you were at it? Maybe pull out some adoption papers for a cute ethnic child!” Dean paused to sip his own drink before adding “Jesus Will!”

           “Shit” Will exclaimed more to himself then the others. He really didn’t think the idea of moving in together was a big deal. He had never figured Nico for the type to have issues with commitment. Still Nico had been on his own for a long time, and only recently set down any real roots. Suggesting they cohabitate may just have been too much change too soon for the son of Hades. Will heaved himself out of his chair. “I’ll be back.” He declared before heading toward the door.

 

Nico-

           Nico’s back pressed against the hard brick wall on the side of the café. He tried to focus on catching his breath although he shouldn't be so winded in the first place. It wasn’t like he had ran at all and even if he had it would take running quite a distance to make him so short of breath.

           His rebellious body had different ideas. His lungs burned and his breaths came in ragged. He could feel his hard pounding like he had just run a marathon and his chest was tight like it was being held in a vice.

           He cursed the state of Tennessee and the entire south to boot for being so unseasonably warm. It was November. Back in New York there was already snow on the ground, not a lot but some. Here the temperature felt more like mid-spring then late fall. Frustratedly, Nico tugged at the scarf around his neck. He didn't even know why he let Mitchell convince him to wear the stupid thing. Even though the scarf hung there loosely it suddenly felt constricting. The son of Hades blamed the unseasonable weather for that too.

           Nico’s mind raced, a million thoughts running every which way completely out of his control.  _Had Will really just asked Nico to move in with him_? Nico wondered even though Will’s words had left little doubt what the healer had meant.

 _Wasn’t that a good thing_ , Nico questioned. Over the summer, they had practically lived together. Nico couldn’t imagine things would be much different between them if they actually did. If they had their own apartment together things might actually be easier, he told himself. Still, for some reason the thought made him feel panicked.

           Strangely, Nico couldn’t stop thinking about what his mother would think. His memories of Maria were fuzzy at best. While he remembered her as being kind, he also remembered going to church every Sunday. Maria di Angelo was a religious woman. Somehow he doubted his Roman Catholic mother would approve of him moving in with his boyfriend. Then again she may also have an issue with him having a  _boyfriend_ at all.

           That, of course, brought him to thoughts of his sister, Bianca. His memories of her were far from fuzzy although at times he wished they were, at least some of them. For so long it had been just the two of them, they were each other’s only family, and she was always there for him. He still remembered the look on her face when he had come to her with a nervous confession.

           “Bianca, I think something is wrong with me.” He had muttered. They had sat together in a dark corner of the Westover Academy gymnasium playing Mythomagic. He had known Bianca didn’t really care for the game but she always played and never complained. She was a great sister that way.

           “Of course nothing’s wrong with you.” She had offered reassuringly. “Whatever makes you think that fratello piccolo.”

           Nico had focused on the cards in his hands as he spoke. “I don’t…I don’t think I like girls like I’m supposed to, I think I like boys.”

           The silence had been deafening. When Nico couldn’t take it another second, he looked up. His sister was staring back at him with a serious expression. “Nico, don’t say things like that.”

           It was the closest thing to a conversation about being gay that he had with Bianca. The next day was the dance where Percy and Annabeth had shown up. That was the night Bianca had become a hunter of Artemis and left Nico behind.

           Nico realized that this train of thought was only making things worse. His chest still hurt, his breath was still labored and now he felt nauseous and dizzy. Nico sudden regretted all the expresso he had drank.  

           “Nic?” Will’s voice called out. Nico turned his head in time to see Will appear at the entrance of the alley where Nico was standing. As Will approached, his concern was clearly scrolled across his handsome face. “You okay?”

           “Yeah” Nico replied weakly. He looked away and let his head fall back until his crown came to rest against the brick behind him. He looked up at the sky as spoke. “Just needed some air”

           “Nic” Will spoke gently and Nico felt Will take his hand in Will’s own. Will’s touch had such a soothing effect on the son of Hades, it was like a sedative. The churning in his stomach stopped, and his breaths came easier. His heart stopped trying to make a jail break from his chest. “I was going to tell about graduating early and college and everything.” Nico heard his boyfriend let out a small sigh. “I guess I was just was waiting until I knew more. I just started applying to colleges.”

           “It’s fine.” Nico replied although he wasn’t sure if that was actually true. “I was just a bit surprised.”

            “Yeah, I could tell.” Will noted with a shrug. Nico could tell Will was trying to hide his own emotions. “I figured you would be upset.” He admitted and Nico heard the sadness in Will’s voice. It seemed so out-of-place because Will was usually so easy going and upbeat. “I guess I just didn’t figure it would be this bad.”

           Nico looked down at Will “It’s not you going to college Will.”

           “I know” Will admitted, looking away. “I just…I don’t know.” Will sighed and brought his free hand up to his neck to rub at it absently.

           “Were you serious about…?” Nico began to ask as he tried to ignore how he could feel his cheeks began to flush.

           “Getting an apartment together?” Will completed Nico’s question before answering. “Well yeah. I mean I didn’t think it would be a big deal. I stayed in your cabin more than I did my own,” The son of Apollo shrugged. “and if I get into Columbia you could always commute to camp to finish high school with Chiron.”

           Will had clearly given the whole thing a lot of thought, Nico realized. It was so sweet and it made him feel a million times worse. “Will, I just don’t know if I’m ready for that.” Nico stated even though he knew it was nowhere near truth. 

           The part of Nico found the idea so appealing but it still terrified him. Nico had lost his entire family and part of him thought it was his fault somehow. He knew it was irrational but sometimes it was hard not to think of himself as poison. After all he was a child of the underworld, they weren’t known for having the best of luck. For the most part, Nico knew those thoughts weren’t true. Occasionally, he couldn’t stop the thoughts from causing him to panic. The closer he and Will got the more Nico worried that something would happen to Will and it would be his fault. Nico couldn’t even begin to explain that all to Will. It was just easier to tell him he wasn’t ready.

           “I get that” Will replied clearly deflated.

           Seeing Will sad made Nico feel heartbroken and guilty. “I just need some time to think it over.” He explained.

          “Really?” Will questioned with hopeful excitement.

          “Yeah” Nico assured nervously. He needed to change the topic to something he was more emotionally equipped to handle at the moment. He bit his lip nervously “But um…why Columbia?”

           “It has a good med school.” Will replied with a casual shrug.

           That made some sense, Nico realized. “But why not New Rome?”

          “Because it’s in California and you’re in New York.” Will stated like it was the most obvious thing in the whole world.

           Nico felt himself blush again. He looked away from Will and his stunning if slightly cocky smile. “Yeah, but I’ve already been accepted to the university at New Rome?” He informed.

           “What?” Nico saw how Will looked at him with clear confusion. “Wait, you still have a couple years until college?”

           “The seven, Reyna, and I all were accepted after everything with Gaea.” Nico explained. “It was like the Roman’s version of a thank you for saving the world and stopping a demigod civil war.”

           “Oh” Will nodded with understanding. “I guess I could apply to New Rome.”

           “I can have Reyna get you an application.” Nico offered. He felt himself relax a bit as the conversation turned to things Nico knew how to handle. He even felt himself began to smile.

           “Could Hazel or Annabeth do it.” Will asked nervously before admitting. “Reyna scares me.”

           Nico actually had to resist the urge to laugh. “You’ve never met Reyna.”

           “I’ve heard enough stories” Will declared and Nico couldn’t help but roll his eyes. There really was no reason to be scared of Reyna, she was a sweetheart “Ready to go back in?” Will asked cautiously. 

Nico shrugged as a noncommittal reply. Will grinned before leaning in and placing a chaste kiss on Nico’s lips. The son of Hades sighed and enjoyed the taste of smoothie Will had left on his lips. Because of course his health nut boyfriend would order a smoothie at a coffee shop. Will carefully pushed a stray strand of Nico’s hair back before offering. “Or we could just leave if you want.”

           “Will” Nico protested weakly. He could be happy staying right where he was as long as Will was with him.

           “Hey, I know they’re a lot to take.” Will declared pointing back toward the entrance of the café to indicate his friends.

           “Compared to Percy and Austin they really aren’t that bad.” Nico assured which was true for the most part. He shrugged. “Besides my coffee is in there.”

           “Gods forbid we leave your coffee behind.” Will teased.

           “Hey I’m Italian, we take our expresso seriously.” Nico replied with a grin. He gave Will’s hand a gentle tug as he pushed himself off the brick wall and started toward the entrance of the alley.

           The walked back into the café hand in hand. They walked back to their table at the back of the room. “Oh look who's back.” Felix declared blandly. Nico wondered if Will had noticed that Felix had a thing for Dean. Will had never mentioned so he figured he was oblivious. Nico would have to remember to fill him in on that bit of information later when they were alone.

           “Dude” Dean addressed Will with a serious expression. The two Solaces exchanged something unspoken in a look. “Everything is fine. No need to freak, okay?”

           “Why would I…” Will started. His eyebrows furrowed together with confusion as he looked around the room. “Oh” Will seemed to come to understand what his cousin was talking about. The son of Apollo’s whole demeanor changed, he became visibly anxious. “We should just go.” Will declared gravely.

           Nico looked around the room to figure out what was wrong. Nothing had seemed to change except for a few new customers. “Why? What’s wrong?”

           “Don’t worry about it.” Will declared before quickly adding. “We’re leaving.”

           “Dude, calm down.” Dean spoke to Will and clearly was trying to sound reassuring. “He’s not going to say anything.”

           “Are you serious?” Will hissed. “Nothing stopped him for the last two months. What’s to stop him now?”

           Hearing Will speak in such an edgy tone made Nico uncomfortable. Once again he looked around the room to try and spot the problem. He noticed a butch guy with strong features, a square jaw and a mean glint in his eye coming their way. He had a preppy brunette girl in tow. Nico’s first thought when he saw the two was scrawny child of Ares and plan looking daughter of Aphrodite.

           “Yeah, too late.” Felix declared sounding almost sympathetically. “He’s coming this way.”

           “Will what’s….?” Nico began to question getting frustrated at the entire situation.

           “Fuck my life.” Will hissed under his breath. The son of Apollo took a deep breath before he turned to face the two approaching teens. Will tugged Nico’s hand so he was standing partially behind Will’s broad shoulder. “Eric, Promise didn’t know you guys hung out here.” Will greeted the Butch Guy and the Preppy Girl. He was clearly trying to sound friendly but it clearly strained. Will still gripped Nico’s hand tightly with own behind back.

           “We don’t” Butch Guy replied harshly.

           “And we won’t be” added the Preppy Brunette with a snide tone. “Considering the  _clientele._ ” The girl gave Will a disgusted look that really should be reserved for bits of trash on one finds stuck to their shoe.

           “Thank god.” Nico heard Rudy declare from where she was still sitting at the table. “We won’t have to find a new place to get coffee and hang out.”

           The Preppy Girl’s head snapped to look in Ruby’s direction “What did you say?” She asked with clear hostility. The girl may have been genuinely intimidating if Nico hadn’t faced monsters. But he had so she just seemed ridiculous.

           “Hi Promise.” Nora and Ruby both greeted with clearly fake smiles plastered across their faces. Neither girl looked like they were putting too much effort into trying to look sincere.

           It wasn’t until the Butch Guy looked at Will with clear distaste that Nico started to understand what was going on. “It’s one thing to choose to be a deviant. It’s another to flaunt it in front of the unsuspecting and God-fearing.” Butch Guy spat. “People eat here.”

           “And still they let you in the door.” Dean commented with a heated expression directed at the Butch Guy.

           Any other demigod would have hit this guy in the face by now, Nico noted mentally. As much as everyone joked about Will being harmless he was actually more than capable in a fight. Nico knew that, he had seen that first hand. Unlike a lot of other demigods violence just wasn’t Will’s first instinct. He would rather deal with a conflict nonviolently. Will’s grasp on Nico’s hand tightened as he spoke through clinched teeth. “Don’t worry we’re leaving.”

           “No, we’re not.” Nico declared as he pushed forward so he was the one standing in front Will. His boyfriend may not have been the violent type but Nico didn’t have that problem. This guy was clearly asking for a fight. “We were here first.” Nico pointed out firmly as he shook his hand out of Will’s grasp and stepped into the Butch Guys space. He imagined it looked almost comical because the guy was close to Will’s height. That meant the guy was almost a foot taller than Nico and had the build of a linebacker. Nico didn’t care, honestly it only egged him on. He had taken bigger and scarier then this guy. “You have such a problem with it you can leave.”

            “Nic” Will’s voice came from behind him in a tone somewhere between a warning and a plea.

          The Butch Guy was clearly not intimidated which was fine. Nico added low intelligence to the list of this guy’s clear shortcomings. He glowered down at Nico. “You gonna make me, pillow bitter?”

 _Oh this is going to be fun_ , Nico thought as he grinned one of his best son of Hades grins at the guy. “If it comes to that.”

           “Nico please.” Will’s hand came to rest on Nico’s arm just above his elbow. Nico knew Will wouldn’t try to hold him back if it came to a fight but he would try to defuse the tension before it got there. “We can really just go.”

           “That’s right Solace, pull back your little bitch before he gets himself hurt.” The Butch Guy hissed and went to give Nico’s shoulders a shove to punctuate his point.

           The guy may have been big but he was also slow. His hands never even made contact with Nico’s shoulders before Nico reacted. The son of Hades grabbed the guy by one of his wrists. Nico used the guy’s weight to his advantage by twisting his own body and using the momentum to keep the guy in motion. Will easily side stepped out of way with a heavy sigh. Nico drove the guy face first into a nearby wall with a loud crack sound. There was a noise of one of the girls squealing but with his back turned to the others Nico could say which girl it was.

           Nico kept his grip on the guy’s wrist. He pulled the guy's arm behind his back and up so there would be a painful strain on his shoulder. With a little more pressure Nico knew he could easily dislocate the guys shoulder. He didn't go that far yet, but he enjoyed having the power. “This must be so embarrassing for you.” Nico commented sounding bored.

           “Get the fuck off me you fucking fairy” Guy hissed angrily and tried to push off the wall. Nico increased the force he was using to pull the guy’s arm upward. The Butch Guy immediately stopped struggling, which was probably the first smart decision the guy made in his life.

           “Nico” Will called his name with concern.

           Nico sighed and looked over his shoulder at his boyfriend. Will was still standing by their table looking worried. “I’m not going to let him talk to you that way!” Nico informed firmly.

           “I don’t care” Will replied “I would rather you not get arrested.”

           Nico shrugged casually “Wouldn’t be the first time.” Now may not have been the time for that story but it was unfortunately true. Will may not have liked the shadow travel but it did come in handy sometimes, Nico couldn't deny.

           “Nic!” Will gave him a disapproving look.

           “Fine” Nico huffed. He pushed back and released the Butch Guy’s wrist. He took several steps back from the guy but he kept his eyes on him. He was ready to react if the guy came away from the wall swinging.

           It took a minute for the guy to turn away from the wall. When he did the lower part of his face and the top of his shirt were covered in blood, and his nose looked bent. He stood there and wheezed though the blood that was still trickling from his nose.

           “Oh my god baby your nose!” The Preppy Girl exclaimed rushing to side the Butch Guy’s side. She began to fuss over him although she was carefully minding all the blood.

           “So are you going to leave or I’m going to have to make you?” Nico asked with a smirk.

           The Butch Guy glared like he was seriously still considering starting a fight. Will seemed to notice it “You really don’t want to do that.” Will warned the guy with clear annoyance. “He’s small but I think he’s already proved he’s scrappy.” He made a shoeing gesture in the direction of the door. “Just please go before this ends up with you being hospitalized.”

           There was still heat in the guy’s eyes but he was still struggling to breath. “You fairies are going to burn in hell.” He hissed angrily.

           Nico could say a lot to that. Like been there done that or my dad is king there so it won’t be that bad, he decided to go a different way. The son of Hades grinned sweetly at Will. “We could share a room.”

           “An afterlife with you?” Will smiled back “I’m alright with that”

           Even though Nico was the one who had started it when Will smiled at him he had to work hard to hold back the heat that threatened to color his cheeks. The Butch guy still looked like he was trying to decide to fight or not. The Preppy Girl pulled on his elbow. “Eric I think we should get some ice for your nose.”

           That seemed to help the guy make a decision. After grunting in Nico’s general direction he let the Preppy Girl pull him toward the door. Nico watches cautiously until the couple walked out the door. “Think it’s broken?” He asked. The question was meant for Will even though his eyes were still locked on the door.

           “What?” Will asked.

          Nico turned and looked back at Will. “His nose” Nico clarified as he pointed toward the door where the Butch Guy had gone.

           “From the looks of it? Probably” Will admitted plainly.

           Nico nodded with satisfaction. “Good” He declared walking back to the table and taking a seat. He picked up his coffee and found it was lukewarm but sipped it anyway.

           Will slide into the chair next him and interlaced his fingers with Nico’s easily. “That wasn’t necessary.” Will stated although he didn’t sound upset or even bothered.

           “That was awesome!” Watts exclaimed excitedly.

           “That was fucking bad ass” Wash agreed with an equal amount of excitement.

           “Marry him.” Dean declared fixing Will with a serious expression “Will, I’m serious MARRY him.”

           “Dude you just gave me crap for mentioning moving in together and now your bringing up marriage.” Will complained. Nico was comforted to see that the mention of marriage could at least make his boyfriend blush.

           “Yeah but it’s different coming from me.” Dean explained with a shrug. Nico could probably disagree with that but he let it go.

           “How did you do that!?!” Nora asked with amazement. Nico only replied with a shrug. It wasn’t like he could explain it came from years of training and monster fighting.

           “Alright, I have a whole lot of new questions now.” Wash pointed out. He looked like he was actually going to start asking. Then the waitress showed at their table looking confused and everyone stopped talking.

           “Sorry to bother you guys.” The waitress interrupted. “I have a weird question, this couple about your guys' age ordered drinks. I stepped in the back for like a minute and now I can’t find them.” She explained. “Have you guys seen them?”

           “Nope.” Dean replied before taking a sip of his drink in an attempt to hide his very obvious grin. Nico was starting to realize Will cousin, a lot like his siblings at camp, was not subtle.

           “Maybe they left.” Felix offered.

           “Without their drinks?” Molly questioned doubtfully “But they paid.”

           “People are weird sometimes.” Ruby offered as a weak explanation.

           The waitress shrugged clearly not too concerned about the missing couple. She started back toward the employee area calling out as she did. “Jack, you want one of these?” 

           As the waitress walked away Nico relaxed slightly in his chair. He had hoped meeting Will's friends would go more smoothly, but he was a demigod and things rarely went smoothly. All in all things so far hadn't been all that bad so he was ready to call the day a win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so a lot happened in this chapter.  
> 1- I invented and write them and I can keep straight who is dating in the whole Wash, Watts, Nora, and Ruby mess, hence the little joke about it.  
> 2- I'm still playing with the idea of Nico getting something pierced and haven't made up my mind yet.  
> 3- I know Hazel is the one with gold flecks in her eyes but I have it in my head that once Nico started taking care of himself and getting some sunlight he would have gold flecks in his eyes too just not as pronounced as Hazel's.   
> 4- Nico is so the person that quietly sits back and watches. He figures things out because he's perceptive- that's kind of why the Felix observation is coming out of no where. Will is too busy not liking the guy (which he shouldn't, he's a total dick) to notice more subtle things.  
> 5- Jordon being extra annoying Will be in Outtakes.  
> 6- Will graduating early is completely doable- I've know people who have done it.  
> 7- Oh Nico, my poor baby. He's definitely not having commitment issues, is just really scared that somehow he'll lose Will like he has the rest of his family.  
> 8- Can anyone tell I have issues with Bianca's character? She was the one that told Percy they didn't have any other family and then joined the Hunters after about 2 seconds of thought, pretty much abandoning her brother who was 10. I just don't get that, especially since she seemed genuinely caring toward Nico. That being said I'm not trying to suggest she left Nico because he (sort of) confessed he was gay- but it's understandable that Nico might feel that way. Her reaction ("Don't say things like that") was likely more out of a desire to protect her little brother from others (remember they didn't seem to know they had been pulled forward in time).


	24. Unexpected Guests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday internet Friends (Well readers),
> 
> So here is part one of the Thanksgiving chapters. I had so wanted this to actually line up with the holiday (which was a few weeks back) but it just didn't happen. I blame these long chapters.
> 
> Anyways, the chapter starts in Percy's POV and ends in Nico's. And lots of stuff happens.
> 
> Also there is some cursing, be warned.
> 
> See you all at the notes at the end.

Percy-

          Percy was practically salivating as delicious food smells hung thick in the air of his mother’s apartment. He sat in the kitchen where all the amazing smells were originating from. It was some weird form of self-torture on his part. He had considered going with Paul to help run the list of errands his mother had given him. What had stopped him was the thought of leaving just Annabeth to help with the cooking if his mother needed it. No one wanted Annabeth Chase involved in the cooking of their Thanksgiving meal, so Percy had stayed behind.

          As was typically the case for a self-sacrificing hero Percy suffered. His stomach growled longingly as time passed impossibly slowly. His mother stood at the stove stirring things and peeking in pots. How she managed to maneuver at all with her swollen belly was completely beyond Percy. Still, at six months pregnant she seemed as agile as ever.

          Annabeth stood at the sink with her back to the rest of the room. She was washing dishes almost as quickly as Percy’s mother could make them. Percy was a little jealous, not that he wanted to wash dishes. He would have just appreciated something to distract himself from his own hunger.

          Annabeth placed a large serving spoon in the drying rack. She turned to the women at the stove. “Sally are you sure you don’t need more help?” she asked with a concerned expression.

          Percy looked toward his mother with a slight panicked expression. From where both women were standing neither would be able to see the look of horror on Percy’s face. So he could only hope his mother remembered what he had managed to whisper to her this morning. “Whatever you do, do  _not_  let Annabeth help with the cooking.”

          “You are helping” Sally reassured “You’re doing the dishes for me.” She gave her baby bump an absent rub before adding “That is becoming more and more of a challenge lately.”

          Annabeth seemed to accept his mother’s reassurance at face value. She turned back to the sink and returned to her. Percy let out a quiet sigh of relief, Thanksgiving dinner was once again safe.

          A few minutes later the front door opened and Paul came rushing in. He was carrying a white box with a logo from the little bakery down the street embossed on the front. “I got the pie.” He declared holding out the box to indicate the truthfulness of his statement.

          “Thank you, sweetie.” Sally declared stepping away from the stove momentarily. She meet Paul halfway between the stove and the door to place a kiss on her husband’s cheek. Percy realized a lot of people wouldn’t have been thrilled if their parent remarried or to have a step-parent but Percy couldn’t be happier. Paul was great, and he made Percy’s mom happy which was all that mattered in Percy’s book.

          That being said there had been something disturbing in that exchange. Percy hadn’t missed it and he certainly wasn’t going to let it go unnoted. “Store bought pie?” Percy questioned hoping his ears had failed him and that wasn’t actually what had been said.

          “Don’t worry the blueberry pie is homemade.” Sally reassured “We just got a pumpkin pie from the bakery down the street.”

          “Oh” Percy declared only slightly relieved. “I guess that’s alright” He shrugged before adding “As long as the blueberry pie is homemade.”

          “You know” Annabeth began turning around to look at him directly at him. She leaned back with her hands pressed against the counter to help support her weigh. “Sometimes I feel like your cheating on food with me.”

          “Don’t you mean cheating on you with food?” Percy questioned.

           “No” Annabeth replied plainly.

           “That’s not fair.” Percy exclaimed before adding with a playful grin. “I love you both equally just in very different ways.”

          Annabeth rolled her eyes even as she smiled with amusement. “Whatever you say seaweed brain.”

          “Love you too Wise Girl.” Percy replied happily.

          “You two are just too cute.” Sally cooed at them before turning to her husband. “Paul, aren’t they just too cute?”

          “That they are.” Paul agreed with a grin as he took a seat at the kitchen table.

          Percy thought it was weird to hear people call him and Annabeth cute. They usually weren't the cute couple in their group of friends. In New Rome there was no question that Hazel and Frank were a cute couple. And at Camp Half-Blood there was no question that Nico and Will were a cute couple. Annabeth and Percy were usually a perfect team or a more seasoned couple not cute.

          “Annabeth sweetie” Sally addressed the daughter of Athena. “when is your dad supposed to be here?”

          Annabeth glanced up at the nearest clock before replying. “Any minute.”

          “Alright, Percy can you start setting the table.” Sally ordered and Percy pushed himself out of his chair. He was glad to finally have something to distract from the delicious smell of roasting turkey. “Paul can you start a pot of coffee?” Paul replied by standing and starting toward the coffee maker. Sally turned to Annabeth and asked. “Annabeth, your dad drinks coffee, right?”

          Annabeth replied with a shrugged “I think so.”

          “Good” Sally declared absently as she returned to the stove. She gave the contents of several pots a stir before she began turning of burners. She had just finished basting the turkey when there was a knock at the door. Percy paused in his efforts to set the table. He went to set the dishes in his hands down so he could get the door but his mother beat him to it. “I’ll get it” Sally declared as she moved toward the door.

          Percy returned to setting the table as his mother pulled open the door. On some level he registered the sound of two men talking but it quickly came to a stop. His mother’s welcoming smile slipped. She stared in clear surprise at whoever was standing on the other side of the door. “Po-” She began.

          “Sally” Boomed a familiar male voice that definitely was  _not_  Annabeth’s dad. “You look radiant.”

          Percy looked toward Annabeth in confusion. She met his gaze with a critical expression “Is that…?” She began.

          Before Annabeth could finish her thought the source of the voice stepped through the door and pulled Sally into a huge. There was no mistaking who the man was. Everything from his salt-and-pepper hair and beard, tan skin, and casual clothes were exactly as Percy remembered. The man was Poseidon, god of the sea, and Percy’s dad.

          “Dad?” Percy questioned in shock. He hadn’t seen his godly parent in almost a year and a half. The last time had been the battle against Gaea. That wasn’t all that unusual for the gods, and while Percy liked his godly father he was okay with not seeing him. After all, when gods show up it usually meant trouble, and Percy had his fill of trouble for a lifetime.

          Paul moved toward the door to greet Poseidon as well. Percy should have probably done something similar but he was too frozen with surprise to move. Stepping though the door behind the god came a smaller man. Percy recognized him immediately as Annabeth’s dad. He held out a hand to Percy’s mother in greeting as he introduced himself. “You must be Ms. Jackson, I’m Frederick Chase. It’s a pleasure to finally met you.”

          “Yes, you as well.” Sally exclaimed accepting his hand and shaking it for a moment. “Please come in.” She gestured further into the apartment before her hand came to rest on Paul’s arm. “This is my husband Paul.”

          Annabeth crossed the room to greet her dad as he and Paul shook hands. Seeing Annabeth in motion somehow helped Percy snap out of his own shock. He set down the plates in his hands and started toward the lord of the oceans.

          “There’s my boy.” Poseidon declared moving further into the apartment meeting Percy half way.

          “Dad don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to see you but what are you doing here?” Percy questioned. “Please,  _please,_ tell me there isn’t some godly crisis you need help with because we have class.”

          Poseidon let out a good-natured laugh. “No, no nothing like that.” the god promised.

          “Good” Percy sighed with relief “Cause like I said we’re busy”

          “Lord Poseidon” Annabeth began her tone cautious but inquisitive.  “Then why are you here?”

          “Well I heard the good news of course.” Poseidon declared “It’s not every day your only demigod son gets engaged.” Grinning, the god nudged Percy. “I already thought you were brave but a daughter of Athena is taking it to a new level.” The god hadn’t really made an effort to keep that statement from being overheard. Annabeth clearly didn’t approve of the comment. She shot the god a disapproving look before she could think better of it. Poseidon didn’t seem to take offense, if anything he seemed amused. “See that look right there,” he declared “I get that look from her mother at every council meeting.”

           “She does get that look from her mother.” Annabeth’s dad agreed.

           “Dad!” Annabeth hissed in protest.

          “You do honey, it’s not a bad thing.” Fredrick assured appearing slightly amused by Annabeth’s heated expression.  _Brave man_ , Percy thought.

          “Percy, why don’t you set another place at the table.” Sally suggested before turning to the sea god. “Poseidon, won’t you join us for dinner?”

          “Sally Jackson I could never say no to you.” Poseidon replied with a smile. “I can stay for a little while.”

          “Fantastic!” Fredrick with what looked like pure glee. He turned to Poseidon. He apparently was not at all intimidated by the idea of eating even part of Thanksgiving dinner with a god. “I would love to pick your brain about the use of submarines during the Civil War.”

          “Interesting contraptions,” Poseidon mused “I could show you some fascinating wreckage.”

          “Percy, when you're done setting the table, why don’t you grab a cup of coffee for Mr. Chase?” Sally directed.

          “Oh that would be lovely.” Mr. Chase stated absently as he took a seat at the kitchen the table. His eyes were glued on Poseidon hanging on his next word.

          Percy finished setting the last place at the table before moving toward the coffee maker. “If we’re going to be talking about history the entire time  _I’m_  going to need a cup of coffee.” He grumbled. Annabeth snickered under her breath but came to help him with the coffee.

          Percy placed the filled mug in front of Mr. Chase as Annabeth placed the sugar and creamer on the table. He was just about to settle down in a chair between Annabeth and Poseidon when there was a knock at the door.

          Everyone looked toward the door with surprise. “We’re we expecting anyone else” Paul questioned.

          “I don’t think so.” Sally replied.

          “I’ll get it.” Annabeth declared pushing herself out of her chair and walked toward the door. When she pulled the door open her face took on an expression Percy had rarely seen her wear. Annabeth looked completely dumbfounded. “Mom?”

 

Nico-

           Nico woke up sprawled out in Will’s bed. His boyfriend’s room was filled with light because it really had too many windows. Will, of course, had no currents for some reason. The amount of light told him it was probably mid-morning.

           Eyes still closed against the invasive sunlight Nico reached out across the bed. He found himself alone in the twin sized bed. Next to him, he found the bed was still warm, telling him Will had only recently left.  _Definitely mid-morning_ , Nico thought. He stretched out into the warmth Will had left behind. Burying his noise into Will’s pillow, he could smell his boyfriend’s musk on the sheets.

           The son of Hades could have easily fall back asleep from the comfort of Will’s lingering heat and his reassuring scent laced on the bedding.  _The warmth would fade as would the scent_ , Nico reminded himself. On the other hand, Will in all his perfection was probably downstairs.

           That thought helped Nico sit up even though it was at least two hours earlier then he would have liked. As he swung his feet over the side of the bed. Reflexively, he winced in anticipation of the cold wood floor of the Hades cabin against the bottoms of his bare feet. Instead, he only found the feeling of Will’s plush carpet.

           Still blinking against the harsh morning light Nico managed to find his clothes. They were the same one's from the day before sitting in a heap on the floor. Rather gracelessly, he shed his sleep clothes before dressing. In just a t-shirt and jeans, Nico found himself a little cold. He had only packed his leather jacket, which constricted his movement too much to wear all day. He could borrow one of Will’s sweaters, he thought but quickly discarding the idea. Will's sweaters were all too bright not to mention about three sizes too big. Nico decided to suffer through, at least for now.

           Nico walked down the stairs, his footfalls loud even on the carpeted steps. It was too early and he was too tired to care about being stealthy. He found both Will and Ms. Solace in the kitchen. Ms. Solace was at the stove already working on dinner. That was apparently what people did on this weird American holiday, Nico mused to himself. 

           Will was sitting at the table slowly working his way through one of his healthy breakfasts. He ate grapefruit with a piece of whole wheat toast with a honey and a glass of skim milk. No bacon, no eggs, no butter, it was a wonder how Will found the energy to face life on a daily basis.

           Both seemed to hear Nico as he entered the room. Will paused from his super healthy and super unappealing breakfast to smile happily at him in greeting. Ms. Solace looked away from the stove and her cooking frenzy to acknowledge him. “Nico sweetie you’re up.” She declared. “There’s a fresh pot of coffee over there.” she informed pointing to the coffee pot.

            Nico started shuffling toward the coffee maker before Ms. Solace had even finished her sentence. He retrieved a mug from the cabinet and began pouring himself a cup of coffee when Will spoke. “Mom, don’t encourage him.” He complained.

           “You stop, coffee never hurt anymore.” Naomi informed Will firmly. Turning to Nico she used a large cooking utensil she had in hand to gesture toward the coffee maker again. “You go ahead hon.”

           Nico gave Will a victorious smirk before sipping the warm black liquid. As it turned out, Will telling his mother Nico’s rather tragic life story mostly worked out in Nico’s favor. Naomi’s general demeanor toward the son of Hades hadn’t changed all that much. She was a bit more cautious touching him without warning, which Nico appreciated. 

           Now, however, anytime Will stepped in saying Nico shouldn’t do something for health reasons she stepped in. Ms. Solace would immediately tell Will to stop being overprotective. Then she would give Nico permission to do whatever he liked.

           The whole thing was clearly driving Will crazy. Nico could tell he wanted to put his foot down but wouldn’t dare do such a thing if it meant contradicting his mother. Nico was enjoying the whole thing immensely. The night before he had drunk three large glasses of sweet tea just to watch Will huff and puff with frustration. Ms. Solace had given Nico permission and therefore Will couldn’t say anything. The stomach ache had been more then worth it.

           Will just rolled his eyes and grumbled. “It’s going to stunt your growth.”

           “I think that ship sailed a long time ago.” Nico muttered into his mug. He was a whole five foot, five inches, five foot, six and a half inches if he was wearing his combat boots. Nico would never admit it out loud but he actually liked his height. That hadn’t always been the case. It used to bother him that Percy was so much taller than he was. Then, like insult to injury, he met Jason yet another son of the big three that towered over him. 

          When he and Will had first become friends, he had been beyond frustrated. Not only did the son of Apollo tower over him, his broad build made Nico look like a child in comparison. That, of course, was before they had started dating.  Now Nico liked how solid Will always seemed. He liked being able to curl up against his boyfriend in the night. His head resting on Will’s chest and feel how perfectly they fit together. Sure, Nico felt small in those moments but he didn’t mind for once. Nico absolutely positively planned on never telling Will any of that ever.

           “Nico, sweetie would you like some breakfast?” Ms. Solace asked jarring Nico from his own thoughts.

           “Coffee’s fine.” Nico replied before sipping at his drink to prove the point. He moved sluggishly to drop himself in a chair at the table across from Will.

           “Oh come on.” Will interjected with a grin. “I’ll share my grapefruit.” he offered indicating the half of grapefruit that sat untouched on his plate.  

           Nico involuntarily made a face. “I’m fine, really.”

           Will’s grin widened as he pushed the plate in Nico’s direction as an invitation. “It’s tasty, I promise.”

           “Lies, Will, lies.” Nico replied flatly as he stared at fruit with distrust.

           “Maybe later.” Will shrugged casually. His voice had sounded innocent enough but the grin he wore was nothing but suggestively. That must have been a child of Apollo talent because the only other person Nico knew that could do that was Austin. Nico blushed at the comment. The conversation from the morning before ringing in his ears. 

          Nico had woken up around the same time as he this morning. He had found Will in the kitchen similar to this morning except Ms. Solace was out doing last minute shopping. Without Ms. Solace around Nico had orange juice instead of coffee as he sat with Will. Nico had made some comment about how he didn’t understand how Will could call that a breakfast. Will had grinned at him wickedly “But I do it for you, Pretty Boy.”

           If Nico had been fully awake or at least had some coffee, he would have recognized the start of an inappropriate conversation. He would have let the comment go without questioning it. Unfortunately, he had been half-asleep and coffeeless so he had taken the bait without realizing it. “You torture yourself with grapefruit for me? How does that even make sense?”

           Will had taken a bite of his offensive fruit. He chewed thoughtfully before replying. “I want to make sure I taste good for you.”

           Again, Nico would blame his next reply on not being fully awake. He had spent the last three months primarily with Austin he  _really_  did know better. “Your lips never taste like grapefruit.”

           Will broke into a smile so wide it hurt Nico’s face to look at it. The son of Apollo's face twitched as he clearly worked hard to hold in a laugh. “I wasn’t talking about my lips.”

           It had taken Nico longer than he would have liked figure out what Will had meant. When he finally did he felt his eyes bulge and his face flush as he sputtered. “Will….that….I” In the end he gave up on trying to form words. Instead looked down at his hands so he could avoid eye contact. He had been positive his face was bright red.

          Will had continued to grin. Nico didn't have to see it, he could hear it in his voice. “That saying 'you are what you eat' comes from somewhere. right?” He had explained playfully. “Well, foods that are high in natural sugars, especially citrus like grapefruit and pineapple, make se-”

           “OH MY GODS WILL!” Nico had exclaimed stopping Will before he could actually say it.

           “What?” Will had laughed “Are you saying you don’t like the way I taste?”

           Nico had stuttered and stammered for what felt like an eternity. He was positive Will was just making up medical facts and hoping to get away with because he was a son of Apollo. He wasn't going to say that. When he finally managed a response, it hadn't been much of one. “I’m not having this conversation.” He had declared trying to sound grumpy or at least unamused but it was hard to pull off when his face felt like it was on fire. 

           "We can always test the theory." Will had retorted suggestively. The conversation had quickly devolved to something more carnal from there.

           Even though Ms. Solace wouldn’t know what Will was referring to. Nico couldn’t believe he would make such a lewd reference with his own mother standing in the room. To express his disapproval, he tried to kick Will under table but missed. Instead, his foot hit the chair leg. Will grinned triumphantly.

           “Alright you two, finish your breakfast and your coffee. Then back upstairs with the both of you so you can get dressed.” Ms. Solace declared with finality. She was clearly oblivious to the exchange that had taken place behind her back. Nico was fine with that.

           “We are dressed.” Will noted a bit confused.

           “I mean in nice clothes.” Ms. Solace corrected. “Not sweatpants with so many holes they really should be thrown out.”

           “There’s nothing wrong with these sweatpants.” Will argued. The corners of his lips turned downward forming the cutest little pout. Nico bit his lower lip to resist the urge to point it out or to lean across the table and kiss the pout away. “I like these sweatpants.” Will whined.

           Ms. Solace ignored her son’s protest. She turned her attention to the son of Hades. “And Nico, hon, aren’t those the same clothes you were wearing yesterday?”

           Nico took the last sip of his coffee and gave a small shrug “They’re still clean.”

           Ms. Solace let out a sigh. “You’re both going to go upstairs and put on presentable,  _clean_  clothing.”

           “Why?” Will questioned.

           “Because we are going to have company and I want you to look nice.” She explained.

           “Mom, Dean doesn’t count as company.” Will retorted.

           “Dean’s going to be here?” Nico asked, this was the first he had heard about Will’s cousin joining them for dinner. He didn’t mind, he liked Dean. Having finally gotten to spend some time with him, Nico finally understood how Will could be so close with Austin. 

           “Yeah, Uncle John has to travel for some gig so Dean’s going to have Thanksgiving Dinner here.” Will explained. His voice sounded like a mix of disapproval and resignation. It was like the situation was something he disagreed with but it happened a lot. Nico nodded at the explanation.

           “I’m not talking about Dean.” Ms. Solace explained. “A friend of mine is going to be joining us.” Nico found the way she spoke odd, it was like she was picking her words very carefully. Normally, Ms. Solace seemed to speak easily. He wondered if something was wrong but Will didn’t seem concerned so he figured he was just imagining it.

           “Fine, but it seems wrong to get dressed on Thanksgiving.” Will grumbled as he pushed himself out of his chair. Will walked to the trash can and discarded the skins of grapefruit before walking toward the stairs.  

           Nico got up and went to follow Will but paused in the doorway to the kitchen. Looking back at Ms. Solace busy at the stove he felt bad leaving her to all the cooking. “Ms. Solace,” Nico called “do you need any help with anything?”

           “Oh Nico, you’re just the sweetest thing.” She declared with a kind smile. “You’re a guest sweetie, I’ll take care of everything don’t you worry.” She turned back to her cooking. “And you boys remember the door stay open.” She called over her shoulder.

           “Mom!” Will protested his head poking around the corner. “You’re really making things difficult.” Nico turned and glared at his boyfriend. He didn’t understand why Will continued to complain about having the bedroom door open. Every time he did it made it seem like that had been planning on doing something. It wasn’t like the door being open had actually stopped them from being _intimate._ Nico wasn’t particularly proud of that fact, but he wasn't exactly apologetic about it either.

           “I’m your mother, that’s my job.” Ms. Solace replied before reiterating. “Door stays open.”

           Will let out a resigned sigh as he turned and started up the stairs. Nico followed his boyfriend being careful to leave the door open a third of the way as he stepped into the room. As Will began shuffling through his dresser, Nico rummaged through his duffel looking for acceptable clothing. Pushing aside a few books revealing a sea of mostly black fabric that was his clean clothes. “Why’d you say something about the door being left open?” He asked pulling out a pair of black skinny jeans and tossing them aside. “We’re just changing our clothes.”

           “Seriously?” Will questioned amused.

           “Yeah” Nico replied glancing over his shoulder. Will had stopped looking for a change of clothes, which was fine by Nico. He thought Will looked great in his yellow t-shirt, and hole-y black sweatpants. He looked a bit like a sexy bumblebee, if bumblebees were sexy. He was currently watching Nico with a bemused grin.

           “You’re seriously asking me why I want to be alone with my boyfriend naked with the door closed?” Will questioned with a soft laugh. The son of Apollo rolled his eyes and added with heavy sarcasm. “You know, that may be one of life’s great mysteries?”

           Nico rolled his eyes to express his disapproval. He dug out an accept shirt, a black Henley that Mitchell had convinced him to buy. It fit more tightly that Nico was used to but it wasn’t uncomfortable and it was one of the only clear shirts he had left. He tossed it by the skinny jeans he had already set aside as he spoke. “First we’re not naked and we aren’t going to be. Second, your ridiculous!” Nico paused to pull his old t-shirt off. The cool air hit his bare chest and stomach, causing a shiver to run down his spine. “You need whatever the reverse of Viagra is. Third, and this is the really important one,  _no_.”

           Nico reached out to grab the clean shirt he had just set aside. He was surprised by the feeling of Will’s strong arms snaking around his waist. The feel of Will’s warm hands against his bare stomach was such a pleasant contrast to the cool air. It took all Nico’s energy not to melt into Will’s touch. “I’m no worse than you.” Will teased his lips only inches way from Nico’s ear, his warm breath spilling down Nico’s throat.

           “You are so much worse than me.” Nico replied with fake disinterest.

           “Come on Nic.” Will pleaded before placing a soft kiss on a sensitive spot just below Nico’s ear. The shiver that ran down Nico’s spine had nothing to do with the cold. “Mom’s so busy, if we’re quiet she’ll never know.”

           Nico’s body acted on its own. He found himself leaning back and letting his weigh come to rest largely on Will’s chest. They had fooled around with the door open when Ms. Solace was home but not while she was awake. Nico was hoping to make that the line they didn’t cross during his visit. “Will, do we need to have a conversation about the meaning of the word no?” He protested weakly, his voice coming out shuddered.

           Nico felt Will’s teeth graze the shell of his ear. At the same time warm finger tips teased at the waistband of his briefs. At some point, Will had managed to unfasten Nico’s jeans without Nico noticing. Which was especially impressive considering he usually fumbled with Nico’s pants. “Wanna top?” Will asked in a whisper against Nico’s skin.

           Nico groaned deep in his throat.  _Will not playing fair_ , he thought. He turned in his boyfriend’s grasp. Once facing him, Nico captured Will’s soft lips and kissed him with everything he had. Clinging to fists full of Will’s shirt Nico steered his boyfriend back toward the bed without releasing his perfect lips. They just had to be quiet, he told himself, they could manage that.

           Nico felt Will began to grin against his lips. He ignored it and moved to kiss along Will’s strong jaw. Once his lips were free Will let out a giddy little laugh as the back of his legs hit the bed. Will sat down with a slight nudge from Nico. He grinned with satisfaction up at Nico “I’m taking that as a yes.”

           Nico rolled his eyes pretending to be annoyed. “Shut up, Will.” Nico ordered although there was no heat in his words. He climbed into Will lap so he was straddling Will’s muscular thighs. Their lips met again with a desperate hungry. Nico brought his hand up letting his fingers run though Will’s messy blond hair. He let his hand move down to Will’s crown. Once there he tugged gently until Will’s head feel back offering Nico his exposed throat. Nico kissed and licked Will’s neck greedily until the son of Apollo let out a moan at the attention.

           Nico pulled back and fixed Will with a serious expression. “We have to be quiet, remember?” He reminded before moving back in to nip at Will’s earlobe.

           Nico felt Will’s hands roaming his bare back possessively. The feel of Will's hands exploring his body that way just made Nico want him more. Nico's desire must of read on his face because he heard Will chuckle “Oh yeah,  _I’m_  the bad one.”

           “You’re a bad influence, il mio amore.” Nico purred before sucking at a tender spot by Will’s ear.

           “Mmm” Will hummed with approval. His hands settled on the small of Nico’s back. “I love when you talk Italian, pretty boy.”

           “So splendida” Nico admitted as he moved to recapture Will’s mouth. Their lips met and it was like they were coming up for air after almost drowning. Their mouths moved against each other like they needed each other to survive. Will’s lips parted as a soft sound feel from him. Nico swallowed the sound as pressed his tongue forward to lick at the inside of Will’s mouth with relish.

           Will’s hands pressed urgently at Nico’s back pulling him in closer. Nico shifted until the little space that had existed between them was gone. Will’s worn sweats did little to hide his growing excitement. Nico was glad his own pants were unfastened. The added space made it so his own excitement wasn’t constrained in his snug jeans. 

          With no space between them, Nico could feel Will’s arousal pressing against his own. The taste of Will’s lips, the feel of his hands on Nico’s back, the thought of Will growing hard as they kissed. It all made Nico feel frenzied. He rolled his hips seeking friction which he found as his clothed member dragged against Will’s.

           It felt so good, it was almost beyond description. Nico barely managed to swallow the sound of pleasure the built in the back of his throat. Will, however, did not. The son of Apollo moaned loudly at the motion. The sound only slightly muffled by Nico’s lips still pressed against his.

           Frustrated, Nico pulled away and glared at his boyfriend. They needed to be quiet, Will knew that. “Will, silenzioso” Nico reminded in a firm tone. Will looked at him slightly dazed, his eyes were clouded over with lust. He licked his lips absently and nodded. Nico wasn’t entirely convinced by Will’s response but his kiss swollen lips were too enticing.

           With impatience, he tugged Will’s t-shirt off revealing Will’s broad chest. Will's skin was still a deep tan even though it was November. Nico tossed the shirt aside thoughtlessly as he traced constellations with the spray of freckles across Will’s chest. “Si sta per ottenere ci ha colto.” He commented even though, at the moment, he was having a hard time remembering why he cared so much if they got caught.

           Will pressed forward to place hot kisses against Nico’s throat and collarbone. Will’s hands came to rest on Nico’s narrow hips. The son of Hades felt Will’s fingers bite against his flesh as he held him tightly. Nico felt Will’s teeth drag against his skin as his boyfriend tried to mark him at the crook of his shoulder. As Will sucked at tender flesh Nico bit his lip to stop from crying out with pleasure. Without thought the son of Hades let his head loll back, offering up more of his throat for Will’s assault. “Nessun segno.” He warmed although he knew it was probably too late and he really had no intentions of stopping Will as he worked.

           “Gods, Nico you’re so sexy.” Will purred against Nico’s skin.

           Nico whimpered at Will’s praise as much as the feeling of his warm breath and soft lips against his skin. Grasping Will’s hair to stop the son of Apollo’s motions long enough to move and recapture Will’s mouth with his own. He kissed Will roughly, a clash of lips and teeth and then tongue. Will met his hungered motions with just as much desperation.

           Nico rolled his hips again dragging his own aching excitement against Will’s. They both moaned at the motion and Nico didn’t care about the volume. The only thought that crossed his mind was one of frustration that they were still wearing pants.

           Will moved, laying back on the bed pulling Nico with him by his grasp on Nico’s hips. Will settled back on the bed so Nico loomed over him. In all their motion they never stopped kissing, they didn’t even slow down.

           “Wow, you two move  _fast_.” A familiar male voice declared from doorway of Will’s bedroom. Nico froze, some part of him had forgotten the door was even open until this moment. He had just enough presence of mind to realize a male voice meant they had not just been caught by Will’s mom. The rest of him was stuck on they just got caught and had a hard time thinking past that. After the longest seconds of his life Nico managed to look toward the door nervously.

           Standing in the doorway wearing an expression somewhere between embarrassment and amusement was Will’s cousin, Dean. The sight shocked Nico into action, he scurried off Will as quickly as he could and moved the head of the bed. He grabbed one of Will’s pillows and placed it in front of his center. He did his best to hide behind the pillow completely which was difficult because it wasn't that big. He was careful to make sure his groin at least was hidden from view. Unfortunately, his arousal was slow to realize it wasn’t going to happen and hadn’t completely deflated at the interruption. 

           “Dean, seriously what the fuck!” Will hissed as he pushed up on elbows and glared toward his cousin. The son of Apollo clearly had no concerns regarding modesty. Nico though of offering Will a pillow but the others had fallen to the floor as Nico had rushed to hide himself. He wasn’t standing up to retrieve one.

           “Will!” Nico protested as he peeked over his pillow to give Will a disapproving look. “Language!”

           “Sorry.” Will apologized. He reaching out to squeeze Nico’s foot, which was peeking out from under his pillow shield, reassuringly. Nico pulled his foot back so it too was hidden. Will turned to once again glare at Dean as he spoke. “But if there is ever a reason to cuss it’s when your cousin cock blocks you for the second gods damn time.”

           “Will” Nico protested again. He wasn’t really sure what he was protesting at this point. Will’s language, the way he casually implied they were about to have sex, or maybe he was just protesting against the entire embarrassing situation.

           “Dude, you can’t blame me for this.” Dean declared casually. He clearly was unaffected by Will’s heated expression or the fact he had just walked in on his cousin with another boy. “Seriously, how far were you planning on going with the door open?”

           “We’re not allowed to have the door close.” Nico explained sheepishly.

           “Of course you’re not! I mean look at you two. I can imagine what you would be up to if you could close the door and I’m sure Aunt Naomi can too.” Dean laughed “But seriously, what were you going to do, just fuck with the door open?”

           Nico whined and tried to burry himself further behind his pillow shield. That had been exactly what they were going to do.  _Oh my gods_ , Nico thought as his face burned with embarrassment and maybe a little bit of shame. Will was right Nico was just as bad as he was when it came to sex.

           Will sighed before muttering a reply. “Mom’s busy making dinner, we were fine until you showed up.”

           “Dude, that’s kinda slutty.” Dean pointed out with what looked like an approving grin. "I'm so proud."

           Will groaned with frustration before falling back on the bed. Nico tried to bury himself further behind his pillow shield.

           “Why does this keep happening to us?” Will asked looking up at ceiling, as if he was asking the gods. “Who did we offend to earn this punishment?” He questioned sounding sincere. “Haven’t we suffered enough?”

           “Dude, the door was open” Dean pointed out with an amused chuckle.

           Will ignored his cousin and continued to speak to the ceiling. “We’ve already been catch by my mom, Hazel, Mr. D, Drew, Percy.” Will listed. While Nico knew that Percy had been the only one who had actually caught them in the act he understood Will’s point. Will groaning with frustration. “Gods, we were caught by Percy Jackson!”

           “Will, please don’t remind me.” Nico whined. It was bad enough Percy would not let it go, and would not stop asking questions. He didn’t need Will reminding him of the event as well.

           “Surely that’s enough suffering!” Will declared.

           “Dude, the door was  _open._ ” Dean reminded yet again.

           Will turned his head toward his cousin still standing in the doorway. “I hate you” he declared without any real force in the words.

           “No, you don’t.” Dean brushed off Will’s comment like it was nothing.

           The playful, if slightly aggressive exchange, between Will and Dean started to make Nico feel like he could relax. He loosened his grip on his pillow shield and let his body relax out of the tight knot he had managed to put himself in.

           Ms. Solace’s voice came calling from downstairs and Nico immediately tensed. He knew it was irrational but all he could think is,  _she knows_. “Everything alright up there?” She called.

           “Yeah, Aunt Naomi everything’s cool.” Dean replied far too casually for someone who had just walked in on his cousin making out and grinding with another boy.

           “Good” Naomi replied before adding “Just tell them to hurry up and get dressed.”

           “Sure” Dean called back to Ms. Solace. Dean looked toward them still grinning. “You guys got that?”

           “Out” Will ordered his arm sweeping out to point rather dramatically toward the door.

           “Dude, we change-” Dean started.

           “I don’t care, I’m serious.” Will stated firmly before repeating “Out!”

           “Fine,” Dean sighed. He sounded like leaving was a ridiculous inconvenience he shouldn’t have to deal with. “I’ll wait at the top of the stairs, so hurry up.” Will’s cousin pushed off the doorframe before walking away. Nico could hear his footfalls long after the blond had disappeared from view.

           With Dean gone Will let out a sigh. “If we got an apartment together we wouldn’t have to worry about stuff like this happening anymore.” The son of Apollo commented absently. Nico figured his boyfriend was still gazing up at the ceiling. When he pushed his pillow shield down out of his line of sight he found Will staring right at him wearing a thoughtful smile. It was like Will was actually thinking about what it would be like if they lived together.

           Nico couldn’t blame Will for that. He himself had been thinking about it a lot the last few days. Since bringing up the idea Will hadn’t really pushed the topic. That didn’t really surprise Nico considering how he had reacted at the first mention of the idea. Occasionally ,Will would make playful comments like how he would always do the dishes if Nico did the cooking. Outside of things like that Will left the topic alone. He certainly didn’t gaze at Nico thoughtfully at the mention of them living together.

           Will’s serious expression didn’t make Nico nearly as uncomfortable as he would have thought it. To be honest, the more he thought about it the more he could imagine an idyllic life (or what passed for one for a demigod) where he and Will lived together. He wasn’t ready to tell Will that so he faked annoyance. “Will!” He protested using his pillow shield to hit Will playfully on the stomach to punctuate his (fake) disapproval. “Not the time for that conversation.”

           “Sorry” Will laughed as he pushed up on his elbows. With one strong hand, Will reached out and snatched the pillow shield from Nico’s hands. He tossed it away leaving Nico exposed. 

           Will rolled over and crawled toward the head of the bed before sitting up on his hunches in front of Nico. The blond was quiet for a moment as he looked Nico over hungrily. The intensity in Will’s bright blue eyes made Nico feel naked although he wasn’t. He felt his cheeks pink slightly but he managed to meet Will’s gaze. “We’re so picking this up where we left off later ‘cause that was hot.” His boyfriend told him. The way Will said it made it sound like a solid fact. The sun would set, the grass was green, and they would pick things up where the left off as soon as they got a chance. 

           Will wasn’t wrong, things had been pretty passionate but when Will sounded so commanding and certain it was even hotter. Nico’s hormone soaked lizard brain wanted to pick things up where they had left off  _now_. Gods, he hoped Will couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Will gave him a playful, lopsided grin that made Nico’s heart skip a beat. “You know what we were doing before Dean interrupted us and ruined it.”

           Will leaned in and gave Nico an affectionate kiss on his warm cheek. The son of Hades gave his boyfriend a playfully shove away. “Just get dressed already.” He grumbled, a grin tugging at the corners of his lips.

           “What’s the big rush?” Will teased sitting back on his bed giving Nico a better view of his bare torso. “Is my bare chest distracting?”

           Nico rolled his eyes so hard he was shocked he didn’t hurt himself. Will’s child of Apollo was showing. “Now you’re just fishing for compliments.” He pointed out seriously “You have an amazing body, you know that.” How could Will not know that, he had access to mirrors and a tendency to walk around shirtless when he could. “And now I’ve said it, so just get dressed already.”

           “Fine” Will sighed seeming deflated as he climbed off the bed. Will returned to his dresser and started picking through the contents of his drawers again. Gods, Nico realized Will hadn’t even retrieved clothes before they had started making out. They really were ridiculous. If they lived together they probably would die from exhaustion within a week, Nico thought. Will pulled out a blue shirt and examined it critically as he spoke. “Next time I complain about your nakedness being distracting you can remember this moment and better understand how I feel.”  

           Nico pushed himself to the edge of the bed and let his legs dangle off the side. “Will, that’s different. My body’s nothing compared to yours.” He muttered.

           Will made a frustrated noise as he pulled the blue shirt on over his head. The shirt was a good choice. The soft blue reflected off the deep blue of his eyes making the color appear more intense. Shirt on Will walked back toward him pausing to pick Nico’s discarded Henley off the floor. Extending his hand, Will offered Nico the shirt. “Nico, I love you but you  _really_  are oblivious.” The son of Apollo stated sounding a bit disappointed in the fact.

           “What?” Nico asked as he accepted the shirt and quickly pulled it on. Once again he was reminded that the fit was tighter then he would have liked. He did his best not to squirm and pull at the soft fabric with discomfort. Will had retrieved a pair of faded jeans that probably had just as many holes as the sweatpants he was currently taking off. 

           Will fixed him with a serious look as he kicked off his sweatpants. Nico was careful to keep his eyes above Will’s waist to avoid anything that could put them in yet another awkward situation. “Why do you think I call you Pretty Boy?” He asked seriously.

           “You're bad at nicknames” Nico replied being purposefully dumb. He worked swiftly to push off his own pants before grabbing the fresh pair he had already set aside.

           As Nico pulled on his clear pair of pants, Will let out another frustrated noise. “Just do me a favor, next time you look at yourself in the mirror, really look at yourself.” Will asked. He was fully dressed now and he looked nice in a casual way, that was very Will. He walked over to where Nico was finishing the clasp on his belt. Will leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on Nico’s forehead. Nico tried to grumble at the gesture like he didn’t like it. The truth was he loved when Will did things like that so the sound came out as a half-hearted huff. “Also, you’re an underwear model, that’s usually a profession for attractive people.” Will noted as a grin spreading across his face. His boyfriend took one of Nico’s hands in his own and jutted his head toward the door. “Come on, let’s go downstairs before someone else bursts through the door.”

           Nico happily intertwined his fingers with Will’s and let his boyfriend lead him out the door. They found Dean sitting at top of stairs waiting for them. “Jesus fucking Christ!” He exclaimed as he noticed their approach and pushed up to his feet. Nico bit his lip to stop himself from chastising Will’s cousin for taking the lord’s name in vain. Somewhere his Roman Catholic mother was turning over in her grave. “Why did it take you two so long to put on clothes? Did you just decide to go for it anyways?”

           Nico’s face burned. He looked down at his fingers interlaced with Will’s in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. “Dude,” Will replied casually because Will didn’t  _do_  embarrassed, much to Nico's annoyance sometimes. “First, if we had sex it would have taken longer. It’s called stamina, look it up.”

           “Will!” Nico protested. He wasn’t wrong but it wasn’t something you actually told people.

           Will ignored his protest and continued talking to his cousin. “Second, if we had sex you would have heard something.”

           “Oh right.” Dean chuckled and nodded with understanding before jutting his thumb in Nico’s direction. “The screamer.”

           Nico’s eyes shot upward to stare at Will’s cousin with surprise and confusion. “What?.....I’m not….” He stammered but he couldn’t find the words to make a coherent sentence. He turned his attention to his boyfriend who was glaring at his cousin once again. “Will! I thought you said you didn’t say anything about anything!”

           “I didn’t.” Will insisted with a nervous grin. “Except that one  _tiny_  detail.”

           Nico gapped at the son of Apollo. Why he was surprised was beyond him. He couldn’t even bribe Will to keep the details of their sex life to himself at camp. But this was beyond that because it wasn’t even true. “I’m not…. _loud_.” Nico whined.

           Will grinned with amusement. “Oh darlin.” He said with the kind of sympathy people reserve for the adorably inaccurate musings of small children.

           “Will, we’ve talked about you calling me that!” Nico reminded stumping his foot to accent his point.

           “Sorry.” The son of Apollo apologized. It was less then convincing considering how he bit his lip to hold in a laugh.

           Nico crossed his arms over his chest and grumbled insistently. “I’m  _not_  loud.”

           “No, not  _all_  the time.” Will assured with that same amusingly sympathetic tone and a nervous shrug. “Only like eighty-five percent of the time.”

           “Dude,” Dean exclaimed with a barely contained laugh. He smacked Will on the shoulder lightly. “if you want to have sex again in the near future you should probably stop talking.”

           “We’re guys” Will explained clearly not considering Dean’s threat as realistic. “We don’t withhold sex because we had a disagreement.”

           Nico arched a sardonic eyebrow at his boyfriend. “I’m pretty tempted.”

           Will’s reactions was so distinct and so instantaneous it was comical. His face dropped, his playful grin disappeared as he gapped at Nico. The amused twinkle in his eyes were replaced with clear panic. “What? Nico no, you don’t want to do that!” The words rushed out of Will with clear desperation behind each word. Nico couldn’t help but grin triumphantly at his boyfriend’s reaction. Without saying a word Nico pushed past the two blonds and started down the stairs. Will followed closely behind him rambling quickly. From the distant snickering sounds that followed Nico guessed Dean was following behind Will. “Nic you don’t want to do that. It would be punishing both of us because I’m an idiot.” Will insisted sounding increasingly panicked. Will let out a nervous laugh that sounded more like a simple auditory exposition of energy then any meaningful sound. “Nic, you were joking, right?”

            Nico hit the bottom of the stairs and stepped into the living room. He was glad he had his back to Will because he could just imagine how red-faced he was from trying to hold in his laughter. Of course, he was joking. If they stopped having sex every time Will told someone something about their sex life that he shouldn’t they would never have sex. Still, Will’s panic was so amusing, he wasn’t going to tell Will that quite yet.

           “Dude, you’re so whipped!” Dean snickered at Will as the two blonds emerged from the staircase.

           “Dean, stop  _talking_.” Will hissed at his cousin. Nico turned to see Will glaring at his cousin while Dean continued to snicker.

           Nico grinned “He’s not wrong.” He declared. Dean busted out into a fit of hysterical laughter. Will turned to stare at Nico in shock. Nico shrugged and bite his lower lip to stifle the smile that threatened to break out across his face. “Not all that time, only like eighty-five percent of the time.”

           Nico hadn’t thought it was possible but Dean actually started laughing harder. He pinched his sides and gasped for air. Nico started to get a little concerned he might pass out from oxygen deprivation. “Oh go….I just…I…..”

           Will blinked at Nico for a moment before speaking with a hopeful tone. “Just so we’re clear that joke means you’re not mad and don’t plan on withholding s-”

           “Will” Naomi called appearing in doorway of the living room. Internally, Nico sighed with relief that she hadn’t waited a half a second longer. If she had she would have walked in when Will said something Nico couldn’t stand for her to hear. He glared in Will’s direction to signal his boyfriend that he should really be more careful. “Can I talk to you for a second in the kitchen?”

           Will let out a nervous sigh and looked at Nico with clear concern. Nico rolled his eyes and assured. “We’re good, just don’t push your luck.”

           Will visibly relaxed “Yeah sure mom.”

           Will started toward the kitchen his eyes lingering on Nico for longer than the son of Hades felt was necessary. Then again, it was Will. He was caring and attentive to his very core, so Nico shouldn’t have been all that surprised. 

           A knock came at the front door and Will stopped in his tracks and looked toward the sound. Ms. Solace shifted slightly, it was a subtle movement but Nico was familiar with it all the same. Will did the exact same thing when he was nervous. “I’ll get it.” Dean declared turning to walk toward the door.

           “Dean honey, wait just a second.” Ms. Solace called and Dean stopped in his tracks. Will looked toward his mother and she sighed. “Will hon, I’m sorry to spring this on you last minute but remember how I said I had a friend coming to dinner?”

           “Yeah, I assume that’s who’s at the door.” Will replied pointing meekly toward the front door.

           “Well, he’s actually a man I’ve been seeing for a while now.” Ms. Solace explained quickly, she seemed relieved having said it out loud. Will, on the other hand, became visibly tense with her words. Will was usually so laid back that Nico felt stressed just seeing Will become so stiff. “I just didn’t want you to be surprised.” Will’s mom stated before turning to her nephew. “Dean, you can get the door.”

           Dean seemed frozen for a moment. He looked at his aunt and his cousin who were both looking at one another. Ms. Solace looking nervous and Will looking a mix of shocked and angry. Dean’s gaze then found Nico, and for the first time Nico realized Dean’s eyes weren’t blue like Will’s, they were hazel. He didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed that before now. Nico and Dean had a silent conversation in a split second.  _Watch Will_ , Dean seemed to convey through a glance before he started toward the front door again.

           “Wait, your dating,” Will growled. “and your telling me this now, when he’s at the door and you don’t me to be surprised?” Nico reached out and placed a reassuring hand on Will’s shoulder in hopes of easing some of his tension. Honestly, Nico wasn’t sure what else to do. This seemed like such a private interaction. He felt like an intruder just standing there.

           Will’s mom didn’t say anything in response. Nico wasn’t sure if that was because she didn’t have anything to say or because her guest stepped into the living room. “Naomi” The man greeted with a smile. He was tall and lean and looked to be in his late forties. He had salt-and-pepper hair and wore squared wired-rimmed glasses that would have been considered trendy on a younger man. Something about the man was familiar to Nico but he couldn’t place it. “It smells amazing and you look incredible.” He declared stepping further into the room, Will’s mother moved to meet him. “I brought a bottle of Rose.” He held out a bottle of wine as he spoke.

           “Oh Leonard, my favorite. That was so thoughtful.” Ms. Solace practically cooed as she accepted the bottle. The man leaned in a placed a kiss on her cheek.

           Fire blazed behind Will’s eyes and Nico was genuinely concerned now. Nico was the one in the relationship that was quick to anger not Will. “Will, are you okay?” Nico whispered hoping his voice would catch Will’s attention.

           Will turned and looked at Nico like he had forgotten he was there. “This is not happening?” The son of Apollo muttered numbly. Nico took a step toward Will. He let his hand fall from Will’s shoulder in favor of interlocking their fingers.

           Will seemed to relax. It was slight but it was a start, Nico thought. Then a voice cut through the room and Will’s calm like a knife. “It looks like your morning is going about as well as mine.” Nico and Will turned as one to see Will’s not-actually-friend, Felix, standing in the leaving room. Next to him stood a concerned looking Dean.

           “What the  _fuck_  is Felix doing here?” Will asked his mother through clinched teeth. Nico sighed, he knew this was going to end badly. Will may have been the most easy-going demigod at camp Half-Blood but he was still a demigod he had his limits. Felix being here was way past Will’s limits at this point

           “William, language!” Naomi exclaimed with shock and disapproval. She turned to her friend. “Leonard this is my son, Will.” She explained with a nervous energy before looking over at Will with a warning expression. “He normally  _knows_  better than to cuss but has forgotten his manners apparently.”

           “Oh that’s alright.” Leonard waved off Ms. Solace’s apology. “Raising a teenager myself I understand.” he assured gesturing in Felix’ direction. “It’s so nice to finally meet you Will.” The man stated offering Will his hand.

           Will looked at the man’s face, then his hand, then the man’s face again before turning to his cousin. “Seriously, what’s Felix doing here?” He asked with clear annoyance. Nico couldn’t help but groan bringing his free hand up to pinch his nose in frustration. He had really been looking forward to a quiet holiday with Will and Ms. Solace’s delicious food. At this point a monster attack would have been a nice change of pace. At least monsters were a thing Nico knew how to handle.

           “Trick or treating.” Felix shot back sarcastically with a dramatic eye roll. “What do you think dude? That’s my dad” he declared pointing at Ms. Solace’s  _friend_.

           Will freed his hand from Nico’s grasp and brought both hands up to rub at his temples. “This isn’t happening.” Will declared.

           “Hey, I’m not exactly happy about this either but you don’t have to make a deal out of this.” Felix declared. “I mean, fuck Solace I would call you a drama queen but I don’t want your boyfriend to hit me.”

           “Felix!” Leonard exclaimed with disapproval.

           Nico didn’t realize he was moving until Will’s hand caught him by the shoulder. Nico stopped reluctantly at the feel of Will’s strong grasp. Nico had to settle for glaring at the unwelcomed guess. Felix seemed unimpressed which was incredibly frustrating but that was the problem with mortals. Some could sense things even though they couldn’t see through the mist. They were the types that gave Nico a wide berth in public places. Others, however, were so blinded by the mist that even their sense of self-preservation was dulled. They were usually the ones that happily strolled into monster nests to be eaten.

           Will kept his grasp on Nico’s shoulder even though Nico had made no further attempt to move. And, to be honest, Will knew as well as anyone that if Nico decided to make a move Will wouldn’t be able to stop him. “I thought your mom was a marriage counselor?” He directed the question to Felix and Nico didn’t really understand the relevance.

           “She is.” Felix shrugged casually “She lives in Vermont with her boyfriend Chad.  He’s a personal trainer and ski instructor.”

           “Felix, we’re guests.” Felix’ father reminding his tone taking on a warning tone at the end.

           “What?” Felix asked incredulously “It’s the truth and he asked.”

           “No” Will exclaimed shaking his head feverishly “No, I can’t do this, no.” Will released Nico’s shoulder. He walked toward the stairs still shaking his head as he moved as if in a strange daze.

           “William Solace!” Ms. Solace called after Will as he stomped up the stairs. Her voice quickly went from frustrated to anger. Nico was a little surprised. She had been so calm about everything with him and Will he was starting to think the women didn’t have it in her to get angry. “We have guests!” The only response was the continued sound of Will’s footfalls as he ascended the stairs. She turned to her  _friend_. “Leonard, I’m so sorry about this. I really don’t know what has gotten into him.”

           “He was completely blindsided.” Nico heard Dean mutter. Will had told Nico on more than one occasion that Dean was like a brother to him, and Nico finally saw it. More importantly he officially approved of the other Solace as a person.

           Upstairs a door was slammed shut with force. The sound pushed Nico into action, passing through the room and up the stairs without a word. It was better that way, Will was upset and to Nico that was a crime. Anyone and everyone responsible should have be punished. As a child of the underworld what Nico considered a punishment was far harsher than an unkind word. It was better if Nico didn’t speak and instead focus on getting to Will.

           As his feet hit the second-floor landing Nico called out. “Will” There was no reply as Nico moved to the door of Will’s bedroom. He pushed the door open and tried again. “Will?” Again, Nico got no reply.

           Nico sighed and pushed the door open the rest of the way, and was surprised by what he found. Will’s room, which had been relatively tidy earlier that day was now a complete mess. Clothes, books, and pieces of sheet music littered the floor like the bedroom had been the site of the world’s most contained natural disaster. Will was standing with his back to the door. He was frantically pulling clothes out of his dresser and over his shoulders adding to the mess on the floor.

           Nico stepped into the room and pulled the door closed behind him. He did so without any concern for Ms. Solace’s rules. “Will, what are you doing?” He asked.

           Will paused in his destruction and looked over his shoulder at where Nico stood. “What does it look like?”

           “Pouting?” Nico offered.

           “Packing.” Will corrected before he returned to tossing clothes around the room.

           Nico stepped further into the room, closing some of the distance between himself and his boyfriend. “Why are you packing?”

           “Because I can’t stay here.” Will replied abandoning his dresser and moving to his desk. After rummaging around for a moment, he produced his camp necklace with all six of its brightly colored beads. Will made quick work of clasping the thing around his neck before turning to Nico. “You should get your stuff together so we can go.” He instructed gesturing to where Nico’s duffel bag sat half covered in Will’s clothes. “Nico, I hate to ask this but you can shadow-travel us both back to camp, right?” 

           Nico blinked hard like he had just been slapped. Will couldn’t have actually asked what Nico thought he had just asked. “You  _want_  me to shadow-travel?” he questioned.

           “Desperate times, Nico, desperate times.” Will replied sounding wary. The son of Apollo looked around the room with a lost expression that broke Nico’s heart. It didn’t last long before Will was in motion again. This time making his way toward the closet, moving carefully to avoid the majority of the messy on the floor.

           “Will, can you stop for a minute?” Nico asked grabbing Will’s hand. The contact caused Will to pause and Nico took advantage, gently coaxing Will toward the bed. Will’s hand still in his grasp, Nico eased himself onto the bed. He patted the space next to himself as an invitation. “Just sit and talk to me for a minute.”

           Will’s reluctance reads all over his face but he takes a seat next to Nico anyway. “Will, I can see you’re bothered and I want to do something to comfort you.” Nico explained sincerely before he admitted. “But I don’t really understand what’s so wrong.”

           Anger flared in Will’s eyes again. Nico found the presence of the ugly emotion in Will’s typically tranquil blue eyes unsettling. “ _That_ ” Will declared pointing his finger toward his bedroom door in clear disgust.

           “Um…” Nico looked toward the door. He figured Will was referring to everything that had happened downstairs. “Is it the Felix thing or the fact your mom invited her boy-”

           “Gods, don’t say it!” Will groaned because apparently  _boyfriend_  was a bad word now. “And yes it’s  _tha_ t.” He admitted with a frustrated sigh “Felix is just salt in the wound.”

           Nico stared at Will for a moment trying to figure out what to say, what to think. He wasn’t really a social demigod but he still heard things around camp. Mainly, he caught bits of conversation not meant for him. Nico knew there were some demigods that talked like their parents would get back together some day. The son of Hades had always found such wishful thinking naive. The gods themselves may have been eternal but their relationships with mortals never were. Sometimes a god would stay longer, he and Bianca had been proof of that. Eventually, however, they would bore and move on. Wishing for anything more than that was childish in Nico’s opinion. 

            He and Will had never spoke of his mother’s relationship with Apollo. Nico had just assumed Will had accepted it was something in the past. After all, Will was one of the most practical people he knew. “I didn’t realize you were one of those demigods that hoped their parents-” He started trying to keep any signs of judgement from his voice.

           “I’m not!” Will interrupted defensively “I don’t!”

           “Then what did you expect?” He asked trying and failing to understand why Will was so out of sorts. “For your mom to stay single the rest of her life?”

           Nico only realized that had been the wrong thing to say when Will let out a small sad sound and turned away from him. Nico was frozen with indecision, being comforting wasn’t something Nico knew how to do. He wanted to scream or cry or both.

           “Nic, you just don’t get it.” Will stated in a quiet voice.

           “Why?” Nico asked his voice coming out much sharper then he intended. “Because my mom’s dead, I can’t understand?”

           “What?” Will exclaimed turning back to look wide eyed “Nico, no I didn’t mean it that way.” The blond was quick to assure. Nico must not have looked convinced. To be fair he didn’t feel convinced so that shouldn’t have been a surprise. Will issued a growl of frustration as he raked fingers through hair. “I meant that you haven’t been at camp that long so you haven’t heard the horror stories.” Will insisted. “Both Austin and Kayla’s mortal parents are alive but they don’t see them because of their step dads.” He continued. “Austin  _still_  won’t talk about exactly why he left home if that gives you an idea of how bad it was.”

           “Will that’s not everyone’s experience.” Nico replied. “Percy’s stepdad, Paul, is really nice.” The son of Hades knew playing the Percy card wasn’t always the best idea with his boyfriend but on this topic it seemed relevant.

           Will fixed Nico with a serious expression. “Yeah, and what about Smelly Gabe?” He asked. Nico blinked in surprise. To be honest, Nico had forgotten about Percy’s first stepfather. He had never actually met the man and only knew him by the few mentions of him Percy had made. Nico didn’t know how Will had known about him at all. His surprise must have read on his face because Will shrugged. “Camp’s a small place, stories spread.”

          Nico sighed. Will was making this whole comforting thing a lot more difficult than Nico though it should be. “There’s no way to know your mom’s friend downstairs is bad until you actually spend time with him.” Nico pointed out. He couldn’t believe he was being the voice of reason, usually that was Will. “Maybe you should give him a chance.”

          “He raised Felix” Will growled.

           Nico huffed, he was running out of things to say. “He’s just joining us for dinner, that doesn’t mean they’re getting married.”

           “You heard my mom! They’ve been seeing each other for a while.” Will let out a frustrated sigh. “I need to finish packing.” He declared.

           With a resigned expression Will moved to stand up. Feeling slightly panicked, Nico reached out and grabbed Will’s arm to get him to stay. He needed to make Will feel better because if the situation was reversed Will would make Nico feel better. And unlike Nico, Will would have done it with ease. “Will, I want you to listen to me.” Nico stated. “You should at least try to eat a meal with the man before you decide he’s the devil incarnate.” He stated. The son of Hades realizing that trying to argue against Will’s fears were pointless. And more importantly it wasn’t what Will needed from him right now. “If not for your mom then for me. I’m hungry.”

           “You should have eaten breakfast.” Will grumbles as he slumped on the bed. Nico noticed how some of the tension in Will’s shoulders seemed to melt away.

           “I want real food Will, not grapefruit.” Nico replied with a playful grin. Will looked up at him and tried to pout but he was clearly fighting back a small grin of his own. “Now back on topic.” He declared “Can you handle one meal?”

           Will sighed and moved back on the bed to rest his back against the wall. “That’s not a long-term solution.”

           Nico moved back on the bed as well so he too was leaning his back against the wall. “Will, if things ever got bad or if you just don’t want to be here anymore I would come get you. All you have to do is say the word, you know that, right?”

           “I know.” Will admitted with a sigh. Rather unexpectedly Will fell sideways bringing his head to rest in Nico’s lap.

           Once the son of Hades got over his initial shock he started playing lazily with Will’s gold locks. His efforts were rewarded when a contented sigh fell from Will’s lips. “And it really would only be a few months and then it’s camp and then college.” He stated continuing to run his fingers through Will’s silky hair. Honestly, the action may have been just as soothing to Nico as it was to Will.

           “But then what?” Will asked mournfully “I won’t have a home.”

           “Yes, you will.” Nico assured.

           “Nic, camp isn’t permanent.” Will replied weakly. Nico knew that was a hard thing for Will to admit, especially to him. When they had first become friends, before Nico knew Will liked him or even that Will was gay. Will had spent a lot of time convincing Nico he could find a home at camp.

           Nico sighed at the sadness in Will’s voice. Will was sunshine and optimism, sadness didn’t suit him. The son of Hades looked around Will’s bedroom taking in the scene. It was quite the scene, the room was currently a complete mess. Usually the sight of such chaos would fray Nico’s nerves to the breaking point but sitting with Will, Nico only felt calm. Looking back down at Will, Nico made a decision. “What about our apartment? That will be our home, won’t it?”

           A heartbeat passed before Will sat up and blinked at Nico in surprise and confusion. “I thought you said you weren’t ready?”

          “I said I needed to think.” Nico corrected bashfully.

           Hope twinkled in Will’s stunning blue eyes. “And you mean like after this summer?” Will asked.

           Nico nodded as he replied. “Yes”

           “And you’re saying this ‘cause you really want to and not just because I’m upset and you want to make me feel better?” The son of Apollo asked his tone was suspicious but the hope in his eyes was clearly starting to blossoming into true excitement.

           “Yes Will, I mean it and I want to.” Nico stated firmly. For some irrational reason he could feel his cheeks start to pink from the nerves of admitting that. “Like you said, if you’re in New York I can commute.” He explained looking down at his hands to escape the intensity of Will’s gaze. “Honestly, I can commute if you go to New Rome too or just stay weekends until I finish school.”

           Will was so quiet for so long Nico couldn’t take it one second longer. As soon as his dark eyes met Will’s light one’s his boyfriend lunged forward. Nico couldn’t help but squeal with surprise as Will tackled him to the bed. Strong, calloused hands pinned him there seconds before Will started peppering Nico’s face and neck with kisses.

           “I love you so much” Will declared, his lips still against Nico’s skin.

           “I love you too.” Nico replied as Will continued in his assault. “Now will you get off me.”

           Nico could feel Will grin against his cheek. “Not ‘til I’m done showering you with affection”

           Nico made no attempt to move or push Will off. He only sighed and asked. “Is that going to be anytime soon?”

           Will paused in his efforts to cover Nico in playful kisses to reply. “I’ll let you know.”

           “Will, I’m hungry.” Nico pointed out as Will pecked at his jawline. “Can we please go downstairs?”

          Will placed one last kiss on Nico's cheek before giving in. “Fine, but this isn’t over.” Will declared backing off Nico a bit but still not leaving enough space between them for Nico to sit up. He glanced over Nico’s form suggestively before promising. “Later I’m kissing every inch of you I swear to the gods!”

           “I’ll add it to the list for later.” Nico retorted with a heavy eye roll. He pressed his hands against Will’s chest as he demanded. “Now off.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why but I just imagine Annabeth being a truly awful cook.
> 
> And don't ask why Annabeth's step mom and brothers didn't come to Thanksgiving, because I don't have a good answer. Maybe they didn't want to fly all the way to New York.
> 
> Low key love Nico using Will's proper southern manners (i.e. not contradicting his mother) against him. Also sweet tea is delicious but drink three large glasses in one sitting is like eating all your Halloween candy in an hour.
> 
> So there is this belief that eating certain foods effects how a guy's fluids taste but the actual research is inconclusive. Will is making up medical facts again. Also this is inappropriate breakfast conversation- Naughty Will. 
> 
> I love that both Nico and Will don't seem to care what they look like.
> 
> There is no such thing as a sexy bumblebee, but if anyone could do it, it would probably be Will.
> 
> Alright, so as someone with a step-parent (who is amazing by the way) I always loved how they were a topic discussed in PJO. Also I handled it way worse than Will does here when I first found out so I realize it seems like Will freaks out over nothing but at least in my experience his reaction is pretty realistic.
> 
> Also Felix' dad, I put like two minutes trying to think of a name before I was like 'Forget it I'm just naming him after the director' So yes, like Felix himself his name is an RvB reference.
> 
> I see a lot of Will comforting Nico but no so much of the reverse (which Will's got to have issues too) so this was really nice to write.


	25. Awkward Family Meals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all,
> 
> Okay so I'm officially taking a week off from posting. This means no new chapters Wednesday (12/21) or Sunday (12/25) but I will be back Wednesday (12/28).
> 
> Also I will be posting my PJO Secret Santa piece here as well. It is a Solangelo one-shot, so for those of you who are interested keep your eyes out for that.
> 
> Now this chapter- warnings first: The is some cursing and really mild underage drinking (it happens people, teenagers are rarely saints).
> 
> In line with the suckiness that has been this week, last night at about 10:00 PM as I was editing this chapter a glitch in my word processor resulted in me losing a few pages of this chapter. After having a minor panic attack I re-wrote them. Honestly, I'm just thankful I outline all my chapters on paper before moving to the computer because if I didn't I don't know what I would have done. 
> 
> So parts of this didn't get edited to the same level I normally do. I think they are fine but please forgive errors- normally I walk away from my writing for a few days before editing so errors are more clear. But I want to hold off on posting.

Annabeth

           As a demigod, Annabeth had experienced plenty of strange things in his life. This situation was something else entirely. Her mom, the goddess Athena, eased herself into a chair across from Poseidon. The goddess of wisdom seemed to purposefully ignore the sea god.

           “Athena.” Her father greeted kindly.

           “Fredrick, it’s nice to see you.” Athena acknowledged “I’ve seen some of your recent work, it’s very impressive.” she stated before gazing over at where Annabeth stood staring at her in shock. “No wonder Annabeth turned out to be one of my wisest children.” Annabeth felt herself glow with proud at her mother’s praise. The moment passed quickly as the wisdom goddess sighed heavily. “Or at least that is what I had thought” Athena looked toward Annabeth with clear disapproval. “You're engaged to a child of Poseidon? What were you thinking?”

           “I’m right here.” Percy pointed out not hiding his annoyance. Her mother’s dislike of Percy has seemed to have decreased with time. Still, after everything he had done the goddess still didn’t  _like_  him.

           “My son has saved the world twice.” Poseidon reminded.

           “He had help, mainly my daughter’s” Athena pointed out. On that the goddess was right. Percy often had help with his heroic deeds but that didn’t make them any less heroic. “Annabeth, sweetie, I’m sure we can think of a more acceptable demigod for you.”

           “I think I’m alright just keeping Percy.” Annabeth replied with a nervous sort of honesty. Annabeth wanted her mother’s approval but when it came to Percy she didn’t care and wasn't compromising. They had been through so much together she had no doubt that they were soulmates.

           “Annabeth, you should at least give another demigod a try.” Athena issued. “What about the daughter of Aphrodite, the one that went on the quest against Gaea?”

           “Piper?” Annabeth questioned. Surely her mother wasn’t suggesting she date one of her closest friends.

           “Yes." Athena confirmed. "She really embodies the respectable qualities of her mother and you two did make a good team.” The wisdom goddess stated with an approving.

           “Annabeth, I’m completely okay with you dating Piper.” Percy declared with a silly grin from his spot at the kitchen table.

           “Not helping Percy.” Annabeth informed sending her finance a warning look. She turned back to her mother. “Piper’s in a committed relationship, and we are friends,  _just_  friends.”

           “Alright, well what about the daughter of Bellona?” Athena asked clearly undeterred. “I’m not the biggest fans of the Romans but I liked her.”

           “Oh yeah, I would totally be okay with you dating Reyna too if you wanted.” Percy informed with an even more goofy smile then before. He really was not helping with this whole situation Annabeth thought. She shot him another disapproving look knowing would have little effect. At least she knew Percy’s mom was on her side. She observed how Sally Jackson gave her son a warning look that only a mom could really muster. It didn’t seem to have much of an effect on Percy but it was still comforting.

           “Percy.” Annabeth groaned and Percy only shrugged in response. Annabeth turned back to the wisdom goddess. “Mom, I like boys.” It was an oversimplification to say the least. Annabeth didn’t feel that Thanksgiving was the time to explain her personal sexual preferences.

           “You could like girls too, there is nothing wrong with that.” The goddess reasoned.

           “Yes, Annabeth if you did I want you to know I would be perfectly fine with that.” Annabeth’s father added reassuringly. Well, Annabeth could at least take comfort in the idea that if she did decide to explain she was bisexual her parents would be supportive.

           “Yes, there would be absolutely nothing wrong with that.” Poseidon agreed with a grin that reminded Annabeth so much of his son it was eerie.

          Annabeth and Athena both glare at the sea god for a moment before Athena turned back to Annabeth. “I remember Malcolm’s mother fondly.” She offered.

           “I’m still fine just sticking with Percy” Annabeth reiterated. She noticed how Percy smiled at her and this time there was nothing goofy about it, it was pure affection.

           The goddess seemed to give the situation some thought before speaking. “If you really prefer boys what about the one who died, Leo.” She offered. “He more than proved himself as a resourceful and brave demigod.”

           “The child of Hephaestus?” Poseidon questioned leaning back in his chair. He looked like he was making himself comfortable for a long day of fishing. “He’s with Calypso, he rescued her from her island after he died.”

           “Wasn’t Zeus supposed to release her after the second Titan war?” Athena asked after some thought.

           Poseidon shrugged casually “He got distracted.” 

           Athena rolled her eyes at that statement “Well that’s not new.” Annabeth and Percy both looked around the room nervously. They both seemed to expect the lord of the sky to react badly to that statement. 

           Surprising, nothing happen. Annabeth guessed the gods could speak about each other differently than mortals could. “What about the son of Hades then.” Annabeth’s mother suggested drawing Annabeth’s attention back to the conversation at hand.

           “You would rather your daughter date a child of Hades then my son?” Poseidon questioned outrage coloring the edges of his voice.

           “Well, Nico is a sweetheart.” Sally commented with an affectionate tone. That was the amazing thing about Ms. Jackson. 

           Not only was she an amazing mom to Percy she seemed to adopt the demigods Percy brought home as her own as well. There were times that Annabeth felt like Sally was almost her mom. With Nico, Jason, and Leo, Ms. Jackson had been even more motherly. She knew they had been orphaned and she felt they needed it.

           “The boy was willing to sacrifice himself to return my statue to its rightful place, so yes.” Athena stated firmly.

           Annabeth looked toward Percy. She was surprised he hadn’t say something on the topic of her and Nico as an item yet. That wasn’t the type of thing Percy would fail to comment on. Once she caught sight of him she understood his silence. Percy had both his hands clamped over his mouth. His shoulders visibly shaking from withheld laughter. She rolled her eyes, honestly it wasn’t that funny.

           After a minute or so of over the top hidden laughter Percy dropped his hands away from his mouth. Amused he declared. “I don’t think Annabeth's Nico’s type.”

           Annabeth glared at Percy for a moment until his body stopped shaking from laughter. It really wasn’t that funny, she thought again. Once Percy calmed down, she turned back to her mother. “Nico’s in a committed relationship and he’s gay.”

           Athena sighed disappointedly. “Alright what about the child of Mars that was part of the seven.” She suggested. “Again, I’m not a fan of the Romans but he was tolerable.”

           Annabeth involuntarily made a face at the thought. She adored Frank but he was like a little brother. “Frank’s a sweetheart but that would be really weird.”

           The wisdom goddess gave the problem some more thought. To Annabeth, it was clear her mother was running out of ideas. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this but what about the son of Apollo. The one that healed your leg during the Battle of Manhattan.” Athena suggested. “I normally prefer Apollo and his children stay away from my children but he didn’t seem as flighty as his father.”

           This time Percy failed to hide his laughter or he just didn’t try. The son of the sea god laughed loudly smacking the table with pure delight. Percy's outburst drew everyone’s attention to him.

           After an annoyed glance at her fiancé she turned back to her mother. She was starting to understand the goddess’ concern, she still didn't agree with it, but she understood. “Will’s dating Nico and also just likes boys.” she explained. After a moment of thought she added. “Also, you may want to check in with Malcolm about the child of Apollo thing.” As far as Annabeth was aware her half-brother was still dating Kayla from the Apollo cabin.

           “I’m sorry but did you just say that a child of Apollo and a child of Hades are dating?” Poseidon questioned skeptically. That was a common enough reaction for those who had never actually seen the two together.

           Percy nodded and whipped a laughter induced tear from his eye before commenting. “They’re a cute couple.”

           “Now that you mention it I think I remember hearing Aphrodite and Eros speaking about the pair.” Athena commented with a bit of a nodded at the memory. Annabeth and Percy exchanged a concerned look. A love god (or goddess) taking an interest in your relationship was typically not a very good thing. She hoped they didn't have anything to horrible in store for Nico and Will.

           "I wonder who's more appalled at the pairing, Hades or Apollo?" Poseidon mused. “Either way I get a feeling Winter Solstice is going to be fun this year.” The sea god declared with glee. Annabeth noticed how Percy turned to his father like he was ready to protest or maybe plea. Nico and Will didn’t need either of their godly parents getting involved in their relationship because teasing from the other gods. Like Annabeth, Percy knew that.

           “Alright,” Athena declared. To Annabeth it was clear her mother had all but run out of acceptable alternatives to Percy. “How about the child of Jupiter.”

           The goddess’s whole attempt to suggest a replacement for Percy suddenly became worth the growing annoyance Annabeth felt toward her mother. The look on Percy’s face when Athena mentioned Jason was priceless. Annabeth truly regretted not having a camera with her to capture it on film. His mouth hung open slack in clear shock and disapproval but fire burned in his eyes. It was Annabeth’s turn to bite back a fit of laughter and she was far more successful than Percy had been thus far. “Mom, I’m happy with Percy.” She stated yet again with a smile.

           “Lady Athena” Sally interjected her tone carefully respectful. “I’m Sally Jackson, Percy’s mother, and this is my husband Paul.” She introduced and Annabeth realized she should have probably done that herself before now. Ms. Jackson patted Percy on the shoulder affectionately as she added. “I know Percy comes off a bit…impulsive at times.”

           “Mom.” Percy protested turning to look up at his mother with shock.

           “Sweetie you can.” Sally stated dismissively before addressing the goddess once again. “If you’d do us the honor of joining us for a little while I’m sure you’ll see Annabeth and Percy are good for each other.” She explained before adding. “She’s certainly good for Percy.” Annabeth couldn’t help but blush a little bit at that, and she was happy to see Percy did too.

           “Polite and well spoken.” Athena observed as she looked Sally Jackson over. Having thoroughly examined the women she turned to Poseidon. “How did you talk your way into such an intelligent women’s bed?”

           “I was charming.” Poseidon replied in his own defense.

           “I sincerely doubt that.” Athena stated sounding bored. “I think I can stay for a bit.”

           “Fantastic” Sally declared happily “Percy, help Paul with the turkey.” As Percy stood up he shot Annabeth a nervous look she understood all too well. This was going to be a very interesting meal.

Will-

           Will didn’t want to leave his bedroom at all. He didn’t want to keep his hands to himself either. Nico had just agreed to move in with him. And not at some hypothetical future point but rather the very real and near future. Will felt so happy he was giddy. He wanted to shout his joy from the roof tops. He wanted to shower Nico with affection and attention. He wanted to kiss every inch of his pale skin until Nico felt as giddy as Will did.

           They were halfway downstairs when Will couldn’t take it anymore. Grabbing Nico gently by the shoulder he was able to stop Nico’s descent. Using the same hand he guided Nico’s movements until Nico’s back was pressed against the wall. Will moved so he was standing directly in front of his boyfriend. While Nico was still too surprised to protest Will took half a step forward into his personally space. Tilting his head downward he moved in to start kissing Nico's elegant throat greedily.  At Will’s actions, the son of Hades let out surprised yelp before clasping hand over mouth.

           “Gods, you make me the happiest person ever.” Will purred. His lips still grazing against the skin of Nico’s throat.

           Nico shuttered at Will’s words which just excited the son of Apollo more. Getting such a physical reaction with such little effort made Will feel strangely powerful. He was ready to pick Nico up and bring him back to his bed. 

          He felt Nico grasp a fist full of his shirt at his back like he needed something to hold onto to stay upright. Will was more than happy to help Nico on that front. He took another half a step forward so he was pressing his boyfriend’s smaller frame against wall with his own weight.

            Will continued kissing up the son of Hades' throat. Carefully, he moved toward an especially sensitive spot just below Nico’s ear. Will heard Nico sigh and felt his form relax against his own. The brunet still clung to a fist full of his shirt although not so tightly now. Will grasped Nico’s narrow hip and pulled his lower half more tightly against Will’s own.

           “Dudes, self-control.” Dean voice declared slicing through the air of such a private moment. Will broke away from Nico’s neck. He should have pushed away from his boyfriend completely but didn't. Will wasn't ready to lose the feeling of Nico's body so tightly against his own. He kept a large amount of his form pressed against Nico keeping him pinned to the wall. He looked down the stairs at his cousin with annoyance. Dean gave a sympathetic shrug. “Thanksgiving is no time to experiment with exhibitionism.”

           “Who says were  _experimenting_?” Will replied with suggestive grin. Honestly, Will wasn’t even sure what had possessed him to say it. The truth was they hadn't done much sexually outside of the Hades cabin. The only exceptions being the blow job in the infirmary storage closet and the one time they had sex in the communal showers at camp. The shower thing was at least partially alcohol’s fault. Will would have been fine with it and he may have fantasized about it a few times. Nico was usually resistant to the whole idea of having sex somewhere they could easily be caught. Still, his cousin didn’t know that.

           “Will!” Nico hissed with disapproval. He slapped Will’s chest with the hand that wasn't still clinging to his shirt. He hadn’t put any real force behind it so the contact was more noise than anything else. The son of Hades let his hand stay where it had made contact while the other released the back of Will’s shirt. He used the hand placed on Will’s chest to push Will back. He didn't push hard, it was just enough to dislodge himself from between Will and the wall. 

           Freed, Nico raked his fingers through his hair and tugging nervously at the hem of his shirt. That shirt might have been Will’s new favorite thing. It was smaller than what Nico would usually wear, which meant it actually fit his narrow but muscular frame. The son of Hades looked like a young god. He clearly wasn’t used to the feel and had been tugging at the hem periodically like a nervous tick.

           Will tried not to grin as he watched his boyfriend. Nico blushed and squirmed clearly flustered by being caught. How Nico could still manage such a reaction after all the times they had gotten caught was beyond Will. Still, he still loved it more than he probably should.  

           Eyes focused downward and shoulders pulled forward, Nico trudged down the stairs without another word. He even pushed passed Dean without sparing him a glance. Will figured Nico was probably too embarrassed to speak. He could tell Nico continued to blush from the red that had crept up the back of his neck. Feeling slightly guilty and very disappointed Will followed his boyfriend. He shot Dean dirty look as he passed at the bottom of the stairs.

           “Dude, you can’t have sex on the stairs on Thanksgiving, thems just the rules.” Dean informed in a hushed tone as he turned on his heels to follow Will. “I don’t make ‘em up.”

           “Well it’s a stupid rule.” Will grumbled as he passed into the now empty living room.

           “Will!” Nico exclaimed turning to glare heatedly at Will. The son of Apollo could tell from his boyfriend’s general expression he had reached his limit. Will gave Nico an apologetical sort of smile but kept his mouth shut. Nico rolled his eyes before turning on his heels and stomped into the kitchen. Will had no real choice but to follow with Dean on his heels.

           In the kitchen, his mother was back working at the stove while talking to Felix’ dad- Leonard. Felix was sitting at the kitchen table looking bored and slightly annoyed. As they entrance Felix looked up with a humorless grin. “Hey look who’s done having a temper tantrum.” he declared with dark amusing.

           “Felix!” His father declared disapprovingly. Will wondered absently if the man ever got sick of doing that. He imagined with Felix, Leonard had to do that sort of thing a lot.

           The lights dimed noticeably. Will reached out and grabbed Nico by the arm stilling his movements. It all came as reflex, Will hadn't even been consciously aware Nico was moving until after he had stopped him. 

          No one else seemed to notice the way the lights flickered with Nico’s anger which was a good thing. Still, this dinner was going to go very badly if Felix kept running off at the mouth. Nico wasn’t exactly known for his emotional control. Much to Will’s relief Nico allowed Will to pull him back. They stood pressed almost shoulder to shoulder with Nico only standing slightly in front of Will. The son of Apollo kept his grip on his boyfriend’s muscled arm. Nico made no additional attempts to move forward and the lights seemed to return to normal.

           “Dude, it’s like you want your nose broken.” Dean declared in Felix’ direction. It was like his cousin read his mind, Will thought. Although, if Will was being honest he was far more concerned with his boyfriend inadvertently using his underworldy powers on his annoying teammate then breaking his nose.

           “No one’s nose is getting broken.” Naomi declared firmly as she turned from her work at the stove to give them a warning expression.

          “Except for Eric Marsh” Felix muttered under his breath. The kitchen was small and there wasn’t much else to be heard so even spoken quietly everyone made out the words.

           Once again Will’s mother turned from stirring various pots to look at them. This time her expression was one of confusion and slight concern. “What about the sheriff’s son?” She asked.

           “Nothing” Will, Dean, Felix all declared as one. Nico shot Will a concerned if slightly annoyed expression.

           After the little run in with Eric at the café Will had little choice but to tell Nico about how things had been at school since he came out. It really hadn’t been that bad and, for the most part, the worst people did was give him disapproving looks. Only a few people had been so bold as to actually say anything, Eric being the most vocal.

           Nico tried to hide it but Will could tell he felt guilty about all of it. Even though Will assured him that it wasn’t his fault. Honestly, Will was relieved to have it out there, it was one less secret he was keeping. But when Nico got something in his head it was hard to convince him otherwise. Will didn’t see the point of telling his boyfriend further that the guy whose nose he had most likely broken was the town sheriff’s son.

           The cat was out of the bag now, Will thought mournful as he looked away from Nico’s intense expression. Unfortunately, the look he was getting from his mother wasn’t much better. 

           One of the many downsides of your mother teaching in the same school you attend is she was aware of all the gossip. Popular soccer player turns out to be gay was pretty big gossip in a rural school in Tennessee. Will’s mom had been aware Will had come out pretty quickly, even though he hadn't expressly told her. She was also aware of which students took Will’s sexual preferences as a person affront for whatever reason. She also knew who had been bold enough to say something about it without Will saying a word. The meaning of her expression was clear, we’re talking about this later look.

            Will nervously looked around the room for somewhere safe to set his gaze. His mother and Nico weren’t pleased with him so eye contact with either of them was probably a bad idea. He settled on his feet, smirking as he noticed Nico’s socks were J. Bellomi originals. He let his hand move from Nico’s bicep to Nico’s hand and interlaced his fingers. The son of Apollo made a mental note to tease his boyfriend later for wearing designer socks.

            Everyone fell into a thick silence. The only sounds in the room were the ones coming from the stove. Those even began to grow quieter as Naomi switched off burners and removed pots from the heat. The longer the silence lasted the more awkward and heavy it felt. 

           Will didn’t really like silence and that may have been the case for a number of reasons. It may have been because he was a child of Apollo, god of music. It may simply have been his ADHD making him constantly crave multi-sensory imput. He wasn’t really sure, but either way he rarely tolerated silence well. When he studied he usually had music playing or the television on just for the noise. At school silence was almost impossible to find. There were always so many people around. Every one of them thinking what they had to say was so important it simply couldn’t wait. At camp it was even harder, although that Will knew was because he was a child of Apollo. Cabin six was well known for being talkative. 

           The only time Will didn’t mind silence was when he was with Nico. Quiet with Nico was just different than any other form of silence. It was like a warm bed on a cold morning that you just wanted to crawl into and never leave. 

           Will was clearly not the only one who noticed the tension that hung in the air. Will’s mother seemed to be doing her best to ignore it as she focused on the meal. Dean looked like he was trying desperately to think of something to say. Felix looked like he was growing increasingly annoyed. Nico looked brooding but he was Nico so he could have just been bored. 

           Felix’ dad looked the most unsettled by the situation. He was the one to break the silence. His tone was so nervous sounding that Will almost felt bad for him. “You know maybe we didn’t handle this the best way.” He observed directing the statement toward Will’s mother.

           “Seriously, what gave you that idea?” Felix asked with heavy sarcasm directed at his father. 

           Will half expected his own mother to turn around a smack the boy with whatever cooking utensil she had in hand. Naomi Solace could be a pretty easy going mom but she still drove home the idea of respecting one’s elders. When Will had first arrived at camp and had heard the way some demigods (like Percy) interacted with Mr. D his jaw had practically hit the floor. Sure, the god of wine wasn't the most respectable god you would meet but still.

           Nothing like that happened, much to Will's surprise. He figured not doing anything was just killing his mother. The man, Leonard, did seem to look toward his son with a wary sort of expression. Will doubted the expression would have any effect on Felix’s behavior.

           The man turned to Will and his demeanor seemed to lighten some although he still had a nervous sort of energy. “Why don’t we start over.” He suggested “Will it’s very nice to finally meet you, your mother has told me so much about you.” Leonard stated in a voice that told Will the guy had practiced that in his head more than a few times.

           The man held out his hand once again for Will to shake. The son of Apollo blinked first at Leonard, then at his hand, then at Leonard again. He made no move to actually shake the man’s hand. He felt Nico’s fingers temporarily tighten their grasp on his hand and he turned. He expected Nico to be looking up at him reassuringly. Instead, he found Nico staring at him with annoyance. 

           Their gaze remained locked for a moment in a silence argument which Will lost with a huff. “Fine” Will gave in and took the offered hand and shook it without any real enthusiasm. “It’s nice to meet you too, I guess.” Leonard seemed to relax a bit with the gesture which was a good thing Will supposed. More importantly, Will could feel the heat of Nico’s gaze subside. 

           At the table, Felix chuckled like the whole thing was amusing. “Dude, you’re so fucking whipped!”

           “Felix, language!” Leonard exclaimed with a frustrated look sent in his son’s direction.

           “Teenagers these days.” Naomi stated with a reassuring glance at her  _boyfriend_. “I personally blame television.”

           “Dude, we already established Will’s whipped before you got here.” Dean told Felix with a slap on the arm and a lopsided grin. “Nico agreed.”

           Will groaned at the statement. He turned to his boyfriend who was once again blushing. At least this time Will didn’t have to feel guilty because this one was entirely on Nico. “You know he’s never going to let that go, right?” Will pointed out. Knowing his cousin  _Will’s Whipped, His Boyfriend Agreed_  was going to be engraved on his headstone.

           “I’d apologize but you’ve done worse.” Nico muttered trying for grumpy and almost hitting the mark. Anyone that didn’t know him as well as Will would buy his Nico’s cranky act. Will saw it for what it was- an act to hide his embarrassment.

           “On accident!” Will defended. He knew he had a tendency to run off at the mouth a little to his friends at camp. He tried not to overshare with Nico’s friends, he wasn't always successful, but he tried. Sometimes things just slipped out. “You know I lack a filter especially when I’m happy.”

           The son of Hades groaned and pressed his forehead into Will’s shoulder. “Note to self, stop making Will happy.” Nico declared dryly.

           “Leonard, since my son apparently still is having trouble remembering his manners.” Naomi declared with a disapproving look in Will’s direction. “This is Nico, Will’s boyfriend. He’s visiting this week from New York.”

           “Yes, you mentioned.” Leonard nodded to Will’s mom before turning to Nico. The smaller boy pushed off Will’s shoulder to meet the man gaze. “It’s nice to meet you.” He stated in a polite tone. 

           “Nice to meet you.” Nico replied courteously. Will noticed how his mother smiled and nodded affectionately in Nico’s direction. He could practically hear his mother’s thoughts.  _At least one of these boys remembered their manners_ , he imagined her thinking.

            Will feel Nico clasp his hand more tightly and pressed his shoulder more firmly against Will’s side. The son of Apollo could only imagine how weird and uncomfortable this whole situation was for Nico.

           Will would be happy to spend the entire meal making sure Nico was as comfortable as possible and ignoring everyone else. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like people were going to let him. Will heard Felix make an exaggerated huff noise. “Are you two going to be cutesy the whole meal? Because if you are, its going to be a challenge to keep down my meal which I would prefer to do.” He stated with an air of annoyance.

           “Felix, you were not raised to be intolerant!” Leonard exclaimed. For the first time the man actually seemed more then mildly annoyed by his son’s behavior.

           “It isn’t because they’re gay.” Felix defended. “It’s because they’re one of those overly affectionate couples that are so touchy that it makes everyone around them gag.” Nico let out a barely audible whimper before once again pressing his forehead into Will’s shoulder. The son of Apollo presumed the action was an attempt to hide his embarrassment. Felix made it exhibit A. “See, like that!”

           “Dude, take a Tums.” Dean offered patting Felix on the shoulder with mock reassurance. “I think that’s just how they are.”

           Will couldn’t help but grin proudly. He liked when people pointed out how affectionate they were. It was so much better than hearing how they were an odd couple. And even if people like Felix didn’t know it, affection from Nico was hard won. The fact that when it was directed at Will, affection seemed like a reflex for the dark demigod was amazing. “It kinda is, yeah.” Will admitted with a casual shrug. 

           Nico didn’t appreciate the comment. He stood up straight and smacked Will hard on the shoulder. Will rubbed at the abused spot on his arm. “Ow! What? It is.”

           “Enough boys” Naomi declared as she pulled the last of the pots off the stove. She looked toward Will as she gestured to the collection of pots and pans cluttering the counter. “Will help me put things in serving dishes, I need to get the turkey.”

           Will released Nico’s hand to do as he was told. Dean had settled into a chair next to Felix and Nico looked toward a chair like he was considering it as well. “Ms. Solace, can I help with anything?” Nico asked in a soft voice.

           Will saw how his mother grinned in his boyfriend direction. She pulled on an oven mitt as she spoke. “Only if you call me Naomi.” She stated plainly.

           Will couldn’t help but pause and look back at his boyfriend. He desperately wanted to know what Nico would do. The son of Hades seemed to think about it for a minute and Will really thought Nico might just cave and call her Naomi. 

           Nico let out a heavy resigned sigh. He used his designer sock clad foot to pull a chair out and slumped down into it looking defeated.

            Will shrugged a bit disappointed but not all that surprised. “I told you he was stubborn.” Will reminded his mother before returning to his work.

           “Ah-ha” His mother declared. She was clearly less than pleased by her inability to get Nico to call her by her first name. She went to reach for the oven door but stopped last minute. She reached back and grabbed the bottle of wine off the counter and held it out toward Felix’ dad. “Leonard, could you open this or does it need to be chilled first?”

           “Honestly, I’m not sure.” The man admitted sounding somewhat embarrassed by the fact. “The description on the bottle seems to be in Italian or French.”

           “Is it Italian or French?” Nico asked. Will didn’t need to look to know his boyfriend had perked up at the opportunity to do something. Nico wasn’t used to sitting around and letting others take care of things. He was a take charge kind of demigod.

           “I’m not really sure.” Felix’ dad admitted dejectedly.

           “Why?” Felix asked with a skeptical look sent in Nico’s direction that Will had to work hard to ignored.

           As Will spooned mashed potatoes into a serving dish, he replied “Nico reads Italian.”

           “I might be able to read some French.” Nico stated optimistically. If anyone could it would be Nico (or maybe Annabeth but Will cared less about that). “Hazel and Frank have been teaching me a little French whenever I visit.”

           “Yeah but that’s Louisiana or Canadian French not real French.” Will replied with a bit of a doubtful expression. They had to be different then the French they actually spoke in France.

           The expression that spread across Nico’s face was clear as day and read  _Dumb American_. Will blushed a little and returned to filling the gravy boat with gravy. “Doesn’t really matter.” Nico stated. “Besides both Italian and French are romance languages so there is a lot of carry over.”

           “I thought just French was supposed to be the language of love?” Dean asked sounding confused.

           “I mean romance languages in the linguistic sense.” Nico explained. Will had to bit his lip to stop himself from commenting how spot on Nico’s child of Athena impression was. “Romance languages are all those languages directly derived from Latin.”

          “Which Nico also speaks.” Will informed as he moved on to spoon the stuffing into a large serving bowl.

           “Dude, you're dating a ninja  _and_  a genius.” Dean stated with amusement.

           Will looked over his shoulder and grinned back at his cousin proudly. “Pretty much.” He declared and ignored Nico’s visible eye roll.

           Will noticed Dean mouth ‘marry him’ in Will’s direction. The son of Apollo felt his cheek pink as he turned his back so he could hide the worst of it. Will wasn’t going to admit it out loud, but that was the plan.

           Nico must have missed the silent exchange or was choosing to ignore it. Will heard Nico huff as he pushed out of his chair. Will waited to hear Nico’s heavy boots against the tile floor. When no sound came, he remembered Nico was only in socks.

           “Here, let me see.” Nico stated. Peeking over his shoulder, Will saw Nico pulling the bottle from Leonard’s hand. The man looking at Nico with confusion and concern. Knowing Nico, he had probably pulled the bottle out of the guy’s hand with more strength then he looked physically capable of.  Nico eyed the text on the bottle for no more than thirty seconds before stating. “It’s Italian, serve chilled.” Nico passed the bottle back before returning to his seat.

           “Thank you” Leonard stated sincerely although he still sounded a bit surprised. “What a handy skill, being bilingual.”

           “Nico sweetie,” Will’s mom paused in her efforts to carve the twenty-pound beast of a turkey. She looked over her shoulder at where Nico was sitting. “where did you learn to speak Italian?”

           “Um…Venice.” Nico muttered an uncomfortably.

           “Oh, I’ve heard that’s a beautiful city.” Leonard commented taking a seat at the table as well. “Did you visit there as a child?” He asked with what sounded like genuine interest.

           “Um…I was born there.” Nico replied sheepishly “My family lived there until I was nine.”

           “Really?” Naomi exclaimed with surprise. Will didn’t have to look he could feel her eyes on him. “Will never mentioned.”

           Will finished scraping the last of the stuffing into the serving dish. He picked the large bowl off the counter and turned to place it on the table. “I told you he was Italian.” he countered.

           “That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s from Italy” his mother replied as she moved slices of white meat onto a large platter.

           “Yeah, it could mean he’s of Italy descent.” Felix pointed out triumphantly. He clearly thought he had won something with that comment. Will openly glared at him as he worked to move various side dishes to the table.

           “Dude,” Dean let out an amused chuckle “it’s really like you want to get hit in the face.”

           Felix let out a dismissive gust of air as he fixed Will with a skeptical expression. “Will wouldn’t touch me.” He declared with more certainty then Will thought he should have.

           Dean was quiet for a long time, longer then was normal for Dean. When Will looked toward his cousin to see what was going on he noticed it. Dean and Nico were locked in what looked like a silent conversation although the two didn’t know each other well enough for that. Still, as they broke eye contact Will got the impression they had come to some sort of understanding. “Nico might.” Dean informed matter-of-factly.

           Dean wasn’t wrong. Will found himself staring between his boyfriend and his cousin trying to figure out how the two had managed to communicate silently.

           “Italian is such a lovely language” Will’s mother interjected. She was speaking more to Nico than anyone else as she settled into her seat. “Would you mind speaking a little for us, maybe saying grace?”

           “No!” Will responded in an unnecessary shout. As he slipped into his own seat between Nico and Dean he felt everyone’s eyes on him. Will took a shake-y breath in an attempt to swallow down his sense of panic at the mere idea.

           Simply put Nico could not spend the meal speaking in Italian. The only time Nico spoke his native tongue was in the throws of passion. Over time Will’s mind, and his body, had drawn a line between hear his boyfriend speaking Italian and sex. panicked. Nico’s soft voice already had a bedroom quality to it which only seemed to magnify when he spoke Italian. There was no way Will would be able to listen to him say all of grace in Italian and not have a physical reaction. “Mom, Nico doesn’t want-” Will began trying to sound calm.

           “I’d love to say grace.” Nico interjected.

Shocked, Will turned to his boyfriend. “No?” He whimpered what was meant to be a plea be came out as a question. He had no idea what everyone else was making out of the exchange and was beyond the point of caring. Nico knew exactly how speaking Italian affected him, he couldn’t possibly be seriously considering this.

           Nico looked back at him with an almost innocent expression. “Will I really don’t mind.” Nico assured sweetly. It was a very convincing act except for the mischievous glint in his eyes. Will could tell his boyfriend knew exactly what he was doing. “Honestly, I don’t get a lot of opportunities to speak in my native tongue so it would be nice.”

            _Lies_ , Will thought, Nico spoke in his native tongue plenty. Will had had him crying out in it the night before. Sure, the vocabulary was probably a bit limited but still it should count. Will couldn’t argue any of these points and Nico knew it. He was forced to silently suffer.

           Will was the last to bow his head. He was still too busy hoping that this wouldn’t actually happen. “O Signore, ti ringraziamo per i doni della tua bontà che godiamo a questo tavolo.” Nico began, his voice was like a purr, sensual and inviting. As much as he tried not too Will could feel his body responding to the sound. Blood rushing to his groin in a hurry as his face, neck and chest flushed. “Come avete previsto per noi in passato, in modo che tu possa sostenerci per tutta la vita.” The son of Hades continued. Will felt his pulse quicken, his muscles tense, and his member began to stiffen between his legs. He had to work hard to control his breathing. “Mentre ci godiamo i tuoi doni, possiamo mai dimenticare i bisognosi e quelli nel bisogno.” Nico paused before switching to English “Amen.”

            “Amen” Chorused everyone else around the table. Will only mumbled as he sighed internally with relief. He had actually managed to make it through the whole pray without coming undone at the sound of his boyfriend’s musical voice. Sure he was sitting at the dinner table on Thanksgiving with an erection. It was pretty embarrassing but the arousal would subside with time. Luckily, there was nothing sexy about Thanksgiving dinner. As long as there wasn’t any more Italian he would be fine.

            “That was lovely” Naomi declared happily. “Now our meal feels so cultured.”

            Nico mumbled something that sounded like you’re welcome. Soon dishes began to be passed around the table. Will was just starting to relax as he passed a tray of rolls to Nico and his boyfriend replied “Grazie.”

           Will’s head snapped in Nico’s direction so fast he was surprised he didn’t give himself whiplash. Nico blinked up at him through long lashes as he worn a small grin but said nothing. Nico wouldn’t actually through whole meal speaking Italian. Will tried to assure himself but Nico’s grin told him different.

           “Now what did that mean?” Will’s mother asked curiously.

           “Thank you.” Nico replied matter-of-factly.

           “What about please?” Dean asked with an excited sort of interest. Will bit back a groan at the inquiry. The son of Apollo was pretty sure he know that one. Nico had a tendency to use it in the bedroom or where ever they were being intimate. It had absolutely no place at the kitchen table….well, at least not when they were eating dinner.

           “Per favore” Nico replied simply. Will thought he might actually die, he couldn’t survive an entire dinner like this.

           “Per favore” Dean repeated and although his pronunciation was off it was still close. Will barely resisted the urge to whine. This whole thing was getting so weird, his cousin should not be speaking Italian. Nico gave a small nod to indicate Dean’s accuracy. “That’s kind of cool.” Dean declared. “You’re going to have to teach me more.”

           “Dear gods, not right now!” Will declared having reached his breaking point.

           Dean stared at Will had grown a second head and lost his mind. Nico openly grinned at Will completely aware of what he was doing and seemingly proud of it. “Come vuoi tu amore mio.” he declared, patting Will’s hand reassuringly before switching to English. Nico pointed toward one of the casserole dishes. “What’s that?” Will was appreciative, to say the least. The way everyone was looking at him after his little outburst, someone was going to ask what was going on. The answer was too embarrassing to even think of trying to explain. 

           “Sweet potatoes.” Naomi replied simply.

           Nico made a face as he looked at the dish with confusion. “Sweet potatoes are orange not white.”

           “Yeah they are baked with mini marshmallows on top.” Dean explained as he helped himself to a large serving of the dish in question.

           “Gross.” Will muttered. He didn’t actually mind sweet potatoes but he hated marshmallows. Will was probably the only kid a camp that when it came time to make s’mores he just ate the graham crackers.

           “Really?” Nico stared at the contents of the dish like they were it was a miracle. “That’s …. beautiful.” He declared in awe but for pointing at the dish with more insistently. “Will pass me that please.”

           “You sure?” Will questioned. He looked from his boyfriend to the dish of potatoes and back again skeptically. “You already have mashed potatoes and stuffing. All that starch really isn’t healthy.”

           “Will per favore.” Nico responded sweetly, a playful grin dancing across his full lips. “Abbastanza per favore con una ciliegia sulla parte superiore.”

           Will blinked before squirming slightly in his chair. Was this a new thing they were doing? Anytime Nico wanted to have his way would he just start speaking in seductive Italian? Will was in no shape, way, or form prepared to handle that. Begrudgingly, the son of Apollo picked up the dish and passed it to his boyfriend who happily accepted it. As Nico scooped a large spoonful of sweet potatoes on to his plate Will complained under his breath. “That’s not fair.”

           “Dude,” Dean declared catching Nico’s attention as he pointed to yet another platter on the table. “you have to try the green bean casserole too.”

           Nico made a sour face at the suggestion.“Green beans are not my favorite.” He explained.

           “You barely taste them.” Dean insisted before gesturing toward the crispy bits that laid on top of the green beans. “They’re covered with these fried onion things that are  _amazing_.” Will’s cousin explained before adding to drive home his point. “Seriously, they’re one of my five most favorite things ever.” 

Nico seemed to weigh this information carefully for a moment before giving a small shrug. He moved to began spooning some green bean casserole on to his plate.

           Will sighed at the display before him. Even the ‘healthy’ options where covered in creamy goop, topped with fried bits, or cooked in bacon fat. “This meal is a prime example of why America has an obesity epidemic.” He stated with resignation.

           “Will” Felix stated firmly “Its Thanksgiving, no one cares about being healthy.” He insisted before using his fork to point toward Nico. “If the underwear model can gorge himself on three days worth of calories in one meal you can smother the contents of your plate with gravy and shut the fuck up.”

           “Felix, do we need to have a conversation about your language?” Leonard questioned his voice taking on a firm parental tone.

           “We can if you want dad but I think it would be a bit late to have any effect.” Felix replied matter-of-factly.

           “You’re the only person I’ve ever met who is actually more obnoxious with their parent around.” Will pointed out with annoyance.

           “Well, it’s been kind of a fucked up morning so I’m in a  _mood_.” Felix shot back his tone mirroring Will’s annoyance with the guy.

           Will pulled a page from his boyfriend’s playbook and rolled his eyes hard. “You were saying something about  _me_  having a temper tantrum.”

           “Non aiuta, Will.” Nico muttered.

           Will was surprised that the sudden jolt of arousal that ran through him at the sound of Nico speaking Italian didn’t drown out his annoyance with Felix. “What?” Will questioned “It’s not like my morning is exactly going with the way I would have liked either.”

           “What’s got your panties in a bunch Solace?” Felix retorted with a snide grin “No morning sex?” Next to Will, Nico coughed loudly as he worked to swallow whatever he had been eating at the time of the comment.

           “Felix!” His father protested loudly.

            Will rolled his eyes again. “Dude, you’re just fixating on my sex life because you’re not getting any.” He shrugged before smirking “Don’t worry I’ve been getting plenty for the both of us.”

            “WILL!!!” Nico protested in shock.

            “BOYS!” Naomi shouted as she smacked her hand down on the table to draw their attention. Will turned toward his mother feeling slightly guilty. “That is enough! We are having dinner and that is no place to discuss things like sex.” She stated firmly. “Now, you two are going to at least make an effort to play nice for the rest of the meal or I swear no dessert and that’s only for starters.” Her expression was so stern Will believed her. Her expression softened as she reached out and pushed Nico’s glass of water closer to his hand. Nico was slouched down in his chair staring at his plate red-faced. “Sweetie, drink some water.”

            Will felt a little bad about how embarrassed Nico was. He really shouldn’t have gone that far. Felix just had this way of getting under Will’s skin, he just wanted to rub his nose in something good in Will’s life. Nico was the most good thing in Will’s life, and their sex life was more than good.

            Nico gulped at his water and occasionally shot Will an annoyed look. As the worst of his blushing Will grabbed Nico’s hand. He was a little surprised that Nico didn’t pull his hand away. The rest of the table fell into an awkward silence. The others started pushing food about their plate or simply started eating.

           Sure, the silence was awkward but at least it was peaceful in Will’s opinion. He had Nico, who was picking at his plate with less gusto then he had before Will’s back and forth with Felix, that was really all Will needed. Then Felix’ dad decided to try in fill the silence with talking. “So, Will I hear you’re on the soccer team?” He asked nervously.

           “Yeah,” Will replied casually, not bothering to look up from his food. “I play center forward.”

           Next to him Nico to a shake-y breath. It was subtle but Will still heard it as Nico mumbled into his napkin. “Oh, caro Signore in cielo”

            Mildly confused (and slightly aroused although at that point arousal seemed a given for the meal) Will turned his attention to Nico. The son of Hades was looking down at his plate. His dark eyebrows knotted together in concentration and the tips of his ears were pink. That was an interesting reaction Will noted even though he still wasn’t sure what had caused it.

           “You know the position I have always played until we moved here.” Felix stated, his voice taking on a sharp edge cutting Will from his own thoughts.

           “Seriously?” Will questioned genuinely surprised. As much as Will hated to admit it Felix was actually a pretty good soccer player. Still, Will thought of him as more of a defender or midfielder.

           “Yeah, why?” Felix hissed.

           “I don’t know, you just don’t really play like a striker.” Will defended with a shrug. He didn’t mean it as an insult or anything, everyone had their own skill sets. Will was probably the most useless person to play defense or in the goal, his ADHD kicked in and got distracted. “I just figured midfielder was your preferred position.”

           “I guess if you didn’t blow off spring training you would have known that wasn’t the case.” Felix shot back. He eyed Will critically before adding more as an accusation then a comment. “How you managed to keep your position after that is beyond me. At any other school you would have been benched.”

           “I didn’t blow off spring training I had mono.” Will corrected harshly. It was a lie, Will had never had mono. As a child of Apollo with accelerated healing Will wasn’t even sure he could get mono. Will, of course, had missed spring training because he had returned to camp. He had told his mother that there had been an emergency at camp. The truth had been Nico had stopped writing and Will was afraid he was going to take off again. Then he and Nico had started dating and Will hadn’t wanted to leave.

           The lie Will and his mother had told everyone Will had gotten mono and had went to stay with his dad in New York. That was their lie and Will had every intention of sticking to it. “And I guess coach didn’t feel the need to penalize me for that.”

           “That’s another thing.” Felix declared. “Where did  _you_  even get mono?” he asked smugly. “I mean who were you swapping spit with?” Felix turned toward Nico, who had been carefully staying out of this conversation. “I mean have you asked that because it might be worth finding out.”

           “You can catch mono lots of different ways!” Will shot back maybe a bit more aggressively then was necessary. He didn’t like what Felix seemed to be implying, even though it was all a lie. “The whole kissing thing is a misnomer.”

           Felix grinned like he had won something. He opened his mouth to say something but his father spoke before he could. “Felix stop picking a fight.” He reminded sounding somewhat defeated. “We’re guests.”

           “I’m just asking a question, I’m not the one getting defensive.” Felix pointed out with an amused sound that was almost a laugh.

           Will glared at Felix, he didn’t even know what Felix thought he was winning but it pissed he off. He went to snap back when he felt Nico’s hand come to rest on his thigh, just above his knee. Nico’s long fingers squeezed lightly for a moment before easing back. “Non vale la pena amare.” He whispered.

           Will didn’t understand the words but Nico’s voice combined with the physically gesture made him relax. “Whatever” Will grumbled and brought his attention back to his meal.

           “Dude, it’s our last year.” Dean declared sounding amusing in the face of uncomfortableness. Knowing Dean, he was trying to lighten the mood. “Feel free to switch to whatever position on the field you want next season.” He told Felix.

          “That’s right, Naomi mentioned you were graduating early” Leonard acknowledged sounding interested. “That is very impressive.” With that comment, Will noticed Felix roll his eyes. Well that was at least something, Will thought. And if Will was more proud of pissing Felix off then graduating early, that didn’t mean Will was a bad person.

           “Will is going to go to Columbia.” His mother declared proudly.

           “We both are” Dean was quick to interject. “It’s going to be awesome!” He added excitedly.

           Dean had probably been planning their freshmen of college since Will had come back from his year-long stay at camp. He had started planning the moment after Will had told him that he would be graduating a year early. Will would be going pre-med and Dean would be going for journalism. The plan changed as things came up, or there was new information. When Will had come out he expected Dean to back off things a bit but that hadn’t happened at all. Instead Dean just altered the plan.

           “Dude, we can join a gay-straight alliance on campus.” Dean had informed him casually. “And I can be your wingman at gay bars.”

           Dean had the whole thing mapped out. Will felt bad that the plan would have to change or be thrown out entirely. “I haven’t actually decided where I’m going yet.” Will said trying not to make it sound like a big deal. There had been enough awkwardness during this meal to last a lifetime. Will didn’t want to add more by getting into the details. “I’m applying to Columbia but there’s also this school in California.”

           “California?” Naomi exclaimed surprised.

           “Dude,” Dean looked at him in shock “not cool.”

           “It’s not a big deal.” Will stated casually as he carefully looked down at his plate and not at his mother or his cousin. “I’ll decide when I get accepted.” Will felt bad to drop such a bomb of unexpected information, like he should apologize for letting it slip at such an inopportune time. Then he felt Nico’s hand on his thigh again. Although this time it was a shade higher then Will’s knee, not high enough to be lewd but high enough to be suggestive. It's presence sending a rush of warmth through his body. In that moment, Will was sure of exactly two things, he hated this meal and Nico was going to be the death of him.

            The rest of the meal seemed to follow a pattern; sporadic conversation between bursts of conversation. Whenever someone tried to start conversation it always seem to lead to either hostile words between Will and Felix (or one incidence Nico and Felix but Felix shut up fast) or awkward discovers. 

           As it turned out Will’s mother had stopped yoga over the summer. When she said she was going to yoga she was actually meeting Felix' dad for breakfast. Leonard was also volunteering to help with the high school’s annual play. He was the one that had talked Naomi into help out. 

          Finding out that his mother had been casually lying to him for months was bad enough, or that's what Will thought. As it turned out Nico’s ways of drawing Will’s attention off such unpleasant topics were worse. Nico favored Italian, he would mutter short phrases when Will seemed especially agitated. Of course that wasn't Nico's only technique, there was also a few reassuring squeezes placed too high on Will’s thigh to be  _just_  reassuring.

           As everyone’s plates began to clear, Will was positive this Thanksgiving was going to go down in history as the most awkward and strangely sexually frustrating meal ever. When his mother spoke Will almost sighed with relief. “Alright, why don’t we take a break before pie.” She suggested as she pushed herself out of her chair.

           “Wait,” Nico declared. He looked around the table like he had just come out of a food induced haze. “there’s a pie?”

           “Dude, there’s pies,” Dean explained excitedly. “plural”

           Nico’s eyes actually twinkled with excitement at the comment. Will had to stop himself form saying something. Everyone at camp joked about how Percy was all about food but Nico could be just as bad especially when it came to junk food. Granted Percy could probably happily make his way through a whole pie while Nico would usually eat two bits and be content. Will wondered if it was maybe a child of the big three thing but he had never paid attention to Jason's eating habits so he couldn’t know for sure.

          Nico gave the whole multiple pies thing some thought before declaring with sincerity. “I could like this holiday.”

           “I’m glad sweetie.” Naomi stated sweetly as she patted Nico’s shoulder in passing. She pulled open the refrigerator door open and pulling out the bottle of wine Leonard had brought. “Now, why don’t you boys go hang out in the living room for a bit. I’ll call you for pie” She assured as she shoed them out of the room.

           “Yuck, I don’t need to be told twice.” Felix declared with barely concealed annoyance as he pushed out of his own chair.

           “Yeah, I’m ready for some post turkey lounging.” Dean agreed as he too stood up. “Maybe we can find something good on T.V.”

           “As long as it’s not the stupid parade.” Felix declared as he and Dean both headed to toward the living room.

           Will pushed out of his chair and Nico followed. Will watched as Nico paused at the door to look back at Naomi. Ever the thoughtful guest Nico asked “Is there anything you need help with Ms. Solace?”

           “Not until you call me Naomi, sweetie.” She replied plainly.

           Nico didn’t argue, he just sighed and started toward the living room. Will grinned at his boyfriend as he though his little 1930s hang-ups were adorable. Of course, the son of Apollo didn’t dare say that out loud. Instead, he hummed happily as he interlaced his fingers with Nico’s as they walked into the living room. Felix and Dean were bickering over the remote as they entered the room.

           “Dude, just put on the game.” Felix insisted as he tried to take the remote control out of Dean’s hand.

            Dean pulled his hand, still clinching the remote away. “I hate football, and even if I didn’t the Cowboys sucks.” He declared “I would rather watch the parade.”

            Neither of them seemed to notice Nico and Will, which was fine. Will had no desire to watch football, the parade, or those two idiots bicker. And since their entrance had gone unnoticed he figured their exit would as well. He gave Nico’s hand a gentle tug to get his attention. When his dark eyes met his Will jutted his head toward the stairs. The son of Hades averted his eyes shyly but still nodded his head in agreement.

            The moved swiftly but quietly, which was the benefit of having socked feet, Will supposed. Normally between Nico’s heavy combat boots and Will’s flipflops they were not the picture of stealth. Will had to admit having the ability to sneak off was nice. They may need to invest in quieter shoes, he thought.

            The slipped back into Will’s bedroom. The son of Apollo was careful to push the door  _almost_  closed so it was open only a sliver. The room was still a mess from Will’s minor freak out earlier but he tried not to let it bother him. Actually, he tried not to think about it at all even though the evidence was all around them. He hated that Nico had seen him like that but was at least glad it had only been a minor freak out. When he had run away to camp the destruction he had left in his wake had been much worse.

           Nico started to step carefully over discarded books and clothes. Will stopped him by using their tangled hands to pull the smaller boy back against him. Nico stumbled over a book in the motion and ended up pressed against Will’s chest with most of his weight. Nico blinked up at him nervously, and Will loved it, all of it. The son of Apollo leaned down and kissed his boyfriend’s pouty lips.

           Nico kissed back for a minute before pulling away. His cheeks were pink and his lips glistened with moisture. He looked more kissable than ever, Will thought. His lust must have read on his feature because Nico’s flush deepened. “When you said we would pick up where we left off earlier, I didn’t think you meant right after dinner.” Nico let out a nervous little sound that Will would have described as a giggle if it had come from anyone else.

           Will grinned happily as he moved his hand up to run his thumb gently along Nico’s cheekbone. How the modeling had come as a surprise to him was a complete mystery to Will now, Nico had the features for it. “I didn’t but then you kept talking in Italian.” Will admitted before leaning down slowly to kiss the sharp line of Nico's jaw longingly. When Nico sighed contently and Will pulled back slightly. His lips still hovering above pale skin, almost touching. “You know what that does to me.” He whispered.

           Nico’s hands clutched at Will’s t-shirt, his hands still pressed against Will’s chest. “Everyone’s downstairs” He reminded nervously.

           “Exactly,” Will grinned widely before pressing another kiss against Nico’s skin. Nico’s grasp on his t-shirt tightened and he leaned more of his weight into Will’s chest. The reaction only made Will smile more brightly “they’re downstairs, and not here.”

           Nico didn’t move, he didn’t push Will away and he didn’t pull Will in more closely. The son of Hades seemed to think for a moment before asking. “Are you really thinking about going to school in New Rome?”

           Will reflexively made an amused little huff sound that wasn’t quite a laugh. That question seemed a bit out of nowhere. “I told you I would.” He reminded before tilting his head slightly to nip at Nico’s earlobe lightly.

           Again, Nico didn’t move as he seemed to digest that information. Will paused in his osculating to look up at his boyfriend. The expression Nico was wearing told him the son of Hades was clearly considering something he thought was important. After what felt like a long pause Nico asked “And are you really a center forward?”   

           Will pulled back slightly to look at Nico inquisitively. That was such an odd question but Nico seemed serious. “Um, yeah” He answered. He didn't understand what was so serious about what position he played on the soccer team but it was an easy question to answer.

           Nico bit his lower lip as he seemed to examine Will in some newfound light. “Questo è così caldo.” He mumbled before wrapping one hand around the back of Will’s neck to pull him down into a rather heated kiss.

           Will wasn’t going to complain as Nico’s tongue danced teasingly across his lips. He definitely wasn’t going to complain when Nico used his grip on the back of Will’s neck and his t-shirt to pull him backward. They fumbled over the debris of Will’s earlier panic as they moved toward the bed. All the while they continued to kiss. Will wasn’t going to complain but he was surprised. As modest as Nico could be Will was surprised Nico didn’t require at least some convincing to fool around with everyone downstairs. 

          Nico gently pushed Will down on the bed and moved to straddle his thighs. Will decided to classify the whole thing as a happy surprise. A soft moan escaped Will’s lips as Nico moved onto his lap. The son of Apollo let his hands run over Nico’s back. He couldn't help but enjoy how the thin fabric of Nico's shirt allowed him to feel every dip and curve of muscles. 

          Their lips moved together with a hungry insistent. Will thought he was definitely going to marry this guy with the sinful lips and talented tongue. He could die in a moment like this and be blissfully happy.

           “Damn, you guys  _really_  do move fast.” Dean plainly as he pushed open Will’s bedroom open, Felix standing behind him. 

           Will recovered from his shock before Nico. He was able to wrap one arm firmly around the brunet's narrow waist, holding him in place. Of course, if Nico really wanted to move Will knew that he had no chance of keeping his boyfriend where he was. Nico was small, not weak. Nico seemed to allow it, at least for the moment, and stayed seated on Will’s lap as Will glared at his cousin. 

           Dean just rolled his eyes and declared dismissively.  “And before you complain I would like to point out the door was open again.” 

           Nico let out a small whimper as he brought his head down. He buried his face in the crook of Will’s shoulder. His small hands once again clutched to Will’s shirt. The son of Apollo had to try hard not to thinking of what it would feel like to have Nico’s hands on his bare skin. “Go back downstairs,” Will ordered, shoeing them from the room with his free hand. “play Xbox or something.”

           “Hey, I was willing to share this,” Felix declared produce a glass bottle and holding it over Dean’s shoulder. The bottle, which was clearly some sort of liquor bottle, was half full of some amber colored liquid that sloshed lazily with Felix’ movements. “even though you’ve been a dick all day.” Felix pointed out. He brought his arm to rest lazily on Dean’s shoulder. Dean seemed mildly annoyed but allowed it because he wasn’t the type to pick a fight over the little stuff. The gesture as a whole looked weird, maybe Nico was right about Felix having a thing for Dean, Will thought. Felix grinned like the fox who caught the canary. “but if you would rather make out we’ll go.”

           “Great,” Will replied with a bright smile “shut the door on your way out.”

           “Dude, we can’t risk the parentals catching us.” Dean explained seriously. He took a step further into the room carefully stepping over a book that laid open in his path. “You’re just going to have to go at it later.” he stated matter-of-factly. “Honestly, I don’t know how you can think of sex after all that food anyways.”

            Felix followed Dean, although he was a lot less careful in doing so. He mainly kicked things out of his path. “What happened in here anyway? Was there a fucking hurricane?”

            “Nay.” Dean replied. “This isn’t hurricane level destruction.” he explained gesturing to the mess around them. “This is more like tropical storm Will level destruction.” he pushed a pile of clothes off the back of Will’s desk chair before sitting down “At the most.”

           It was clear to Will that the two guys had no intentions on leaving anytime soon. In spite of that Will still had his arm wrapped around Nico’s waist as he tried to think of a way to get them to leave. 

           Nico hands released their grip on Will’s shirt and patted his chest. “Will, penso che il momento è passato.” The son of Hades muttered as he carefully removed Will’s arm from his waist to allow himself to move.

           “Nico” Will protested or at least tried to, it came out sounding more like a groan. Between Nico’s shifting weight in his lap as he moved and the Italian the muscle between Will’s legs twitched excitedly.

           Nico blushed as he scouted up toward the head of the bed putting some physical distance between himself and Will. “Sorry” He apologized but the way his lips twitched told Will, he was fighting off a grin. That made the apology seem less then sincere. Nico grabbed the pillow he had hide behind when Dean had disturbed them earlier and offered it to Will.

           “Tease” Will grumbled as he accepted the pillow and rested it on his lap. The pillow would at least allow him some coverage if his boyfriend decided to torture him with more Italian.

           “You shouldn’t get so worked up hearing Italian.” Nico retorted not even trying to hide his grin anymore.

           “Well that explains the weirdness at dinner” Will heard Dean comment to Felix as the other boy worked to clear a spot on the floor to sit. Felix grumbled something as a response but Will wasn’t paying enough attention to make it out.

           “I don’t get worked up hearing Italian, I get worked up hearing  _you_  talk in Italian.” Will corrected because, at least to him, it was an important distinction. It wasn’t like he got a hard-on every time he heard someone speak Italian, just Nico. Usually when Nico spoke in Italian it was in the throes of passion. After awhile how was Will not supposed to draw a direct line between Nico’s soft voice speaking his native tongue and sex? “Classical conditioning is a thing, so really it’s your fault.” Will pointed out before adding “And therefore you are a  _tease_.”

           Nico rolled his eyes. “I’m buying you a dictionary because that word doesn’t mean what you seem to think it means.”

           “Great, they’re cutesy and they bicker like an old married couple, how nauseating.” Felix declared dryly. He took a long pull from the bottle of booze before offering it to Dean.

           Dean accepted the bottle. “Ignore him, I think you guys are great.” he insisted before taking a sip of the offered liquor. He swallowed and coughed before looking at Felix in outrage. “Dude, who drinks rum straight?” he asked offering the offending bottle to Will. The son of Apollo accepted it although he was unsure if he actually wanted it.

           “Beggars can’t be choosers, alright.” Felix defended sounding annoyed. Although he was Felix so annoyed was just part of his base personality.

           Will exchanged a look with Nico. Will took a small sip from the bottle and whole heartedly agreed with his cousin. No one should drink rum straight. He managed to swallow and passed the bottle to Nico. The son of Hades took a small sip which was probably a good thing because as he did Will’s cell phone let out an angry ring. Nico jumped slightly which was a lot for Nico and coughed with surprise.

           Will groaned and stretched to grab his phone off the nightstand. He looked at the screen and was surprised by the name blazed across it. “It’s Jackson” he told Nico who just looked back at him confused “Hello?”

           “Finally!” Percy exclaimed “I’ve been trying to get a hold of Nico for like the last forty-five minutes. It’s bad enough he blew me off for Thanksgiving to hang out with you but not answering my texts. Seriously not cool!”

           That was the thing with Percy that really drove Will nuts. He had gotten used to Nico being there pretty much whenever he called during those years when Nico had a crush on him. Nico had moved on but Percy still expected him to drop everything and come running. “Happy Thanksgiving to you too Percy.” Will said with fake cheer he hoped sounded at least partially sincere.

           “Dude, I need to talk to Nico.” Percy replied exasperated.

           There was no point to arguing. Will pulled the phone away from his ear and held it out to Nico. “He’s been trying to get a hold of you.” he explained.

           Nico passed the bottle of rum back to Felix with one hand while batting at his mouth with the back of his other. He accepted the phone once his hands were free. He brought it to his ear “Percy, what do you want?”

           Well, at least Nico sounded annoyed, that made Will feel better. Or it did until he noticed the concerned and curious look his cousin was giving him. Yeah, as soon as Nico was gone Dean was just going to be a ball of fun questions Will didn’t want to answer.

           Nico laughed, like an honest to goodness laugh. Will’s head snapped back to look at him. “Oh my gods Percy you may have worse luck than me.” Nico paused and he was still wearing an amused grin “I’m laughing because it’s funny.” He paused again before saying “Yes it is.”

           This time when Nico paused Percy was talking so loud Will could hear him. He couldn’t make out his words but he could hear his voice. Nico rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Percy we’re about to eat pie so I’m going to have to go but tell your mom I’ll visit when I’m back in the city.”

           Whatever Percy was going to say after that was lost to everyone, including Nico because the son of Hades ended the call. Nico tossed the phone on the bed carelessly. Before Will could ask what Percy was calling about Nico moved on the bed. He resituating himself before bringing his head to rest on the pillow still on Will’s lap. The son of Apollo wasn’t going to complain but it was a bold move for his usually bashful boyfriend.

           “Percy’s dad and Annabeth’s mom showed up at Thanksgiving dinner.” Nico stated plainly.

           “Wait, what?” Will let out an amused yet surprised sound “But they hate each other.”

           “Yup” Nico agreed “and Annabeth’s mom hates Percy.”

           “Wow” Will chuckled as he began absently playing with Nico’s hair. In his defense, Nico had the softest hair.

           “See,” Nico stated looking up at Will. “And you thought your unexpected guests were bad.” Leave it to Nico to say just the right thing, Will thought fondly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eros and Aphrodite are totally arguing about who can take credit for Nico and Will being a couple.
> 
> I just imagine a lot of the Goddesses wanting Apollo and his children to stay away from their children. Apollo is a bit of a player after all.
> 
> If Poseidon brings up Nico and Will dating to their godly parents in hopes of getting a rise out of them I think he would be very disappointed. Hades would be like "I find the boy tolerable, I'm not entirely convinced he's an actually child of Apollo. Either way my son seems happy" and Apollo would be like "Oh yeah, I know about them. My boy's banging a totally hottie, how could I not approve." 
> 
> Again I imagine Mitchell and his dad just constantly giving Nico clothes and Nico is just like "Well, now I don't have to go shopping" hence the designer socks.
> 
> I love how this meal went- Will is like "this is so awkward I just want to make sure Nico is comfortable" and Nico is like "this is so awkward I'm going to distract Will with thoughts of sex." 
> 
> Dean and Nico have already bonded over the idea of watching out for Will- hence the silent conversation.
> 
> Already, all soccer players are hot but strikers are just sooooo hot (Nico agrees with me on this).


	26. Last Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 2017 everyone (we survived 2016, and that deserves some celebrating).
> 
> SMUT WARNING (The boys told me they wanted to get smut and I really couldn't deny them that).
> 
> So glad to be back on a regular posting schedule. It's so nice. I hope you enjoy the chapter.
> 
> Please feed my fragile writer's ego and leave comments and kudos :)

           Nico sat on Will’s couch pretending to read some book Chiron had assigned him. In all fairness, the book was interesting. It was about these boys from a boarding school or something getting shipwrecked on an island. If Nico was anywhere else he would have found the story completely captivating. Right now he was just too comfortable to focus. Will sat on the floor, with his back pressed against the front of Nico’s calves. Will was trying to work on some physics worksheet that might as well have been Urdu in Nico’s opinion.

           Will had apparently been procrastinating with his school work since Nico had arrived. It was really flattering, not that Nico was going to tell Will that. It was Nico’s last day in Tennessee, his bus left around ten that evening. Will seemed like he would have been happy to procrastinate his homework another day. His mother, however, insisted homework couldn’t wait another minute. Will had tried to protest which was really enduring right until Naomi put her foot down.

           It didn’t really matter to Nico, either way he had Will with him and that was enough. So Will worked on his homework as ordered while Nico pretended to read. Every so often Nico would pause in his fake reading to play with Will’s hair or rub his shoulders. When he did, Will’s head would lull back and he would let out soft contented moans. That made it more than worth it as far as Nico was concerned.

           Nico looked down at Will leaning the crown of his head against Nico’s knees. He couldn’t help but think that this moment was like a really comfortable blanket on a cold morning. It was warm, comforting, and easy. He could get lost happily in a moment like this. “This is nice.” Nico sighed contently.

           “Mm” Will hummed softly with agreement. “Being pre-med might not be so stressful if this is how you’re going to treat me when I have homework.” he mused.

           “Think of it as an occasional treat.” Nico replied with playful note in his voice. No way did he want Will to think he was going to hang around fawning over him all day like some kind of housewife. That being said, this was nice and everyone deserved to be fawning on everyone once and a while.

           “Yeah but you’ll be there is the apartment we’ll share.” Will stated leaning his head back as far as he could so he could smile happily at Nico.

           “Will” Nico warned weakly. They had decided to keep their plans to move in together to themselves for now. Until they knew more, like where Will was going to go to school. The son of Apollo had taken some convincing on that. He had wanted to run up and down the street screaming the news from the top of his lungs. Nico could just imagine how Hazel, Reyna, and Jason would freak out when they heard the news. He really only wanted to do that once. 

           “I know” Will admitted with a sigh. He rolled his head forward and looked down at his worksheet again. “It’s just such a happy thought.” He explained. Even though Nico couldn’t see it, he could still here the smile on Will’s face, and that made him smile too. “And it’s not like my mom is going to care, she’s been letting us share a bed for the last week.” The son of Apollo added.

           “I’m going to miss that.” Nico admitting returning to tousling Will’s gold locks with his fingers. “My cabin is so cold without you.”

           “You could just stay here.” Will offered in a quiet voice. He let his head press back against Nico’s fingers, encouraging Nico’s motions.  _Subtle Will_ , Nico grinned at the thought. “My mom….”

           “Loves and adores you.” Naomi declared entering the room as if conjured by Will’s mention. She looked at them sitting there for a moment. Even though her expression was nothing but affectionate Nico had to work hard not to squirm and blush. “Nico, sweetie you are welcome to come visit anytime.” She stated sincerely. She turned to Will and her expression changed to something more serious although still affectionate look. “I need to run to the store to pick some things up for dinner.” She explained. “Do either of you boys need anything?”

           “Are you really just going to the store?” Will asked, the question sounding more like an accusation than anything else. Ever since Thanksgiving Will had been being rather overdramatic about the fact some of the places his mother had told him she had been going over the last couple months had been lies. Although, in fairness, Will should have figured it out. It was a bit suspicious that his mother’s yoga class had went from being an hour to being four.

           Nico sighed. He let his hands fall from Will’s hair and down to his shoulders. He rubbed at the tense muscles there wondering how Will had managed to get so tense so fast. “Let it go, Will.” He encouraged.

           “Take his advice.” Will’s mother agreed as she turned on her heels and started toward the door. “I’ll be back in a few hours.” She declared. She stopped at the door and looked back at them over her shoulder “ _Behave_.”

           Will said nothing in response choosing to look down at his worksheet instead. Ms. Solace didn’t seem to expect a reply form either of them. She walked out the door without another word wearing a satisfied grin. Will continued to look down at his homework. His pencil in hand although he wasn’t actually writing. He was completely still until they heard Will’s mother pulling out of the driveway.

           At the sound the car leaving the driveway Will tossed his pencil aside. He turned so he was kneeling in front of Nico, his large hands splayed over Nico’s knees. He wore a serious, if somewhat hopeful expression. “Stay”

           “Will” Nico sighed pleadingly. Of course he didn’t want to go, Will asking him to stay only made him feel worse. “don’t make this harder.”

           Nico realized that was probably the wrong phrasing when a which grin spread across Will’s face. “But I’m good at making things hard.” The son of Apollo stated suggestively his hands beginning to move slowly up Nico’s legs.

           Will’s fingers were moving at a maddeningly slow pace up Nico’s thighs. The son of Hades could feel his heartbeat quickening and his breath growing shallow. He did his best to hide how such a small action from Will affected him. He made a show of rolling his eyes. “Is all you think about sex?”

           “Should I lie?” Will asked with a curious tilt of his head. “No I never think about sex especially not when I’m home all alone with my extremely sexy boyfriend.” He added sarcastically.

           “How do you get anything done?” Nico asked. Will’s hands had moved to his mid-thighs. Will was now rubbing at Nico’s inner thighs absently with his thumb. The sensation caused his voice to come out quacking rather than confident.

          “With you around it’s a challenge.” Will admitted with a casual shrug. His lax expression quickly turned to something suggestive and playful. “Now tell me you didn’t start thinking about it as soon as my mom walked out the door.” Nico couldn’t respond with words, he could only blush. Will grinned triumphantly “That’s what I thought.”

           Will pushed up and kissed Nico, his lips were soft and warm and inviting. Nico let out a sound that was half sigh half moan while as he tried to move his own lips against Will’s at the same rhythm. Will’s hands were still on his thighs. His thumbs were still rubbing circles into the sensitive part of his inner thigh. The motion sent sparks of arousal through his veins and to his groin.

           Will kissed the corner of Nico’s lips, and then his cheek before moving down to kiss along his jaw. Will’s actions were slow but not tentative, he had a plan and a destination in mind, Nico had no doubt. Nico pulled in a long breath, the burn of his lungs letting him know how oxygen deprived he was. The son of Hades brought his hands to rest on Will’s broad shoulders. He tried to focus on the reality of solid muscles so the high of Will’s touch didn’t sweep him away completely. “We should go upstairs.” He offered. His voice had come out as more of a pant then he wanted.

           “Why?” Will asked pulling away to meet Nico’s gaze. Nico pressed his back against the couch to stop himself from pushing forward to follow Will’s warm touch. Will’s pupils were so wide with lust his eyes looked black with the faintest ring of blue. “We haven’t had sex on the couch yet.”

          “Will!” Nico whined as one of his boyfriend’s hands moved from his thigh to the bulged growing in Nico’s pants. Nico bit his lip to hold in moan as the son of Apollo rubbed his erection. “We should really go upstairs.”

          “But this will be more fun.” Will retorted with a grin. He slowly moved his hand from Nico’s groin up to his belt. Nico whined at the loss of Will’s hands on him, where he needed it the most.

          Again, Nico bit at his lip trying to stop himself from making more desperate noises. “Is this what you’re going to be like when we live together?” He asked. He was going for cocky and playful but his arousal made it come out stilted.

          Will’s grin widened drastically, a wicked and playful glint filled his sky blue eyes. “Absolutely.” He declared and for dramatic effect he pulled Nico’s belt off in one swift motion.

          The action, the look on Will’s face, the whole scene was so arousing. “Will” Nico moaned his hips pushing up of their own volition.

          “Just think about it.” Will mused as he moved to unclasp and unzip Nico’s jean before wiggling them down his hips. Nico helped move things along by pulling his legs back and out the clingy jeans completely. Will tossed them behind him thoughtlessly. They went sailing over the coffee table and landing crumbling onto a nearby chair. “You can sit back like the king you are and I’ll” He glanced down at Nico’s groin then back up to meet his eyes. His grin was so wicked it was practically lewd. “service your  _staff_.”

          “I’ll say yes if you never speak like that again.” Nico replied firmly before sparing one fugitive glance at the front door. “and you lock the door.”

          “I was trying to be playful” Will replied with a shrug. “But I'll get the door.” Will pushed off his knees and skipped toward the door. Nico watched as Will moved, for someone who was so tall and broad he moved with a shocking amount of grace. Also, Will was wearing these jogging pants that hugged his backside just right. Once the door was locked, Will bonded back and then passed the couch where Nico was sitting.

          Nico’s gaze followed Will’s motions “Will!” He called more frustration filling his voice then he intended. But he couldn’t help it, Will had gotten him all worked up and was running away for gods knows what reason.

          Will paused at the foot of the stairs and turned back to once again look at Nico. He was grinning so widely the son of Hades was sure it had to hurt. “I’m going to grab lube.” He explained jutting his finger up in the direction of his bedroom. There, tucked under Will’s bed was a mostly empty bottle of lubricant, Nico knew. “If you want to lose your clothes while I’m gone, I’m okay with that.” He informed looking Nico up and down quickly before darting up the stairs like his life depended on it.

          With Will gone Nico felt less emboldened and more nervous. What if Ms. Solace came home and found Nico sitting on the couch naked? Nico didn’t want to know the answer to that question but he didn’t want Will to think he wasn’t in the mood for sex either. He was definitely in the mood for sex. He decided to split the difference and removed his t-shirt, leaving himself in only his boxers. When Will returned Nico was standing by the couch looking around the room unsure.

          Will tossed the bottle of lube on the couch as he approached. He came to stand directly in front of Nico and placed his hands on Nico’s shoulder, and urged him to sit back down. “You sit right back where you were.”

          Nico let it happen, he sat back down on the couch. He watched as Will moved to his knees and started kissing the inside of Nico’s thighs. “Mm.... Will che si sente così bene.”

          Will continued to kiss up Nico’s thighs but skipped his groin, moving to Nico’s abdomen. “I don’t want you to leave.” He declared against Nico’s taut stomach.

          Ever point of bare skin Will’s lips touched felt like a starting point for a wild fire threating to burn Nico up. The son of Hades didn’t care. Will’s words and the feel of his warm breath only fanned the flames. “Vieni con me.” Nico sighed the request and he meant it. More then he would care to admit, he meant it. He would have felt bad saying it out loud except he knew Will didn’t understand.

          “I wish you’d stay.” Will purred against the skin right below Nico’s navel. His calloused fingers had moved to the waistband of Nico’s briefs. Nico could feel Will’s nibble fingers teasing at the sensitive spots there. “I really do, but in this moment I really wish you had taken your briefs off with the rest of your clothes.” He declared as he hooked his fingers around the bit of elastic at Nico’s hips. The son of Hades pushed his backside off the couch just enough to always Will to pull the offending piece of clothing off. “You’d think you’ve never been naked in front of me before.” Will teased as he sent the briefs flying in the same direction as Nico’s crumpled skinny jeans.

          Nico was now sitting on Will’s mother’s couch completely naked with the son of Apollo stationed between his kneeling in front of him. He could imagine how pornographic this all looked, how pornographic it was. The hungry expression that Will was wearing made Nico want to scream  _touch me please_! He was sure his body, especially the heavy erection resting against his stomach was conveying his desire. Still, a small part of his brain, a part he really needed to shut up, was thinking what would happen if Will’s mom came home and found them like this. He assumed even Ms. Solace’s ability for understanding had their limits.  

          Biting at the corner of his lower lip, Nico’s eyes darted toward door nervously. “Will” He let out a needy whine. As much as the son of Hades didn’t want to get caught, he didn’t want to stop either. The anxiety of the whole situation was just heightening the arousal. They just needed to move things along quickly.

          Will pushed back from nuzzling Nico’s thighs to look up at him. His expression was one of awe which Nico would have liked under different circumstances. In this moment, however, all Nico could think was  _Dear gods, why has he stopped touching me_? “Will!” Nico whined again, this time with more force.

          “Sorry.” Will apologized with a self-satisfied smirk that told Nico he wasn’t even remotely sorry. As Will spoke, his fingers danced along Nico’s inner thighs driving him to the edge of madness. “I was just thinking when we live together we can fool around where ever and you won’t have to look at the door nervously.”

          “Have you met our friends?” Nico managed to retort although his voice was shuttering from his shallow breathing. “I’ll still look at the door nervously.”

          Will’s eyebrows knotted together and his lips turned downward in the cutest little pout.  “English Nico, really?” He asked with a playful edge to his voice. Before Nico could say anything in response Will’s right hand moved from his thigh and to his groin. Will’s big strong fingers wrapped around the base of Nico’s swollen member. All Nico could do was moan in response to his boyfriend's touch. Will’s started moving his hand up and down Nico’s length slowly. “I’m disappointed.”

          Nico’s head fell back against the couch as the sensation sweep away all thoughts that weren’t the pleasure of Will’s touch. “Oh dèi Will per favore” He moaned.

          “That’s what I wanted to hear.” Will declared smugly. Once again Nico didn’t need to see Will’s face to know he was grinning.

          Even though Will’s motions were slow, Nico could feel his muscles coiling tighter and tighter. He let his eyes fall closed so he could better enjoy Will’s masterful motions. Just as Nico licked at his own lips absently he felt first Will’s warm breath. It was quickly followed by the feeling of Will’s tongue against his tip. It had barely been a lick, the feel of the wet muscle was gone as quickly as it had come, Nico still gasped.

          “Mmmm” Will hummed. He continued to stroke Nico with one hand before licking him again. This time the motion lasted a bit longer. Will’s tongue pressed a bit more firmly against the sensitive area as he lapped up another bead of pre-cum.

          Nico dug his fingers into the fabric of the sofa and heard it complain as his short nails threatened to leave puncture marks. Will repeated the motion for a third time and again it was done more slowly and with greater force. Nico moaned as he hips pushed up off the couch desperate to chase the feeling of Will’s tongue.

          Will pulled back and even in his lust filled state Nico knew what he was doing. Will was assessing his work. Will loved getting Nico so worked up he squirmed with need, the son of Hades knew that all too well. He usually tried to hold it in, hide it at least a little. The last thing a child of Apollo needed was someone stroking their ego. Still, Nico always had a line where lust drove away his rational thoughts. At that point he didn’t care how much Will got off on him moaning and arching into his touch. He didn't care as long as Will kept making him feel so good. Nico had already past that line.

          Nico cried out in anticipation as he once again felt Will’s hot breath on his throbbing manhood. Unaware he began holding in a breath as he waited for the sinful feel of Will’s warm lips, his nimble tongue. It never came, instead there was a loud chiming sound that cause both boys to jump with surprise.

          Will released his grip on Nico’s erection in favor for fumbling with the pockets of his pants. Nico didn’t even try to hold in the whine he issued at the lost of contact. “Sorry.” Will apologized sincerely. He rubbed Nico’s thigh absently with one hand while producing his cell phone from his pocket with the other. 

          All Nico could think was,  _that’s not where you should be rubbing Will_. “If it’s Dean saying he’s bored and is coming over I would think you’d rather we have warning because he has a key.” He explained before looking at the screen with confusion. “It’s Annabeth, why would Annabeth be calling me?”

          “Will!” Nico exclaimed surprised Will even cared when Nico was sitting there completely naked. It wasn’t like they had all day, Will’s mother would be home eventually.

          Will’s head snapped upward at the sound of Nico’s voice. For a split second he seemed to take in the scene before his devilish grin returned. “Right, not the concern right now.” He declared silencing the phone before tossing it aside.

          Will slowly looked Nico’s naked form up and down before absently licking his lips. The action had Nico biting his own to stop the whimper threatening to escape him. “Now where were we?” Will asked playfully. He didn’t wait for an answer before he acted. Once again Will wrapped his hand around the base of Nico’s hard member. The son of Hades forced himself to keep his eyes on his boyfriend even though his head desperately wanted to fall back in pleasure. Will gave him the most wicked grin before declaring “I remember.”

            Nico watched as Will bent forward slowly maintaining eye contact as long as he could before wrapping his warm lips around Nico’s cock. The son of Hades bit his lips harder to hold in a whimper at the feel of Will’s warm mouth. At first Will stated toward the tip, sucking and licking the head of Nico’s dick with vigor. As his lips slipped further down Nico’s length Will moaned. The vibrations of the sound coursed through Nico’s body before turning to fire and pool low in his gut.

            When Will had taken as much of his length as he could the blondes head began to bob up and down in his lap. Nico let his head fall back, no longer able to watch Will work because the sight would only push him to climax sooner. “Così caldo, così buono.” Nico praised as his fingers entangled in Will’s messy hair.

            As Will lips moved up and down Nico’s length there was these lewd wet sounds. Nico closed his eyes to better hear, to better feel. “Suona così sporco, così sexy. Non si fermano”

            Will’s mouth was so warm and wet as it moved along Nico’s length. He could feel Will’s tongue pressing against the underside of his erection. Occasionally Will would run the tip of his tongue along a thick vain. Nico’s whole body felt supercharged and superheated and electrified. He could feel each muscle, each cell, of his body pulling tighter with Will’s every motion. Will let out another moan around Nico’s girth. Nico couldn’t help moan back “Per favore Will.”

           Will’s pace quickened. He began to use the hand wrapped around Nico’s base to stroke the part of Nico’s length he couldn’t take into his mouth. Every few strokes Will would twist his wrist. A motion that had the afterglow of fireworks playing across the backs of Nico’s eyelids every time.

          The heat that continued to pool deep in Nico’s groin burned like the sun. His muscles were pulled so tight they screamed in agony, they screamed in ecstasy, they screamed for release. Then it happened. Nico felt himself hit the back of Will’s throat just as Will’s twisted his wrist and the orgasm over took him. 

          The pleasure was so absolute and so blinding it was like a supernova. “WIIILLLLLL!!!!!” Nico cried. He felt the cool rush flood outward from his center until every atom of his being buzzed in harmony.

           Nico continued to pull in ragged breathes as his nerve system hummed a symphony of satisfaction. The moment felt like it was wrapped in wooly cotton. All his senses felt over sensitive and warmly dulled as the last weak pulses of bliss passed. When Will pulled away Nico was only dimly aware of the cool air against his softening manhood. Still, he shivered at the lose of Will and the warmth he offered.

           When Will let out an amused sounding huff of air Nico tilted his head forward. He fought against his own heavy lids to open his eyes to meet Will’s gaze. Will was smiling back at him as he whipped at his mouth absently “Your toes literally curled.”

          “You were paying attention to my toes?” Nico questioned. He was still too blurry from pleasure to deny that his toes did in fact curl at the pleasure Will had given him. Besides on the periphery of his senses he was beginning to notice this periodic buzzing noise. It was mildly annoying and just enough to catch Nico’s attention.

          “Not really” Will admitted. The buzzing sound continued to come and go rhythmically. “But it’s kind of hard to miss when your leg is tensed up against my side.”

          “Sorry” Nico grumbled as his face began to burn. The buzzing sound continued and was becoming increasingly annoying. Which was completely ruining Nico’s post-orgasm bliss. “What’s that buzzing sound?”

          “My phone” Will admitted with a shrug. “I seriously can’t figure out what could be so important. Annabeth would call four times in the last ten minutes.”

          As Will talked Nico watched him. He was still kneeling on the floor of front of him rubbing Nico’s bare thighs absently. In typical Will Solace fashion he was grinning like he just won the lottery. As Will spoke Nico only half heard the words. He kept thinking about how he wanted to make Will feel as content and warm and  _good_  as Will had made him feel. “I don’t care.” He admitted as he pulled Will up to him for a kiss.

          The kiss started off soft, almost chaste but it didn’t stay that way for long. Nico felt Will’s knee press down on the sofa next to his hip as he likely went to move to Nico’s lap. Nico could imagine that would be quite the sight, all six foot three of Will crawling into his lap. It wasn’t going to be comfortable.

          Still kissing with one hand planted on Will’s hip, Nico was able to guide Will to sit next to him on the couch. Once Will was settled he shifted so he was the one climbing into Will’s lap. Once seated in Will’s lap, Nico started pawing at Will’s clothes. Suddenly it seemed absurd that he was naked but Will was fully clothed.

          They had to stop kissing when Nico pulled Will’s sweater off roughly. They were both breathing heavy as Nico tossed Will’s sweater in the direction of his own clothes. Sweater gone Nico wanted Will’s bare chest all firm muscles and freckles. He got a white t-shirt instead which was disappointed to say the least. “You complained about my briefs while you’re dressed for the arctic tundra.” Nico growled in frustration before moving to kiss along Will’s throat.

          “I don’t like to be cold.” Will defended weakly, his voice breathy and shuttering.

          “Like you’re ever cold.” Nico retorted as he slipped his fingers under the white cotton of Will’s shirt. He enjoyed how Will’s breath quickened at the first touch of Nico’s fingers against his bare skin. “You run at a thousand degrees.” Nico pointed out in a husky whisper right at Will’s earlobe. Under him, his boyfriend shuttered. Nico couldn’t help but grin with satisfaction before returning to kiss at Will’s neck.

          As kissed along Will’s neck and jaw, Nico’s hands explored the toned body Will insisted on hiding under a t-shirt. As his fingers traced the dips of muscles or the thin outline of Will’s few scars. Will would let out soft contented sounds.

          Wanting to touch more Nico grasped at the hem of Will’s shirt and tugged. “Don’t worry I’ll keep you warm.” The son of Hades assured and Will lifted his arms allowing Nico to undress him. Will’s shirt went the way of the rest of their clothes.

          Nico shifted off Will’s lap as he kissed down Will’s chest. His hands moved down to unfasten Will’s jeans. Will wiggled and shivered as Nico moved downward. Nico was using his lips and his tongue to play connect the dots with Will’s freckles. It was nice to have that kind of effect on Will but the constant movement was making unfastening Will’s pants difficult to say the least.

          Nico came to Will’s nipple and licked it once before latching onto the nub. He began sucking and licking at it was relish. Will moaned loudly and tangled his fingers in Nico’s hair. “Your tongue might be a gift from the gods!” Will declared sounding almost giddy as he continued to squirm under Nico’s attention.

          Nico pulled back to look up at Will and growled when he really wanted to moan at Will’s words. “Stop praising me and hold still so I can actually get your pants off.” Nico ordered firmly even though he could feel himself blushing.

          Will grinned down at him. “Oh, but judging by how you’re blushing you like when I praise you.” He stated suggestively and Nico glared up at him. “Sorry, just making a mental note for later use, next time I’ll do it quietly.” He mused but stilled so Nico could actually unfasten his pants.

          Nico rolled his eyes as he pulled Will’s jeans and briefs off in as smooth a movement as possible given their position. Two more articles of clothing when sailing carelessly across the room, and they were finally both naked. Nico took a moment to truly enjoy that, more specifically to enjoy Will’s nakedness.

          Will was born to be naked, it was probably a child of Apollo thing. After all Apollo was the god of young, athletic men, it would make sense his sons would fit that image. Will’s skin was still a sun kissed gold even though it was November, and there was still no tan lines. Freckles ran like down his body like raindrops. His muscles were taut and well-formed probably more from years of playing soccer rather than camp. Will tended to skip a lot of the training at camp.

          Will’s erection, his  _substantial_  erection, was resting heavy and leaking against his stomach. Nico found himself licking his lips hungrily at the sight. “Lay back” Nico muttered.

Will didn’t question the request which Nico was grateful for. He really didn’t want to explain he was too short to kneel on the floor and suck Will’s erection while Will sat on the couch. Will shifted so he was his back was against one of the arms of the couch with his legs running along the length of the sofa.

           Nico hoped up and quickly moved down the couch situating himself between Will’s knees. Will grinned down at him cockily “So eager, I would think you were the one about to be given oral sex.” he teased.

           “You assume you are?” Nico retorted.

          “No” Will grinned in a way that told Nico the answer was actually yes. Nico couldn’t exactly protest because that was exactly what was going to happen. “Just hoping, and praying, and maybe fantasizing a little bit.”

          Nico rolled his eyes. “Fantasizing is stupid.” He declared before leaning down to place one kiss right below Will’s navel. Looking back up but staying low as he declared in a husky voice “I can make reality so much better.” Nico moved lower until he was hovering over Will’s erection. Before Will could say anything in response Nico ran his tongue along his length.

          Will let out a moan at the motion, his hands moving to grip at the couch. Satisfied with the reaction Nico wrapped his mouth around the head of Will’s cock. He lavished the sensitive area with attention by swirling and flicking his tongue over the tip.

          Nico was aware of the salty taste of pre-cum hitting his taste buds. Will let out another moan, this one much louder than the first. “Gods!” The son of Apollo exclaimed. Nico felt his fingers tangling themselves in his hair “Your tongue really is a gift.”

          Nico moaned around Will’s girth with pleasure at his words. He felt Will’s fingers tighten around his hair tugging just hard enough to hurt a little, but not in a bad way. The sensation caused Nico to moan again.

          “Nic” Will gasped.

          Nico started moving up and down Will’s length. He took a bit more of Will's length with each swallow until he had taken all of him. Above him, Will continued to moan and babble about Nico’s skill and how good everything he was doing felt. Nico started at a slow pace so he could adjust to Will’s girth and was sure he wouldn’t gag. But between Will’s near constant praise and his continuing hair pulling Nico couldn’t take things slow for very long.

          Before long Nico was moving up and down Will’s length quickly, taking Will’s length into his throat with each swallow. Under him Will was growing more tense as his moans turned into cries which then turned into screams.

          “Oh Gods NIC….I’m….I’m…..gonna….!” The rest was a strangled cry. Will tugged his hair hard, which Nico liked more than he would care to admit. As Will's fingers started to loosen their grip, Nico felt Will's manhood pulse and ropes of cum hit the back of his throat.

           Nico swallowed and continued to do so until Will was spent before pulling back. He sat back leaning his back against the unoccupied armrest of the sofa. He looked Will over for a moment; his head was still thrown back, his chest was heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He should have looked like a mess but he just looked sexy. “So, does this count as couch sex?” Nico asked keeping his tone indifferent even if that was far from how he felt.

          Will pushed his head up to meet Nico’s gaze. From the look of it the motion was a challenge, Will didn’t seem to want to move at all. “Do you want it to?” he asked.

           _Leave it to Will_ , Nico thought, he wanted him to admit it. Nico shrugged noncommittally. “Your mom said she wouldn’t be back for a few hours, so we still have plenty of time.”

           “That we do.” Will agreed with increased interest.

          Nico sighed “And we already brought down the lube.” he added pointing toward the bottle on the floor to accent his point.

          Will grinned “We could call this a practice run,” He offered. “cuddle on the couch for a few minutes, and then try again.”

          Nico pretended to give the idea some thought even though he was already sold. “Would this be naked cuddling?” He asked critically.

          “Well, I certainly don’t plan on putting my clothes back on if that’s what you’re asking.” Will retorted amused.

          “Good” Nico declared contently before crawling up Will’s form to lay beside him. The couch was really far too small for the two of them to lay together comfortable. It took some time and three or four moves before they found something that worked. Both of them ended up laying on their sides Nico’s back against Will’s front. Will was still too long for the couch so his feet hung over the arm at the end.

          Will wrapped an arm around Nico’s bare waist and nuzzled his nose against the back of his neck. Nico knew from experience that those where sure sign that a contented Will getting comfortable. “When we live together we need to get a bigger couch.” Will informed seriously.

          Since Thanksgiving this had become a new game they played: When we live together….. They had already determined that they would need at least a queen-sized bed and a large shower for activities other than showering. Although, the other activities could occur simultaneously with showering, and in fact most of the time it did. After a rather tragic incident involving some of Ms. Solace’s delicious leftovers they had agreed Nico would handle all of the cooking. Will insisted he would still handle the shopping because, as he put it, Nico couldn’t be trusted to come home with anything of actual nutritional value.

           Nico was surprised by how much he didn’t hate the game. He didn’t hate the game so much he would go so far as to say he enjoyed it. “We could always get a daybed instead of a sofa” Nico offered.

          “Mmmm” Will hummed with satisfaction at the suggestion. “You’re so smart, I love the way you think.”

          Nico sighed contently and pushed back into Will’s warmth. A thought kept playing in his mind from earlier,  _Will was born to be naked_. “You know when we live together you can just walk around naked if you want.” Nico offered cautiously before adding. “I’ll ever put the heat at 75 so you don’t get cold.”

          “Oh yeah, I’m so doing that!” Will exclaimed excitedly. “I’ll strut around until you can’t take it and we end up having sex where ever we happen to land.”

          Nico grinned happily at the thought, as Will placed a kiss on the back of his neck. “What?” Nico teased. Normally, he would have at least fanned annoyance but didn’t even try. He was just too content to make it convincing. “You’re not going to tell me I can walk around naked too.”

          “You can,” Will replied accenting the point with another kiss on Nico’s spine. “although that will probably have a negative impact on my GPA once I start college.” He admitted and Nico could feel Will grin against his skin. “Besides I like you wearing clothes”

          “Huh!” Nico laughed doubtfully “Really?”

          “Well, I like taking your clothes  _off._ ” Will admitted. He wrapped his arm around Nico’s waist more tightly. “It’s like unwrapping a present.” He mused.

          Nico snorted at the thought. “Presents are supposed to be a surprise.” He noted “I don’t think my naked body has anymore surprises for you.”

          “It doesn’t have to be surprising to be  _exciting_.” Will informed happily. His calloused fingers started rubbing absent circles in the extra sensitive skin near Nico’s naval. “And trust me I find your naked body  _very_.” Will kissed his spine “ _very_ ” another kiss “ _very_  exciting.”

          “I don’t know.” Nico replied playfully wiggling his hips against Will’s groin feeling Will’s growing excitement. “You might have to convince me.”

          “Happily” Will declared. One of Will’s large hands moved to Nico’s hip urging him gently to roll over to face him. Nico followed Will’s lead happily. He turned over, intertangled his legs with Will’s and meet his perfect lips.

          They kissed and pawed at each other’s naked bodies. They were pressed so tightly together that even the slightest movement caused the most thrilling sensations. Their gasps and moans mixed together in a sort of primal symphony.

           _Buzzzz_ , cried Will’s phone from somewhere stuck between the cushions of the couch. Nico felt it vibrating somewhere near his hip. Will made a growling sound that expressed Nico’s frustration perfectly. Will reached between them to dislodge the offensive piece of technology.

          Will looked at the phone and growled a second time. “It’s Annabeth again.”

          Nico tilted his head downward to place one kiss along Will’s collarbone before saying. “Ignore it.”

          Will sighed and it sounded like a mix of frustration and concern. “She’s called five times, something could be wrong.”

          This time it was Nico’s turn to growl before practically ripping the phone from Will’s grasp. He quickly swiped his finger across the screen to answer the call before bring the thing up to his ear. “Annabeth, unless someone is dying, we’re busy. STOP calling.”

          Nico hung up on Annabeth before she could answer. He discarded the phone over his shoulder and onto the floor. “Taken care of.” He declared grinning back at Will.

          Will grinned back at him mischievously before using the strength of his legs to shift his weight so his form was looming over Nico. “Well, then where were we?”

Annabeth

          Annabeth stood between the kitchen and the living room of the tiny apartment she and Percy shared staring at phone in frustration. She couldn’t believe Nico had just hung up on her. He didn’t even say hi first. Nico could be anti-social sometimes but he was never out and out rude.

          This was a problem, a huge, gigantic problem. She was going to talk to Percy, she was supposed to talk to Percy that was the plan. Piper was probably talking to Jason at this very moment.

          Annabeth and Piper had talked this out. They both needed to talk to the boys at the same time because they were going to call each other as soon as they could. When Annabeth had gotten off the phone with Piper she had realized that Percy was just as likely to call Nico as he was to call Jason. She should probably warn Nico, but she knew it would send him into hiding for the forseeable future. Still, she figured Will’s head might explode if he found out after the fact that Percy was calling Nico to ask all sort of personal sex questions.

          Annabeth needed to talk to Will immediately. Glaring at the piece of molded plastic she seriously considered calling again. Her focus was so singular and intense she didn’t notice Percy had entered the room until he spoke. “Annabeth, whatever the phone did I’m sure murder isn’t the answer.” He declared flopping onto their well-worn hand-me-down sofa with a bag of chips.

Annabeth looked up from the phone and forced herself not to wonder where he got the chips from. She suspected that Percy had a hidden food stash or two around the apartment. “What?” She asked confused.

          “That face you were wearing, I’ve seen it before.” Percy explained pulling open the bag of chips and popping one into his mouth. “It’s the face you get right before you make some monster your bitch.”

          “Oh,” Annabeth didn’t know if she should feel embarrassed or proud about that. She decided to go with proud. “I was just trying to call Will.” She explained holding up the phone as evidence. “Nico just hung up on me.”

          “Of course he did!” Percy explained amused. “He goes back to New York today.” he reminded before adding. “He and Will are probably going at it like bunnies.” Percy popped another chip in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully for a moment before asking. “Why did you want to talk to Will?”

          “I had a medical question.” She replied dismissively. She slipped her phone back into her pocket before fixing Percy with a serious look. “We need to talk.”

          Percy paused with a chip halfway to his mouth. “Oh gods, are you pregnant?”

          “What? No!” Annabeth replied with surprise. “Why would you think that?”

          “You were calling Will with a medical question and then saying we need to talk.” Percy pointed out with a shrug before returning to his chips.

          “I’m not pregnant.” She stated matter-of-factly.

          “Are you sure?” Percy asked. If Annabeth didn’t know better she would have described his expression as hopeful. “Cause if you are pregnant, I’m not going to freak out. I mean I thought we’d want until after the wedding but it could be cool that my baby sister and our first kid would be so close in age.”

          “Our first?” Annabeth questioned a little horrified. How many kids did Percy thing they were going to have, she wondered. She quickly thought better of the line of questioning. She wasn’t going to let Percy pull her off topic. “You know what, let’s put a pin in  _that_  conversation for a minute.”

          “Alright,” Percy shrugged again and crutched on another chip. “what do you want to talk about?”

          Annabeth looked at Percy critically for a moment. She felt her resolve slipping and sighed heavily. “Did you finish unpacking?”

          “I’ll get to it in a bit, I was hungry.” Percy stated casually as he held up the bag of chips as proof of his hunger. “Is that what you wanted to talk about?”

          “No, not really” She admitted.

          “Cool, ‘cause that would be boring.” He noted before popping another chip in his mouth. Absently, Annabeth wondered if he planned to eat the whole bag.

         “Percy,” Annabeth declared deciding the best thing to do was just get it out. It was kind of like ripping off a bandage. “do you ever wish you had experience with other people?”

         “How’d you mean?” Percy asked looking down at the contents of bag in his hands.

          Subtle wasn’t going to work, Annabeth reminded herself. It hadn’t worked before now so it wasn’t going to work now. She planted her feet firmly on the floor like she was preparing for a fight. “I’m talking about sex, Percy.” She stated firmly.

          “Oh, Annabeth I love you.” He declared like that solved everything. “I’m good.”

          “Percy, take me out of the equation for a minute.” Annabeth stated firmly.

          Percy finally really looked up from his chips and met her gaze. “Sorry Wise girl I’m not really following you.”

          Annabeth let out a heavy sigh. She didn’t think she was being subtle but apparently with Percy she was. Even after all the hints Annabeth had been dropping over the last few months.  “Percy, I think you should have sex with a guy.”

          “That would be weird.” Percy stated turning his attention back to his chips. “We’re engaged.”

          “I want to be able to say you’ve had the experience and that way there will be no doubts going into the wedding.” She explained.

          “Annabeth, I don’t have any doubts.” Percy declared shaking the bag of chips in his hands as he examined the contents critically.

          “Good” Annabeth nodded not backing down. “I don’t want any to crop up in the future.”

          “They won’t.” Percy declared. He pulled out an especially large chip from the bag and staring at it like it was treasure before biting into it.

          “You’re not even a little curious?” Annabeth questioned doubtfully.

          Percy popped the rest of the giant chip into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully before retorting. “Not really.”

          “I think Nico would beg to differ.” Annabeth grumbled with annoyance.

          “That just a guy thing” Percy defended like it wasn’t a big deal. “Guys talk about their sex lives with their bros.”

          “Percy, stop being difficult.” Annabeth ordered before adding. “And purposefully thick.”

          “I’m not” Percy defended with a laugh. He looked up from his chips to give her a serious look. “What your saying is you want me to cheat on you?”

          “No” Annabeth corrected. “I’m giving you a one-time-only free pass to have a very specific sexual experience so you get it out of your system.” She explained “There will be rules to this, I’ve written some out already”

          “Of course you have” Percy declared with an eye roll he didn’t think she could see but she could. After a moment of thought Percy pushed up off the couch and looked at Annabeth. A goofy grin spreading across his face. Although in fairness all of Percy’s grins were kind of goofy, in an endearing way. “Does this mean I need to give you permission to hook up with a girl?”

          “No” Annabeth answered matter-of-factly.

          “Do you want to hook up with a girl?” Percy asked his silly grin spreading wider. Honestly, Annabeth wondered if a grin that wide hurt Percy’s face.

          Annabeth sighed but gave the question some actual thought. After mulling it over for a moment she gave him a carefully worded but honest answer. “If you were okay with it and the circumstances were right I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea.”

          “Could I watch?” Percy questioned and this time there was no doubt his tone was hopeful.

          “You’re impossible” Annabeth declared with a dramatic eye roll. She pushed herself off the wall she had been leaning against and started toward their bedroom. “I’m going to unpack.”

Piper

          For once it was just Piper and Jason. Her dad had a last minute meeting with his agent and the Hedge family were getting Chuck’s first pictures taken so it was finally just the two of them. They were snuggled together on one of the large sofas in the causal living room.

          “Finally some time to ourselves.” Jason sighed happily and Piper was pretty sure he was smelling her hair.

          “It’s nice” Piper agreed wiggling closer to Jason. “So I’ve been thinking.” She began cautiously.

          “About what?” Jason asked still sounding content.

          “I think you should have sex with a guy” Piper stated plainly. The daughter of Aphrodite didn’t see the point of beating around the bush.

          “What!?!” Jason screeched before promptly falling off the couch. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this seems like more of a filler chapter but I kind of love it.


	27. Awkward Questions and Advice Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday My Peeps,
> 
> SMUT WARNING: No actually smut occurs during this chapter but there are explicit descriptions and discussions of smut. Don't say I didn't warn you.
> 
> Alright now to the low down on this chapter: This chapter and the next were originally going to be one chapter but as I wrote them and found both sections were 7,000 plus words each (this is like 20 pages a piece) I decided to separate them out. Both can still be enjoyed that way, so this week is from Nico's POV and next week is from Will's.
> 
> Also Percy's Bachelor party is fast approaching in the writing process so if you have hopes or desires for whats going to happen there now is the time to tell me. I already have a few events mapped out but I always like hearing what people are hoping for. Just remember as I said in the past I won't write Nico with anyone but Will- that's non-negotiable so please be respectful and don't ask!
> 
> Awesome! Enjoy this chapter in all it's dirty conversation glory!

          Nico had been a little grateful his bus had left Nashville so late. It meant he could sleep through most of the ride. He had arrived back at camp early in the morning, before breakfast and headed right back to his cabin. He slept straight through breakfast which was fine by him. While the breakfast prepared at camp was good he knew it wouldn’t compare to Ms. Solace’s banana pancakes. And, more importantly Will wouldn’t be there so there was nothing important Nico would miss.

          He had just dragged himself out of bed and was trying to decide between showering (he was still convinced he smelled like sex from the day before) or unpacking when there was a knock on the door. Nico seriously considered ignoring it, after all no one had any reason to believe he was back yet. The next time the person knocked they put an end to that thought by declaring. “Open the door Nico, I know you’re back.”

          Nico sighed with resignation and walked toward the door. Pulling it open he was none too surprised to find Austin standing there looking just enough like Will to make his heart ache and not enough like Will to let Nico pretend.

          “Dude I thought you’d never get back!” Austin declared in place of a traditional greeting. “I’ve been so bored” The blonde demigod pushed into the cabin. Austin had a habit of that which at first confused Nico. Who in their right mind barges into the Hades cabin without being invited. Once Nico realized describing Austin as being in his right mind wasn’t accurate he was just annoyed by the habit. Now he was just so used to it all he could manage in response was an eye roll. “I brought you a powerade,” Austin declared holding up the bottle of red liquid as proof. “Figured you’d probably need to replenish some electrolytes. You know, after all the physical exertion you were involved in the past week.” He explained with a suggestive grin.

          “You realize you’re talking about me having sex with your brother?” Nico asked flatly. He honestly didn’t know he bothered to point that out any more, it never deterred Austin.

          “Yeah, that’s why I brought the powerade.” Austin stated pressing the bottle against Nico’s chest forcing him to accept it. Once Nico took the bottle from his grasp Austin flopped on top of Nico’s unmade bunk. “Children of Apollo have stamina.”

          Nico rolled his eyes but didn’t actually argue. Arguing with Austin on this subject never worked out the way Nico intended. Somehow they always ended up talking about Nico’s sex life. Which was always exactly what Nico had been trying to avoid. “Austin” He sighed “I need to unpack.” he explained pointing toward his duffel which laid discarded on the floor.

          “That’s cool, I just hang out and keep you company.” Austin stated rather obliviously as he made himself comfortable on Nico’s bunk. He looked ridiculous, Nico noted. His hands were folded behind his head and his feet crossed at the ankles. He was going for cocky, because he was Austin and he was always going for cocky. The fact was as a child of Apollo he just looked so out of place in the Hades cabin it didn’t work.

          “I don’t need company.” Nico told him flatly. He liked Austin well enough but he liked being by himself too. So much had happened when he had visited Will, he still needed time to mental process. Gods, he and Will were going to move in together. Not just visit each other so much that it felt like they lived together or they could joke that they lived together. They were actually going to get an apartment and live there  _together_. Nico felt kind of giddy about that which he wasn’t sure how to handle that feeling.

          “Dude I can’t spend another minute with Kayla and Malcolm.” Austin admitted with clear reluctance. “One minute they are fighting like cats and dogs and the next they’re sucking face. It’s giving me whiplash.”

          “Can’t you hang out with Cecil?” Nico asked.

          “Connor had adopted him as a partner in crime in Travis’ absence.” Austin explained. “Currently they are up to something. I don’t know what exactly but I’m sure I don’t want to be involved.”

          Well that was understandable. Nico knew how the Hermes cabin could get, especially the Stolls. If Cecil was getting wrapped up in some of Connor’s shenanigans Nico understood Austin wanting to steer clear of that whole mess. “Fine” Nico gave in with a heavy sigh. Having issued the closest thing to consent he intended to give he moved to his duffel and unzipped it.

          “Awesome!” Austin beamed in that way only children of Apollo could. “Do you have any snacks?” He questioned leaning over to wrap his fingers around the handle of the drawer of the nightstand. “’Cause I starv-”

          Nico usually did his best to keep his emotions under the surface. He took pride in being unreadable. As he glanced over and saw Austin about to pull open the drawer of his nightstand Nico was incapable of keeping his emotions under the surface. An almost overwhelming wave of panic came crashing over him. Before he realized what he was doing he reached out and slammed his hand on the drawer keeping it shut. “NO!”

          “Whoa, overreaction much?” Austin declared cautiously slowly pulling his hand away from the drawer. “What’s the big deal?”

          “Nothing” Nico stated trying hard to keep the blood from rushing to his face. “I just don’t have any snacks.” He lied in hopes that Austin would let it go.

          Austin never let anything go. He grinned mischievous “Is that where you hide your porn?”

          “What?” Nico questioned louder than was necessary. He suddenly didn’t know where to look, nowhere seemed safe. The only porn Nico owned was what Apollo had given Will. That was tucked under his bed, far under the bed. However, something else Apollo had given Will was tucked away in the drawer. Something Nico did not want to explain. “No”

          “Dude, no reason to get all nervous. It’s not like I’ve never seen porn before.” Austin assured sitting back on Nico’s bunk looking offended. Nico huffed non-commitally as he cautiously pulled his hand back so he didn’t look quite so defensive. Austin seemed to get over his offense and began to grin. “What, is it weird?” He asked before adding reassuringly. “Trust me dude, whatever it is it can’t be weirder than the Asian girls erotically licking doorknobs.” Nico felt himself reflexively make an uncomfortable face at that thought. Austin grinned at that. “It’s an actual thing, look it up.”

          Nico shuttered at the thought. If it was a thing, Nico was positive he didn’t want to see it.  “I’ll take your word for it.”

          Austin shrugged casually. “And Mitchell is totally into this weird anime stuff. I’m sure whatever your particular interest is, it pales in comparison.”

          “I don’t think yaoi counts as porn.” Nico stated before really thinking about what he was saying. The thing was since Nico started working for Mitchell’s dad he had gotten to know the son of Aphrodite. They got along well, even had a few things in common which was nice when they had to spend time together on sets. Austin was banned from set per Mitchell’s orders. At least he was banned when there were other models around so it was usually just the Nico and Mitchell. They would joke about the trials of dating sons of Apollo, or Mitchell would joke and Nico would laugh. Occasionally their conversations strayed from their boyfriends to other things.

          Austin eyes lit up with excitement and he was clearly about to say something. Hoping a distraction would get Austin off topic Nico carefully reached into his nightstand. He retrieved a bag of chips and tossed them at Austin. “There, now you have a snack, so can we please talk about something besides porn.”

          “Sure” Austin shrugged. He picked the bag of chips up off his chest where they had fallen and opened them. “You guys do it anywhere interesting? Did Will finally get his outdoor sex?”

          Alright, this was at least partially Nico’s fault, he realized. He should have specified talking about something besides sex, not just porn. “It’s the middle of winter.” Nico pointed out as a non-answer.

          “So?” Austin asked dubiously before tossing a small chip in his mouth and chewing. “It’s Tennessee, it couldn’t have been that cold.”

          Nico let out a heavy sigh. “Can we please talk about something besides sex?” He asked with little hope of the request having any effect. Austin ate a chip and stared at Nico critically. It wasn’t a look Austin wore often and that made Nico feel uncomfortable. “What?” He questioned.

          Austin tilted his head to one side curiously. “Just trying to figure out what flavor of avoidance this is.”

          “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nico said confused.

          “Well either you guys had outdoor sex and it was bad which seems unlikely but would be embarrassing enough to not want to talk about it.” Austin explained. “You had outdoor sex and it was amazing and you don’t want to admit you’re a bit of an exhibitionist.” He sighed “Or it didn’t happen because you to were too busy doing kinkier stuff.”

          Once again Nico couldn’t find a safe place to look. His eyes darted around his cabin, black walls, floor, ceiling, dark wood furniture. He could feel himself blushing and he tried to deny. “Maybe we just didn’t have sex at all.”

          “No, that’s not it.” Austin stated dismissively. He popped another chip in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “I would have noticed the pigs flying. Also, I’m sure Hades would have called you about the fields of punishment freezing over.” He stated with dry sarcasm before adding seriously “I’m torn between B and C personally.”

          “Why do you assume?” Nico managed to sputter with embarrassment.

          Austin let out a sigh, like it was obvious and the fact he had to explain was exhausting. “First you two clearly had sex, and no I can’t see any of the hickeys although I’m sure they’re there. Will’s so possessive he has to literally mark his territory.” he explained. Nico hadn’t realized he had brought his hand up to his collarbone to let his fingers graze a few marks he knew were underneath his t-shirt. He let his hand fall as Austin kept talking. “I’ve been hanging out with you for the better part of the last four months. The longer you go without sex the moodier you get.” The son of Apollo paused after that revelation to grab a chip from the bag in his hands. He proceeded to wave the chip around as he talked like a conductor leading an orchestra. Nico was so embarrassed at what Austin had just said he was seriously considering shadow traveling far, far away. “Meaning if you two hadn’t had sex, you would have summoned skeletons to kick my ass out about 5 seconds after I got here.”

          “I’m thinking about that right now.” Nico grumbled not sounding nearly as intimidating as he would have liked.

          “All I’m saying is you clearly had sex recently.” Austin declared casually. “Probably multiple times. Since you’re the ‘quiet’ type that blushes at the mere mention of sex, it’s a safe bet that it was kinky.” he finally tossed the chip he was holding into his mouth and chewed. “The quiet ones are always wild in bed.” He stated absently with a slight shake of his head like he was amused at the thought. He looked up from his bag of chips and fixed Nico with a serious expression. “Also, we both know Will brags.”

          Nico was still blushing he knew that but he still glared. It didn’t have the same heat he once could muster but the was the cost of happiness he guessed. “Seriously, I’m a child of the underworld I can summon skeletons.”

          “Come on! One way or the another I’ll find out.” Austin reminded. “Don’t make me wait for Will to tell me! Let me live vicariously through you  _now_ ” he pleaded. “It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve seen Mitchell.”

          “Two weeks?” Nico questioned without sympathy before adding with an eye roll. “You poor baby.”

          “You know my pain.” Austin declared before openly begging. “Please!”

          This was the thing Nico hated about Austin. The demigod always seemed to get him to talk about things Nico wouldn’t talk about with anyone else. He sighed and somewhere in the back of his mind Nico couldn’t hear himself screaming. ‘ _What are you doing?_ ’ Looking at Austin, Nico’s shoulders slumped. “What counts as kinky?”

          “Another sign you’re kinky.” Austin started with a grin quickly spreading across his face. “You don’t know what counts as kinky.”

          “I grew up in a different time.” Nico began to defend himself but than his cell phone began to ring. Austin jumped at the sound and Nico smiled with relief. “Oh thank the gods, I’m saved from this conversation.” He declared as he snatched the device of his nightstand and answered without looking at the caller ID. “Hey Will.” He greeted with a smile that always seemed to spread across his face when he thought of Will.

          “Sorry bro, not Will.” Percy’s voice declared from the other end of the line.

          “Oh Percy,” Nico didn’t try to hide the disappointment from his voice. “what do you want?”

          “For starters, I want you to not sound so deflated that I’m not Will.” Percy stated sounding annoyed. “It really bruises the ego bro.”

          “Sorry Percy, I can’t help that I’m bias” Nico replied with a shrug. He didn’t really get why Percy expected any different. “Now, seriously what do you want, I need to unpack.”

          “Dude, would you be this pushy with Will?” Percy questioned doubtfully.

           “No” Nico retorted flatly. Again, what did Percy really expect, Will was Nico’s boyfriend, they were in love. Of course, he had more patience for Will than he did Percy. “But we already established I like him more than you.”

          “Man, that hurts.” Percy stated although there wasn’t a lot of emotion behind the words. “I need your help with a major life decision here”

          Under all of Percy’s typical bravado Nico heard something both sincere and uncertain. “Fine, sorry Percy” Nico apologized even though he didn’t particularly want to. Percy must have something going on that had him calling Nico for advice. This was the part where Nico was supposed to be a friend and listen to whatever Percy’s problem was. “What’s up?”

          “I want to have sex with a guy.” Percy declared the words coming out of him like a shot gun blast.

          Nico blinked and reflexively looked toward Austin to conform what he had just heard. The son of Apollo was making his way through the bag of chips oblivious of Nico’s phone conversation. He, of course couldn’t hear Percy’s side of the conversation so he would be no help. “I’m sure Annabeth has some stuff to say about that.” Nico replied after a long pause. Really, what was he supposed to say to a statement like that?

          “It was her idea.” Percy informed plainly.

          Nico squirmed involuntarily. Why was Percy calling  _him_  about this? Percy knew Nico didn’t like talking about sex. It would have made a lot more sense for Percy to call Jason about this. So why had he called Nico? “I’m suddenly really uncomfortable that you called me.” Nico admitted. 

          Sure once upon a time Nico had a crush on Percy but even than he never really thought about Percy in a sexual way. He had been young at the time, and repressed and a little self-hating. Now, Nico had a hard time even remembering thinking about Percy as anything more than a friend. Percy  _really_  wasn’t Nico type. Even if he was, Nico had Will and Will may be the most perfect guy (and boyfriend) ever.

          “Dude, not you.” Percy declared dismissively. Nico sighed with relief at that. Of course, Percy wasn’t talking about him, not even Percy would be that inappropriate. Nico relaxed a little figuring he could get through this conversation and then Percy just had to add. “Well, maybe if you were single.”

          “I’m hanging up.” Nico stated flatly and began to move the phone away from his ear.

          “NOOOOO!” Percy shouted on the other end of the line giving Nico pause. Austin even heard him. He paused in his work on the chips to give Nico a questioning look. Reluctantly Nico brought the phone back to his ear. “I really need your help!”

          “I don’t want to help.” Nico stated firmly. In all honesty, Nico wanted nothing to do with this whole mess.

          “Dude I just want to ask you some questions.” Percy pleaded.

          “Sex questions?” Nico asked even though he knew the answer. Next to him on the bunk Austin perks up at the mention of sex. Nico seriously wondered how Mitchell put up with Austin sometimes.

          “Well, yeah.” Percy stated like Nico had literally just asked the stupidest question of all time.

          Austin slapped Nico’s arm lightly to get his attention. “Dude, put it on speaker.” the son of Apollo requested “I want to listen.”

          “No” Nico declared firmly speaking just as much to Percy as he was to Austin. “I don’t want to answer sex questions.”

          “I have way more experience than you do.” Austin stated which a truer statement could not have been spoken. “I can help answer.”

          Nico glared at the son of Apollo and wondered why no one seemed to listen to him. He was a son of Hades, a child of the underworld, people should afraid of him. People used to be afraid of him. He found it annoying that somewhere that had changed. Now people treated him like an especially growly puppy.

          On the other end of the line Percy also ignored him and asked. “What does anal feel like?”

          “I literally have the worst friends ever.” Nico declared mournfully “Of all time.”

          “Will would be mildly less freaked out about you talking sex with Percy Jackson if I’m involved.” Austin noted returning his attention to the bag of chips.

          Nico sighed heavily. Part of him missed when the biggest concern in his life was monster attacks. “Fine” he gave in to Austin because he was right. Nico wasn’t going to tell him he was right but he was right. He pulled the phone away from his ear and hit the button to turn the call on speaker. “Alright Percy, what was the question?” Nico asked as he steeled himself for an uncomfortable conversation.

          “Dude seriously?” Percy questioned sounding surprised. “You’re going to let me ask you sex questions?”

          “I assumed that’s why you called.” Nico pointed out flatly hoping to move things along.

          “Yeah” Percy admitted “I just figured you’d take more convincing.” He stated before adding not sounding at all convinced. “You’re going to answer?”

          Nico sighed “I’ll make that decision question by question”

          “Fair enough” Percy stated before getting back to the topic at hand. “What does anal sex feel like?”

          Nico scrubbed at his face with his hands. He was already regretting having agreed to have this conversation. At least Percy wasn’t the type to dance around the questions he really wanted to ask, Nico thought. He was trying to see the bright side in all of this. “Percy it’s sex, it feels good, really good.”

          From the corner of his eye Nico saw Austin give him a look “What kind of lazy sex have you been having?” he asked with a disapproving huff. “It feels fucking amazing! Pun kind of intended.”

          The was a stretch of silence on the other end which was so uncharacteristic of Percy. Nico actually began to wonder if they had gotten disconnected somehow. When Percy spoke it was with a cautious tone. “Who’s that?”

          “Austin” Nico explained as he glared at the son of Apollo. He didn’t think he would have to tell him to just listen and not talk. “Ignore him, it’s what I do.”

          “Lies.” Austin declared dismissively before returning to his chips.

          “Dude, what did we talk about.” Percy hissed “I can live with you bro cheating as long as you drop them when I’m around.”

          “You’re not technically around.” Nico pointed out flatly.

          “Dude, that’s kind of ego-centric.” Austin stated as he visually inspected an especially large potato chip. “This is why Will used to plot your murder.” The blond mused absently.

          “What!?!” Nico shouted looking at Austin in surprise. That had to be one of Austin’s bad jokes, Nico told himself but then Austin gave him a shrug like it was nothing. Will wouldn’t plot Percy’s death, he wouldn’t plot anyone’s death. The shock must have read on his face because Austin gave him a lopsided grin and mouthed  _It’s not a big deal_.

          “I told you Will doesn’t like me!” Percy exclaimed sounding vindicated.

          “He likes you fine” Austin stated dismissively. “He just doesn’t like when you act like his boyfriend should treat you like you’re the center of the universe.” he went on in spite of Nico glaring at him silently telling him to  _stop talking_. “If you haven’t noticed Will’s kind of possessive, Nico has the hickeys to prove it.” Austin grinned at Nico with amusement. Nico wondered how upset Will would really be mad if he murdered Austin. “And for the record none of the murder plots were all that serious.”

          “I don’t act like Nico should treat me like the center of the universe.” Percy retorted defensively. “We’re bros, that’s all.”

          “Oh yeah, Will hates when you say that.” Austin informed simply as he returned to the potato chips.

          Beyond annoyed, Nico considered pointing out that if Austin ate an entire bag of potato chips by himself he was going to get fat. Maybe the insult to Austin’s vanity would get him to stop talking, but Nico doubted it. He covered the phone with his hand so Percy was less likely to overhear “Stop talking.” he hissed at the blond demigod.

          “Fine, this conversation is boring anyways.” Austin declared with a shrug “I thought we were going to talk about sex.”

          “This is why I didn’t invite Will to bros weekend.” Percy stated on the other end of the call. The fact that he was bring that up with Nico at all was surprising. Nico had been less than pleased when Percy had told him Will wasn’t coming to the bachelor party. He didn’t even try to hide that fact. “It’d be weird.” 

          “Oh no, that’s why you should have invited him.” Austin corrected pointing at the phone with a chip to stress his point. “Let him spend a few days making out with Nico in front of you.” he explained casually. “Maybe do some hand stuff under the table. From what I’m told Nico is a frisky drunk.” Nico was torn between glaring and blushing. All he could think was it was a good thing Austin didn’t know about the whipped cream incident over Thanksgiving. Nico still didn’t think he could be held responsible for that. It really was the rum’s fault, but he figured that was kind of Austin’s point. “Then some primitive part of Will would feel he marked his territory and he would relax a little.”

          “I’m a person, not a fire hydrant.” Nico pointed out sounding far more annoyed at the idea than he actually felt. He understood the drive to lay claim to what was his. That drive was probably at least half the reason he and Will had ended up having sex in the communal showers on fourth of July.

          “The rational part of Will’s brain knows that but this has nothing to do with the rational part of Will’s brain.” Austin pointed out.

          “That’s idiotic.” Nico stated indignantly.

          “That actually makes sense.” Percy declared thoughtfully.

          Austin grinned proudly like he actually had something to be proud of. Nico rolled his eyes with annoyance before he stated flatly. “I’m hanging up, I can’t take both of you at once.”

          “Don’t you dare!” Percy exclaimed seriously. “I have questions and you said you’d answer”

          “No, I didn’t.” Nico retorted plainly. After all he hadn’t promised to answer a single one of Percy’s questions.

          “You said you’d let me ask” Percy countered.

          “Come on,” Austin nudged him “let him ask, it’d be amusing.”

          Nico growled with annoyance. “Fine.” He shot Austin a glare when he noticed the demigod grinning triumphantly. “Ask but I maintain the right to not answer and to end this conversation whenever I want.”

          “Awesome!” Percy exclaimed excited. “Alright, topping or bottoming, which is better?”

          Austin had to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing Nico could tell, which was annoying. “I’m ending this conversation” He stated firmly. He could barely talk about that sort of stuff with Will. He still had his fair share of baggage regarding that topic.

          “Dude, I’m serious.” Percy stated like it was a question of seriousness. Nico didn’t doubt Percy was seriousness. He doubted his own ability to even began to answer it coherently.

          “That’s a preference question.” Nico replied nervously, squirming uncomfortably on the bunk. “A  _personal_  preference question.”

          Percy huffed annoyed on the other end of the line. “Well, what do you prefer?”

          “I…..ahhh….” Nico stammered. This was too much, too private. Nico doubted he could answer that question if Will asked. Outside of a few post-coital comments he had made when he was still to blissed for anything he said to be held against him, Nico didn’t talk about this. “That’s private.” He muttered before looking toward Austin for help.

          “Dude, don’t look at me.” Austin responded to Nico’s unvoiced plea with a shake of the head. “I’ve never bottomed.”

          “What!?!” Nico exclaimed with surprised temporarily completely forgetting about Percy and his questions. Austin shrugged like it was nothing. He took a sudden interest in examining the bag of chips that was mostly gone at this point. “Never?” The son of Hades questioned doubtfully. It didn’t make sense, like Austin had said earlier, he had more experience than Nico. He knew Austin was bisexual or pan or whatever so he had been with girls as well as guys. Still he’d been with plenty of guys from the way he made it sound so it just didn’t make sense. “Never ever?”

          “Nope” Austin replied with another noncommittal shrug.

          There was something about Austin’s casual demeanor that seemed forced. Nico wasn’t buying it. “Not even once?”

          “I’m a son of Apollo, I don’t bottom.” Austin stated with finality. The statement seemed well-practiced and Nico was 100% positive Austin had said it before.

          Nico couldn’t help but grin at the ridiculousness of that statement and the fact that Austin had the nerve to say it to him. “Did you really just try the son of Apollo line on me?” he questioned dubiously.

          “Will’s the exception that proves the rule” Austin stated dismissively. “And he would have done anything to get into your skinny jeans.” He added gesturing vaguely toward Nico’s lower half.

          Nico titled his head to the side and examined the son of Apollo for a minute. He still didn’t believe he had never bottomed. “Not even with Mitchell?”

          “Dude, I’m an amazing top, so I don’t have to bottom.” Austin declared his voice taking on a defense edge.

          “That’s not….” Nico began “I can’t even begin to point out all the ways that statement is wrong.”

          “Yo!” Percy whistled loudly from his end of the line. It was an unpleasant sound but not nearly as bad as the sonic whistle Will could do. “As interesting as this is, it doesn’t really help me.”

          “I still can’t believe you’ve never bottomed.” Nico told Austin before he returned his attention “Percy, what was the question?” he asked having forgotten.

          “Top or bottom which is better”? Percy asked before correcting himself. “Or I guess which do you prefer?”

          Oh right, Nico thought miserably. That question he couldn’t even began to think how to answer. Austin looked at him curiously. “Well di Angelo as the only one here who’s both topped and bottomed this is all you.”

          Nico sighed and squirmed “I don’t know.” He muttered “it depends on my mood, I guess.”

          “Dude, I’m listening” Percy huffed. “So if you want to explain that so it makes any sort of sense that would be nice.”

          “I don’t know, Percy it’s more of an emotional thing.” Nico spoke quickly, just trying to get the words out. It was a true enough statement, if a slight over-simplification. “It’s hard to explain.”

          “That’s really not helpful.” Percy stated plainly sounding disappointed.

          “I didn’t say I would be.” Nico muttered back feeling slightly guilty that he wasn’t being helpful and annoyed that he felt that way. Life was much simplier when he didn’t have friends- more lonely but simplier.

          “Well, then can you at least tell me what it feels like to …. ya know, bottom?" Percy asked and for once he didn’t sound confident and casual. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon sounded awkward and uncomfortable.

          “Do I have to?” Nico whined. He looked toward Austin desperately. “Help me.”

          “Never bottomed.” Austin reminded “But I find Jackson’s curiosity telling.” he stated looking down at Nico’s phone on the bed with genuine curiosity. “Would have figured him for a top.”

          “He’s not a top with Annabeth, why would he be with a guy?” Nico snickered at the thought.

          “Bro, private!” Percy protested. Nico found that incredibly amusing considering this whole conversation revolved around Percy asking him inappropriate questions about Nico’s sex life.

          “Girl on top is wicked hot.” Austin declared apparently coming to Percy’s defense. “Your marrying an impressive woman, Percy.”

          “Thanks, she is pretty amazing.” Percy replied, and Nico could hear him grinning proudly.

          Austin shot Nico a teasing expression before adding. “And I don’t think the power bottom should be criticizing.”

          Nico was caught between sputtering desperately and glaring at Austin with a blazing fury.

          “Whoa, whoa” Percy exclaimed “What’s a power bottom?”

          “None of your business.” Nico responded quickly hoping that they could just glaze over that bit of information.

          “Dude, you may be the least informed bisexual ever.” Austin mused, directing the statement at Percy. “But to answer the question think girl on top for two guys.”

          “Oh like the time I walked in on you guys?” Percy asked sounding genuinely excited which was beyond annoying. Why did everyone seem hell bend on reminding Nico that Percy had walked in on him and Will having sex? It wasn’t like Nico could forget Percy had walked in on them, as much as he wanted to. “That did look hot!”

          “You walked in on them!” Austin exclaimed with what Nico could only describe as delight. “How do I not know this? How did Will not tell me that?” He asked Nico even though he clearly didn’t expect Nico to answer. He looked down at the phone on the bed and directed the next question to Percy “Will didn’t murder you on the spot?”

          Percy laughed, like genuinely laughed. “I think Will was a little too focused on finishing the fun to worry about chasing me down.”

          “Seriously?” Austin laughed and looked toward Nico questioningly. Nico mentally kicked himself for not seeing this coming. Austin and Percy were alike in a lot of ways, talking to them both at once was the textbook definition of a bad idea.

          Nico looked away with embarrassment. Percy wasn’t wrong, it had been hot before Percy had ruined things. He remembered he was on Will’s lap, riding him. He had just reached climax, and the whole world felt hot, his skin tingled, and his heart was beating so loudly he could barely hear. Will was whispering dirty, inappropriate things about how good Nico looked. He remembered Will’s thumbs tracing patterns against his hipbones. He remembered how they exchanged soft kisses as Nico just tried to remember how to breath. Nico also remembered how Will gripped his hips tightly when Percy had barged in the the door. Will held him in place when Nico's instincts were to hide himself. Once Percy was gone, Will had gone back to whispering dirty things. Although than it had been more along the lines of how close he was, and how good Nico could make him feel. Will looked like a god when he climaxed, Nico didn’t want to miss that. Plus, it really doesn't feel like sex if everyone doesn't have at least one orgasm.

          Nico wasn’t telling any of that story  _ever_. “We were…..I had just……Will still hadn't......” He stammered trying to explain the situation. “You know it was complicated and I don’t think it is any of either of your business.”

          “Whoa Will, that little slut.” Austin mused. Nico felt a little bit of relief because he didn’t seem interested in asking any follow-up questions. “Dad would be so proud.”

          “So Nic is that like you and Will’s preferred position?” Percy asked thoughtfully “Like you on top but Will, you know, doing the penetrating?”

          “Percy! That’s…..” Nico stammered. He was so sick of stammering though this conversation. He couldn’t really think straight in the face of a question like that, it was private. “I….” He started and then stopped when he realized he was about to actually answer the question, even though he didn’t really know the answer.

          He knew Will really enjoyed that particular position. He was always telling Nico how much he liked it. Will would always run his hands all over Nico’s body the whole time they were together that way. The whole-time Will would babble about how good Nico looked, how attractive he was. Nico always felt a little high from all Will’s attention and praise, almost like he was drunk off it. Plus, there was something about the position. It didn’t seem to matter what the angle, every move brought Will’s hardness in direct contact with the bundle of nerves within him that had Nico seeing stars. The whole situation perfectly combined to result in mind-blowing climax(s). All of that was far too intimate to talk about with anyone but Will.

          Nico huffed in frustration. His cabin, which was usually too cold, was suddenly too hot. “Will and I are both versatile.” He declared. It wasn’t actually an answer to Percy’s questions but it at least felt like something.

          “What’s that mean?” Percy questioned sounding confused. “Versatile?”

          “It’s means they are both happy topping or bottoming.” Austin answered Percy with a huff. He gave Nico a look that said ‘ _is he for real_ ’.

          “That makes sense.” Percy hummed with understanding.

          “It’s total B.S.” Austin declared with another huff and an overly dramatic eye roll. He gave Nico a fugitive glance like he felt guilty about what he was going to say but looked away and kept talking. “I’m not saying being versatile isn’t a thing it’s just …. Well, Nico is a total power bottom that occasionally wants to top and Will is so fucking whipped he would do whatever Nico asked. Although I suspect my brother is more of a versatile top.”

          “You’re projecting.” Nico grumbled deciding to focus on the one part of Austin’s little speech he could deal with actually talking about, the idea of Will being whipped.

          “Excuse me?” Austin asked with a bit of a laugh.

          “I’ve seen you with Mitchell, you are the text book definition of whipped.” Nico retorted sincerely.

          “I have no idea what you’re talking about” Austin stated flatly clearly in denial.

          “Sure you don’t” Nico snickered. He had to turn away to hide most of his grin. Austin didn’t know it but Nico and Mitchell had a on going game on set when Austin was around. Actually they played it whenever Austin was around. It wasn’t much of a game, it pretty much consisted of seeing how much Mitchell could get Austin to do. It was kind of hilarious watching Austin run around just because Mitchell said.

          “Well, Will’s worse.” Austin retorted defensively.

          Nico rolled his eyes and went to argue. As much as they joked, it wasn’t like Will did whatever he said. He didn’t get a word out before Percy interrupted him. “Anyone who’s seen Will with Nico knows Will’s as whipped as a guy can be.” He stated quickly before asking “Can we get back on topic?”

          “As long as ‘on topic’ isn’t my sex life particular.” Nico sighed knowing the likelihood of that being so small it was laughing. “Sure”

          “So what does it fell like the first time you….. bottom?” Percy asked awkwardly.

          Nico stared at his phone trying to think of if he should answer that question, and how. He practically jumped out of his skin when his phone beeped indicating an incoming call. “It’s Will.” Nico stated reading Will’s name off the screen.

          “What?” Percy questioned sounding seriously confused.

          “Will’s calling” Austin clarified.

          “Call him back” Percy stated firmly.

          “But……” Nico muttered. It was Will calling, Nico wanted to answer, he wanted to talk to Will

          “Dude seriously?” Percy questioned sounding a little annoyed. “Give me five more minutes.” He pleaded before pointing out. “You still haven’t answered a single question.”

          Nico let out a long sigh “Fine” he agreed as Will’s name disappeared from his caller ID. He didn’t want to talk to Will with Austin around anyways. “Percy, honestly it feels amazing it’s kind of indescribable but amazing.” He stated plainly.

          Percy was quiet for a long time which was a nice break from the awkwardness for Nico. Or at least it was a partial break because Austin was looking at him critically, like he was about to start asking questions. “It doesn’t hurt?” Percy asked breaking the silence and sounding doubtful. “I just have a hard time believing it doesn’t hurt.”

          “The first time?” Nico questioned as he tried to think back to his first time. Nico remembered feeling guilty about the fight he had had with Will, and Persephone’s words floating around in his head. He remembered being so nervous he couldn’t even get the words out and how excited Will was when he finally said it. He remembered being panicked through most of it. Which, looking back, probably wasn’t a good thing. Nico remembered Will fumbling around the bedside table looking for condoms. He remembered how he was losing nerve every second that passed where Will wasn’t touching him. He remembered how glad he was that Will doesn’t speak Italian as he told him to forget the condom, that he wanted to feel Will and nothing else. Nico still couldn’t believe he had said that in any language. He remembered telling himself to breath and stay relaxed as Will slowly pushed inside.

          Nico tried to focus his memory on that moment, to remember if there was any pain. He remembered watching Will’s eyes roll back with pleasure. He remembered the feel of Will’s hot breath on his skin and the way his voice quivered when he asked Nico if he could move. He remembered the feeling of Will’s sweaty skin under his fingertips. He definitely remembered how even Will’s first tentative motions caused fireworks of rainbow lights to play across his eyelids. He remembered thinking over and over again that Will was inside him and it actually felt good.

          “I wouldn’t say it hurts.” Nico answered with a bit of a shrug. “It feels weird, especially at first and there’s a bit of a burning sensation but as long as you stay relaxed and start slow it goes away.”

          “Burning sensation?” Percy repeated sounding horrified.

          “Sounds like a STD.” Austin exclaimed with an expression that matched the horror that filled Percy’s voice. “I think I will stick to topping.”

          Nico glared at Austin with more annoyance than was probably warranted. “I swear I’m telling Mitchell your son of Apollo line is BS because there is no way he’s fine always bottoming.”

          “You wouldn’t.” Austin stated dismissively. After an uncomfortable pause, Austin looked toward Nico nervously. Nico said nothing, instead he just arched his eyebrow suggestively. Austin’s slightly dismissive, cocky look quickly turned to a look of concern. “But, I mean, people wouldn’t do it if it didn’t feel good, so what do I know.”

          “I don’t know” Percy said doubtfully “burning sensation really doesn’t sound pleasant.”

          Nico huffed with annoyance, he didn’t feel like he should have to defend his preferences. He decided to at least try to change the subject. “You know there are other things besides anal you could try.”

          “This is probably going to be a once in a life time thing so I feel like I should, you know, go all the way.” Percy stated.

          “He makes a good point.” Austin agreed. Nico rolled his eyes at Austin since Percy wasn’t there to roll his eyes at. This whole situation was beyond idiotic and weird.

          “Exchanging hand jobs or whatever seems like a cop out.” Percy stated. That wasn’t what Nico had been thinking but he didn’t want to correct him. Correcting Percy on this would only lead to more questions that Nico really didn’t want to answer.

          “Well you could always go with intercrural.” Austin informed casually and Nico considered choking the demigod with his bare hands. “It’s like the closest thing to anal without actual penetration.” He informed “And we’re Greek, it’s like the gay sex act of our people.”

          “Nico thoughts? I called for your advice.” Percy stated “Also, side question, what is intercrural?”

          “It’s the whole thigh thing” Nico replied with an eye roll. Maybe he should have stayed in Tennessee. Will was there and his friends seemed nice. Sure they seemed curious about the whole gay thing but he doubted he would have to explain intercrural to them. Even if they asked Nico was sure he could push the question on to Felix. He was positive Felix had an idea what it was.

          “He has no opinion ‘cause they’ve never tried it.” Austin stated before Nico could say anything. “One of them has a thing about eye contact during sex and I haven’t figured out who yet.”

          “First, was ‘the whole thigh thing’ statement supposed to clear anything up for me? Because it didn’t.” Percy stated “Second, I figured the way you and Will were going at it this summer you two would have tried  _everything_.” he continued. “And three I’m putting my money on Will for the eye contact thing. He seems like the type that likes to  _see_  how _good_  he’s doing.”

          “Hey, we are not supposed to be talking about my sex life specifically.” Nico reminded annoyed and blushing with embarrassment.

          “Yeah, but Nico seems like the type who needs the reminders of the emotional connection during….” Austin started but stopped when he noticed Nico glaring heatedly at him. The fact that he was close to the truth only making Nico more frustrated.

          “Damn, you’re right. I hadn’t thought of it that way.” Percy stated. “That’s a tough one to figure out.”

          “Exactly” Austin nodded seemingly excited to have someone to share his theories with.

          “I hate you both.” Nico grumbled crossing his arms over his chest and pushing back against the wall so he could pout properly. “Seriously, I do.”

          “No you don’t.” Austin and Percy declared at once much to Nico’s annoyance.

          “Dude seriously, what’s intercrural?” Percy asked.

          “Jackson,” Nico sighed. He was officially done with this whole conversation. “like I told you before, if you have technical questions please call Jason.”

          “Dude, why would Jason know?” Austin asked with an excited glint in his eyes. “Please tell me it’s dirty and tell me in detail.”

          “No!” Percy practically shouted. “I can’t talk to Jason, it would be too weird.”

          “Why?” Nico questioned with confusion.

          “Piper told Jason the same thing Annabeth told me.” Percy explained with a weird tone that Nico couldn’t quite figure out. “I don’t know, now it’s weird.”

          “Wait” Austin jumped to his feet with excitement. “You’re saying Jason Grace, son of Jupiter and total hottie is available to hook up with a guy?”

          “Yes?” Percy answered sounding confused.

          “I volunteer!” Austin shouted jumping up and down like an excited kid while raising his hand. “I’m serious, you both need to put in a good word for me.”

          “You have a boyfriend” Nico reminded flatly.

          “Jason’s one of my three.” Austin stated dismissively, like that statement made any sort of sense. “It’s cool.”

          “Three?” Percy and Nico asked as one. Nico took comfort into the fact that he wasn’t the only one confused on this.

          “Three people you can hook up with and it’s not considered cheating.” Austin explained like it was the most common piece information in the world and he shouldn’t have to explain it at all.

          “Why do I not know a single normal couple.” Nico groaned mournfully. He decided he really should have just stayed in Tennessee with Will and Ms. Solace’s good cooking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Nico needs to make more friends who understand boundaries.  
> Lots happened here so let me give you all the run down.  
> -The two scenes I never wrote for After the Wars that I regret skipping was the first time Nico bottomed form Nico's POV, and before Percy walked in on Nico and Will having sex. It was fun to kind of get to write them here.  
> -Lets talk about how difficult it is to describe what something feels like when you've never actually done it. So for a lot of Percy's questions I didn't a ton of research to formula (hopefully) accurate answers. All I can say is thank the gods for the Incognito on Google Chrome or my internet history would be completely F**ked (Yes, I searched what does anal feel like).   
> -I think I have accidentally made Austin psychic or something but only when it has to do with sex.   
> -More on the "Whipped Cream Incident" to come. (and it will be covered in full in Outtakes).  
> -I am aware intercrural can be done face to face as well- forgive the overgeneralization here. That particular string of dialog was originally longer and took that fact into account but it kind of meandered and really didn't add to the chapter so I shortened it.  
> Alright I think I covered everything, so I guess I'll see you in the comments ;)


	28. Awkward Questions and Advice Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday dear friends,
> 
> SMUT WARNING: While no actual smut takes place in this chapter, it's pretty much all they are talking about so I'm putting the warning out there now. Although if you have issues with smut I do wonder why you are here at all but to each there own :)
> 
> Not quite as long as the last chapter but I think it's a nice contrast. Plus the next chapter is a beast so.....

          The day had seemed long which shouldn’t have been all that surprising. Will usually thought the first day back to school from a vacation felt long but this was worse than usually. Maybe he was just tired, he tried to tell himself even though he knew it was a lie. He was just a bit depressed; he week before he knew Nico would be at the house when he got home but that wasn’t the case anymore.

          He really just wanted to go home and crawl back in bed. He wanted to take comfort in the smell of Nico that still laced his bedding before it faded away. He wanted to go count the days until Nico’s birthday when Will would get to see his boyfriend again. He did  _not_ want to deal with extended soccer practice because the state championship was only a month away. He really didn’t want to deal with Felix.

          “Oh my god, can I slap you?” Felix declared snapping Will out of his day dream. The son of Apollo wasn’t sure how long he had been staring at the contents of his gym locker. However, he felt it seemed a safe assumption that it was longer than necessary. Will looked down the row of lockers at his most annoying teammate. “If you’re going to mope all day I think I should be able to slap you.” He declared turning to the contents of his own locker. “At least then you’d have a reason to be a whiny bitch.” Felix added absently.

          “Felix, shut up.” Will spat back. There was no really heat in the words, Will just didn’t have the energy. “And for the record I’m not moping I’m just tired.” He defended “Nico’s bus left late last night.”

          Felix huffed with clear doubt. “You might want to tell your face that.”

          “Guys, guys” Watts intervened stepping between them. Although, Watts locker was between Will’s and Felix’ so the gesture didn’t mean all that much. He stood with his hands out like he was ready to break up a fight but he was grinning. His amusement was seeping into his words. “Stop fighting. You’re family now and that’s more important than petty differences.”

          “We are not family.” Will stated firmly.

          “Finally, something we can agree on.” Felix commented.

          “I still can’t believe your parents are dating.” Wash declared. He looked from Will to Felix with an expression somewhere between sympathetic and amused.

          “Please stop reminding me.” Will whined. Ever since Wash and Watts had heard about Will’s mom and Felix’ dad they wouldn’t let the topic go. Honestly, Will didn’t see why they found it so fascinating. 

          “But you guys could really end up as step siblings.” Wash declared with awe at the concept.

          Will and Felix exchange a serious look. Ironically, not finding their parents dating amusing was probably the first thing he and Felix actually agreed on. “Not if there is a just god.” Felix declared dismissively.

          The son of Apollo had to resist the urge to cringe at the thought. Will would rather crawl into a nest of empusi then live under the same roof as Felix. “Once I’m away at collage I don’t care.” He stated turning back to the contents of his locker and started digging for his shine guards.

          “Dude, you’d have to come home eventually.” Watts stated seriously.

          Will just shrugged noncommittally in response. Technically he didn’t have to come home, he had done it before. He had stayed over a year at camp before he finally responded to his mother’s letters and agreed to come home. More importantly, once he and Nico moved in together that place would be his home. He could always come back and visit his mom. Considering how she had practically adopted Nico (and in his own way Nico had adopted her) he figured regular visits would be something they did. But that didn’t mean he had to stay under her roof, and if Felix and  _Leonard_  were there Will wouldn’t be.

          If anyone had anything to say about Will’s lack of comment they didn’t get a chance to voice it. Dean came running into the locker room. He was running late for practice, but that wasn’t atypical since his AP English class tended to run past time. “Hey what did I miss?” He questioned panting more than an athlete probably should have been from a brief run. He took a second to take in the four of them standing there in various degrees of dress for practice. He pointed at Will and looked toward the other three “and why is Will pouting.”

          “Told ya” Felix declared with a gloating look shot in Will’s direction.

          “I’m not pouting.” Will defended once again, this time a bit more loudly.

          “We were talking about Will and Felix becoming step brothers.” Wash answered Dean’s question with none of his earlier amusement. Good, Will thought, maybe the topic had gotten boring and they could move on already.

          “Dude,” Dean grinned and swatted Felix’ arm “we’ll be like cousins.” He mused with what seemed like genuine excitement.

          Will did his best not to take offense to the very thought. It was bad enough Will left for camp a few weeks early and when he came back Felix had all but taken his place on the team and with his friends but now he was taking his family. Felix on the other hand didn’t hide his distaste at the idea. “Don’t remind me.” He grumbled. Will forced his brain not to think too much into the whole thing.

          “Will’s solution is to run off to college.” Watts explained playing little attention to Felix and Dean’s exchange. That made sense, there wasn’t anything in the exchange to attend to.

          Dean groaned and shot Will an annoyed look. The son of Apollo looked down at his shoes guiltily. “Don’t talk to me about Will and college right now.” His cousin declared seriously.

          “Oh my god so he might go to California, get over it” Felix growled with annoyance. “You Solaces are bitchy as fuck!”

          “Dude, I’m over that” Dean insisted. Will wasn’t sure if that was actually true but he knew it wasn’t what his cousin was alluding to in this moment. He and Nico had agreed not to tell anyone about their plan to move in together, at least not until they knew more. Will was more than fine with that, after all Nico had more than a few over-protective friends. Will didn’t want to be accidently murdered by Reyna or Jason if they told them their plans and didn’t have all the answers. Still, he had made it all of two minutes in the car on the way to school that morning before he told Dean. Dean had been less than pleased to say the least. “It doesn’t matter if he goes to Columbia because he’s still abandoning my ass in the dorms so he can get an apartment with his boy toy.”

          “I TOLD you!” Watts declared excitedly turning to Wash

          “Fuck!” Wash hissed. He turned to Will with a slightly desperate, very confused sort of expression. “Seriously?”

          “It’s not that big of a deal.” Will shrugged as he took a seat on the bench and bent down to unlaced his converse.

          “Yes, it is.” Wash insisted “You’re in high school. Don’t you want to be wild and crazy for at least a few years before you settle down?”

          “Will ignore him,” Watts intervened before Will could answer. That was probably for the best because Will didn’t really have a good answer. The true was Will had enough wild and crazy in his life already. He had survived three major demigod battles, treated countless battle injuries, lost siblings and patients. Will wanted stability, or what passed for it as a demigod. He wanted happiness and normalcy. Will wanted peace, and he never felt more at peace than when he was with Nico. Of course, he couldn’t explain ninety percent of that to his mortal friends so it was just as well Watts continued to talk. “he’s just pissy because he owes me fifty bucks now” Watts explained.

          Will sighed. “I should probably be upset that you’re beating on my personal life but honestly you’re not the first.” He knew that Percy and Leo had promised Nico to stop betting on their relationship. He also knew there was more than a few beats still floating around camp.

          It was barely audible but Will still made out Felix grumbling. “Cause that’s just what your ego needs.”

          Will wasn’t the only one that hear Felix. Dean grinned at him “Weren’t you just bitching about us being whiney?” He asked gesturing between himself and Will.

          “Shut up” Felix demanded grumpily with playful shove. Will watched the exchange and wondered if it was weird. Felix seemed to touch Dean a lot more than he did any of the others, didn’t he? With guys there really wasn’t a whole lot of touching in general. Will wasn’t sure he remembered he and Felix actually touching outside the soccer field ever. With Dean he could remember three or four times he had seen physical contact between the two of them. Will was pretty sure most of the touching he had observed being initiated by Felix.

          Inwardly Will growled. He wished Nico hadn’t planted the crazy idea that Felix had a crush on Dean, now he couldn’t see anything else. It seemed like every time he was around the two of them together he was seeing signs of it. Of course they weren’t real. They were just Will’s imagination running away with the idea since Nico planted it.

          Dean grinned gloatingly at Felix for a minute before turning his attention back to the group. “Alright so semi-related to Will’s personal life but not really.” He segwayed “Have you guys seen Eric’s face?”

          “Yes!” Watts responded excitedly “it’s fucking awesome!”

          “Dude, with the two black eyes he looks like a pissed off raccoon on steroids.” Wash added with amused.

          “I hear he’s benched for the rest of the football season because of it.” Felix informed matter-of-factly. Unlike the others, he didn’t sound as amused by the situation which Will was actually appreciative of. It really wasn’t amusing.

          “He is” Will verified flatly “Can we talk about literally anything else.” He asked biting back on most of his annoyance. It still colored his voice in spite of his efforts.

          Dean gave him a curious look “Dude, how do you know for sure?”

          Will let out a heavy sigh. He really didn’t want to talk about this at all. “Cause coach called me into his office earlier.”

          “What!?!” Wash and Watts exclaimed in unison.

          “Holy fuck” Felix commented with a shocked expression. He almost looked like he felt some sympathy for Will. The son of Apollo doubted that was actually the case but still.

          “Shit, what did he want?” Dean asked with genuine concern. “I figured if the asshole didn’t run to his dad we were in the clear.” he stated.

          “What we?” Will asked. He appreciated his cousin’s concern, he really did, but the whole situation had him on edge. “There is no we, there’s just me and Nico, mainly Nico. Which, for this, I’m actually glad he’s back in New York.” Will admitted. With Nico back in New York he couldn’t be arrested for assault. Well, he could but it would be a lot more of a challenge for Eric and his dad to orchestrate. “And apparently Eric didn’t want to get his father involved but was fine getting the coach involved.”

          “What a dick!” Wash declared.

          “He’s probably trying to get you benched.” Felix noted, like Will hadn’t already figured that out.

          “You should tell Nico.” Watts stated seriously. “He can come back from New York and beat the shit out of him again.”

          Watts wasn’t wrong, not completely. Nico would definitely come back to deal with Eric if he heard the guy was still giving Will trouble. If Eric survived the way Nico would deal with him was questionable at best. While watching Nico being completely badass was one of the sexiest things Will had seen. Still, he didn’t want Nico committing homicide for him.

          “I can deal with Eric, I don’t need Nico to step in.” Will stated “I handled him up to now on my own just fine.”

          “I don’t think avoiding him qualifies as handling him.” Felix noted. Before Will could even muster a nasty look to send in Felix’ direction his cousin was taking care of it. Dean gave the other guy a disapproving look, and Felix looked away like he actually felt guilty. Will couldn’t help but think Felix wouldn’t react like that if Will was the one giving him a disapproving look. He actually seemed to care about Dean’s opinion which was weird because Felix didn’t seem to care what anyone thought of him. Actually Felix seemed to enjoy pissing people off. Gods, Will really wished Nico hadn’t planted the idea of Felix having a crush on Dean in his head.

          “What did coach say?” Dean asked turned to look at Will with concern. “Are you in trouble? Was he pissed?”

          “Shockingly, no” Will admitted as he pulled on his shine guards. “which I figured he would be considering he had to bench his star quarterback.”

          “Then what did he want?” Wash asked with a note of confusion.

          “He wanted to ask about my  _friend._ ” Will informed putting air quotes around the word friend because that was what coach had done. It pissed him off more than he cared to admit, and more than he let show. That was saying something because from the show it bothered him quite a bit. How hard was it to just say the word boyfriend? “Specifically, coach want to know if he lives around here, has he ever played football, and would he be interested playing here.”

          “What?” Watts questioned letting out a nervous laugh. The reaction wasn’t all that different from the one Will had at the time.

          Will slipped his feet into his cleats and began lacing them. “Apparently braking the quarterback’s noise is better than being awesome at try-outs.” He informed dryly.

          “I bet that would just kill Eric.” Felix commented which wasn’t the reaction Will had been expecting. Although now that Felix pointed it out Will had to agree.

         “Yeah but I don’t think Nico has the time.” Dean stated seriously “You know with the modeling and being a fucking ninja.”

          “I was going to superhero.” Felix noted looking at Dean with a playful grin. “You know like The Punisher.”

          “Oh yeah, or Ghost Rider.” Dean added playing along. Will rolled his eyes while he laughed internally at how close his cousin was.

          The son of Apollo opened his mouth to say something, probably tell them to shut up because this whole thing was so far from funny. Then his cellphone range, and he lost the words. The golden iphone buzzed angrily from its perch in his locker. Will’s heart fluttered a little at the sound, it could be Nico. The son of Hades really struggled keeping the time difference straight. 

          One look at the screen and all hope was dashed. Jason Grace’s picture filled the screen with the name Sparky underneath. Will sighed as he slid his finger across the screen to answer the call. “Hello” he declared without any real enthusiasm.

          “Is it Nico?” Dean asked excitedly but didn’t actually wait for Will’s response before adding. “Say hi from me.”

          “Yeah, and us” Wash stated gesturing between Watts and himself.

          “And Ruby and Nora obviously” Watts added with a shrug.

          “Not Nico guys.” Will informed glad he could finally get a word in edge wise. “Quiet” he told them before turning his attention back to the call. He was sure Jason had said something but over all the others talking he hadn’t made out any of it. “Sorry Jason I missed all of that.” he admitted.

          “I think I might be having a panic attack and I need your advice.” Jason stated. The son of Jupiter did actually sound panicked. Will didn’t think the guy had any panic in him after everything he had been through.

          “Breath?” Will offered weakly. In spite of what people at camp thought Will wasn’t really trained for mental health treatment. He was all about the physical medicine. If Jason needed emotional support he would be better off turning to his girlfriend, the daughter of Aphrodite.

          “Breath?” Jason repeated the advice with clear annoyance “Really?”

          “It’s kind of hard to treat an anxiety attack over the phone.” Will noted apologetically “Don’t really know what you were expecting.”

          “Also, you’re not a doctor.” Felix noted grumbling the statement under his breath. Will decided not even to bother wasting the energy it would take to glare at the asshole. He had treated more serious injuries then most family physicians so he wasn’t going to let Felix’ opinion get to him.

          “I don’t need medical advice, I need personal advice.” Jason declared seriously, a note of panic coloring the edge of his voice. “Piper told me I should have sex with a guy.” He stated and then sighed like speaking it out loud lifted a weight from his shoulder.

          The words bounced around in Will’s skull giving him a headache. He pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stave off the ache. “You have the weirdest girlfriend in the history of time.” he stated plainly. “Who tells their boyfriend to go out and have sex with someone else?”

          “The best girlfriend ever!” Wash declared having overheard Will’s statement.

          “Of all time.” Watts agreed.

          Will fixed his two friends with a serious look. “I’m telling Ruby and Nora you both said that.” He informed them seriously. A nervous expression spread across both guys faces at the statement. They turned their attention nervously back to the contents of their own lockers.

          “What?” Jason questioned.

          “Nothing” Will stated absently. His mind was still reeling, he really didn’t understand Piper at all. “I would never tell Nico-”

          “Dude,” Much to Will’s annoyance Felix interjected. “no one tells the underwear model they’re banging to feel free to bang other people at will.” he declared giving his opinion on a topic when it wasn’t at all wanted. “especially you.” He stated pointing at Will like there was any question who he was talking about. “You’re clearly the jealous type.”

          “Who was that?” Jason questioned. He must have overheard Felix’ little speech and didn’t approve. “Punch them in the face.” He ordered.

          “Oh, I’ve thought about it on several occasions.” Will informed with a sigh. If he was any other demigod he probably would have hit Felix by now. He pushed off the bench and closed the door to his own locker so he could lean on it. “Dude, I don’t know what kind of advice I can give you on this.”

          Jason let out a heavy sigh, but Will guessed it was good he didn’t sound panicked any more. “I have questions and there is only so much you can learn from the internet and porn.”

          Will didn’t hide his surprise as he asked. “You’re going to do it?” Jason didn’t seem like the type to go for that sort of thing. That was one of things he thought he and Jason had in common. The son of Jupiter seemed like a straight arrow where his relationship was concerned.

          “I don’t know, I haven’t decided.” Jason admitted and Will thought he sounded conflicted. “But I want to be prepared just in case.”

          “You’re a regular boy scout.” Will stated flatly. The whole idea of this made him uncomfortable just talking about it and it had nothing to do with him.

          “So….” Jason began sounding nervous “can I ask you questions?”

          “Do you really want to?” Will questioned doubtfully. “Any answers I give you will come directly from my experience with your little brother.” He pointed out. He was not some gay sex expert. Most of his knowledge on the subject came from his own experiences, and all of those had been with one person: Nico.

          “I thought Nico had a little sister not an older brother.” Dean questioned. Will shot him a look to tell him he’d explain later, when it came to Nico Will felt like he had to do that a lot with his cousin. Dean looked annoyed with getting the brush-off but didn’t argue about it.

          “Already thought about that.” Jason declared sounding more certain. Will believed Jason had already given it thought since usually Jason was yelling at him not to talk about his sex life. “Just don’t mention Nico by name and we should be okay.”

          “Fine” Will sighed resigned “Ask”

          “Right now?” Jason exclaimed sounding surprised. The note of panic had returned to the edges of the demigod’s voice.

          “Isn’t that why you called?” Will questioned seriously. "I have some time until practice starts so, yeah ask."

          There was a long stretch of silence. Will could swear he could almost hear Jason thinking all the way from California. “I don’t know where to start.” The son of Jupiter admitted when he finally broke the silence. “Don’t you have any general advice you could give me?”

          This time it was Will’s turn to think. He mulled over the question for a minute trying to think of some enlightening piece of advice that would lead to amazing sex. The only thing that came to mind was something Apollo had said when he had given him that horrible sex talk. It wasn’t exactly the breakthrough of the century either but it was important. “Lube is your friend.” he offered uncertainly. The statement put Will on the receiving end of strange looks form Dean, Wash, and Watts. Felix grinned but otherwise seemed unaffected. Will was too preoccupied to wonder why that was.

          “Advice I can’t get from the internet.” Jason replied in an almost-growl of irritation. It might have been an intimidating sound if Will wasn’t dating the son of Hades. Nico made more intimidating noises when Will tried to wake him up before 10 am. After that Jason just failed to be scary.

          “It’s really important so it seems worth reiterating.” Will defended.

          Jason let out a muffled noise that sounded a little like a sigh and a little like a groan. “What about… I don’t know, frottage or intercrural? Are they……. good?” Jason managed to stammer through the question. Will was positive the question had been on the other demigod’s mind since he first answered the phone. Will didn’t point it out, he figured this conversation was already awkward enough. “Anything more penetrative seems a bit intimate to do with a stranger.”

          “Glad to hear you have a line.” Will mused before giving the question some serious thought. “Frottage can be nice” he admitted, although  _nice_  was a bit of an understatement. 

          If Will had a dollar of every time he and Nico had kissed, and the kiss turned into making out. Then making out quickly turned in to Nico sitting in Will’s lap because with the height difference it just made things easier. And then Nico would moving his hips in just the right way and DEAR GOD. 

          Will swore Nico lived for reactions in the bedroom. If something made Will moan, Nico was going to do it again, and again until Will lost his mind with ravenous lust. They would end up naked, sweaty, and panting each other’s names. 

          Yeah, if Will had a dollar for every time that happened he would be a very rich man. Will pushed that thought aside, because the last thing he needed was an erection right now. “We’ve never tried intercrural.”

          “Oh My God!” Dean exclaimed choking on a sip of water, catching Will’s attention. He looked in his cousin’s direction as the other boy coughed and patted his chest trying to dislodge the fluids. “Things I DON’T need to know about my cousin’s sex life.”

          “How have you never….” Will barely register Jason beginning to ask sounding doubtful.

          “Jason hold that thought.” Will cut off the son of Jupiter rather rudely, he would apologize later. He continued to stare at Dean who was still sputtering and blushing. Dear gods, Dean was actually blushing, Will realized. He wasn’t even sure his cousin had the ability to blush. “Dean how do you have any idea what I’m talking about?”

          “Dude, google is a thing that exists.” Dean retorted dismissively, like that actually explained everything. The names of gay sex acts weren’t exactly everyday language for teen guys in Tennessee. Will couldn’t think of a good reason why his cousin would want to learn about gay sex acts either.

          “Alright, follow-question.” Will began trying to sound calm. All that kept running through his head was how Nico said Felix had a thing for Dean. Felix did seem to prefer Dean, he was the only person Felix seemed to try to be nice to. There was the touching, all the touching. But, Will wasn’t sure if Felix was always the one initiating contact. Dean did it too; slapping Felix’ arm or shoving him away.  _No, never, absolutely not, no_  Will told himself. He carefully stuffed down his internal panic and asked. “Why are you googling gay sex acts?”

          “Stop looking at me like that.” Dean grumbled as he put serious focus on pushing his feet into his cleats. “It’s not weird.”

          “Um… It is a bit” Wash contradicted.

          “No,” Dean defended looking up from his shoes with as serious expression. “I was trying to be supportive.”

          “How exactly?” Will questioned meeting his cousin’s serious expression with one of his own.

          “Fine, I felt like an ass for the whole ‘who’s the girl’ comment, alright?” Dean admitted sounding equal amounts irritation and embarrassed.

          “You asked!” Watts exclaimed. “You couldn’t have waited ‘til the rest of us were around. I’ve been trying to figure out a polite way to ask that for over a month.”

          Will groaned but didn’t have a chance to say anything before Dean spoke. “Dude, they are both guys, that’s the point.” Dean explained and Will was kind of grateful for his cousin making the effort enough to know that.  “And asking that is like super hetero and offensive.” he continued. “It’s like asking who actually gets to enjoy the sex and therefore is in control of the relationship or whatever.”

          “I just meant like...” Watts tried to clarify making a gesture that clearly implied penetration.

          “Like whoever is getting penetrated is somehow less masculine and therefore effeminate?” Dean questioned. “Dude, do either Will or Nico seem particularly effeminate to you?”

          “No” Watts admitted looking thoroughly shamed.

          “You did a lot of googling.” Will noted looking at his cousin. He wasn’t the only one, Felix seemed to be eyeing Dean curiously. Will didn’t like that one bit.

          “I felt like a complete ass!” Dean groaned “I figured I should educate myself before putting my foot in my mouth again. I have a tendency to do that you know.”

          “Wow, I don’t know what to say.” Will admitted feeling at a loss for words. He would have never expected his cousin to go out and educate himself about gay relationships. The fact that he had was really kind of sweet. Also, there was a part of him that really wished he had been there to see his cousin look some of the stuff up. His reactions were probably priceless.

          “How about thank you?” Dean retorted “There is some weird stuff out there that I now can’t unlearn.” he stated with a fake shutter “Like rimming, who thought that would feel good?”

          “What’s rimming” Wash asked directing the question toward Will instead of Dean.

          “Ask Dean, he’s apparently the expert.” Will replied quickly. He turned his back on the others to hide the blush he could feel spreading across his face. There was no way he was going to even attempt to explain rimming or that it actually felt really good to his straight friends. “Alright Jason I’m back.” He declared into his phone.

          Behind him he was vaguely aware of Dean speaking. “Trust me on this dude, you’re better off not knowing.”

          “You’ve really never tried intercrural?” Jason questioned doubtfully. “But your Greek, it’s like….”

          Will pitched the bridge of his nose as he cut the son of Jupiter off. “We kind of skipped that phase in our sexual relationship.” He stated. Will wasn’t complaining, their sex life was amazing but when they started dating things moved at a rapid pace. Considering what had happened the night they started dating it shouldn’t have really been a surprised. Will figured it was all the years Nico had gone without anyone, without touch. He liked it that way, it was like Nico was ravenous for him. Still, in hindsight they had skipped a few steps in the sexual progression of their relationship. They went from exchanging hand jobs and a few blow jobs to anal sex. There was a few less penetrative options they passed over along the way. Intercrural was one of those things, Will figured they would get back around to it eventually. “Would you like more details on that?” He questioned knowing the answer.

          “NO!” Jason exclaimed quickly and loudly. He took a breath before adding more calmly “No, I’m good.”

          “Figured” Will muttered. Jason really couldn’t handle hearing about anything related to Nico and sex. Will knew it probably meant he was a bad person but he found how Jason responded funny. Jason was convinced that Nico wasn’t sexual. Or maybe he just thought that Nico was a willing but passive participate when it came to sex. It was so far from the truth it was almost laughable. Will had made the mistake of telling Jason that once, it was not appreciated information.

          “What about oral?” Jason asked, his voice taking on a nervous edge once again.

          Will pressed his forehead against a nearby locker. He was positive this was the weirdest conversation he had ever had. Considering some of the conversations he had had with Austin or Dean that really was saying something. “What about it?” He questioned.

          “Like how do you deep throat?” Jason questioned speaking quickly, like he was in a rush to get the words out. “There has to be some sort of trick to not gagging.”

          Will’s face burned again, this time for a very different reason. Why did Jason have to ask about that? he thought mournfully. He sure Jason was right. There had to be a trick to deep throating, but Will had yet to successfully figure it out, much to his personal annoyance. “Why don’t you ask Piper this?” He asked trying to divert the subject.

          “Dude, that would be weird.” Jason replied with clear distaste at the mere idea.

          Will pushed off the locker his forehead had been pressed against and turned to rest his back against it. “This whole situation is weird.”

          “Bro,” Jason sighed “you said I could ask.”

          Will resisted the urge to growl- Nico really was a bad influence on him. Jason, like Percy, used the term ‘Bro’ like a weapon. How they could use one word to embed so much guilt was beyond Will. Maybe that’s how Percy got Nico to agree to so much, Will thought. “Jason I’m just not the person to ask.” Will admitted with a heavy sigh. “Everyone has their talents, deep throating is not one of mine. If you want that kind of advice you’re going to have to call Nico.”

          “Dude!” Jason protested.

           “Nice” Wash nodded approvingly offering his hand for a high-five. Normally Will would have accepted the offer but here he didn’t. It was a bit of a sore subject to the son of Apollo that his boyfriend could do something to pleasure him that Will couldn’t do in return.

          “Sympathies to Nico though.” Felix muttered under his breath. The comment caused Will to glare at him. Sure, Will wasn’t good at that one thing but he still made sure Nico was satisfied.

          “It would be weirder talking to Nico then Piper.” Jason explained dismissively completely unaware Will was currently trying to kill one of his teammates with the power of a nasty look. “Besides I’m sure Percy is already bombarding him with questions by now.”

          Will could tell Jason meant it as a passing comment but it sent Will’s nerves on edge. Some primitive part of his brain screamed which wasn’t unusual when it came to Percy and Nico. “Why would Percy be doing that?” He asked successfully hiding the majority of his unreasonable panic and unfounded jealousy. “Outside of the usual being Percy thing.”

          “Annabeth told him the same thing Piper told me.” Jason explained casually “I swear they planned it.”

          Will could barely hear Jason or any of the others in the locker room over the sound of his blood pumping. His chest tightened uncomfortable and it made it hard to breath. “Jason, I’ve got to go.” He stated firmly, hanging up on Jason before he could argue. Will needed to talk to Nico NOW.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I told people there would be more on Eric- Will's conversation with his coach will be in extras
> 
> Also, Will's conversation with Dean on the way to school will also be in extras
> 
> I loved seeing how Percy and Jason are handling this whole situation differently. Percy with all the subjective questions, like how does it feel, is that any good. While Jason is all the technical questions: how do I do that.
> 
> Dean is a good cousin.
> 
> I know I already touched on Will having issues with Percy because of his history with Nico in After the Wars and it was largely resolved but in this situation insecurities are bound to flare up.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed.


	29. The Zeppo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and Happy Saturday!
> 
> I'm posting early because I have to travel and I don't know what my internet situation will look like tomorrow morning.
> 
> So I'm really nervous about this chapter since it's from an OC's POV (Dean's). If you hate it I'm sorry but it's likely a one time deal. I wanted to explore what a demigod's life looks like to someone who doesn't know they are a Demigod. Dean was the perfect character to do that with.
> 
> So I considered making a challenge regarding the title of the chapter: Does anyone get the reference?
> 
> Also there is some really mild references to smut. No actual smut occurs but there are references so I wanted to let people know if they want to skip over it. It's mostly at the end in Will's point of view but there are a few else where (but they are super mild).

Dean-

          Dean had to pry Will’s cell phone out of his hand and practically drag him out of the locker room for practice. About five minutes into practice he realized that had been a mistake. Will was completely distracted during practice. It wasn’t exactly atypical behavior for his cousin but this was far worse than usual. Typically Dean, Wash, Watts and Felix (if Dean could convince him to do) would cover for Will’s distraction. Weird maybe, but whatever was going on Will didn’t let it interfere with his performance during actually games just practice so it was fine. This was more than they could cover. About halfway through practice a very annoyed coach sent Will told Will to run laps until “his head was in the game”.

          Will was probably too focused on his own things to notice the smug expression that spread across Felix when coach told him to play center-forward for the rest of the day. Dean, on the other hand, did and found it annoying as fuck. A few dirty looks and carefully aimed soccer balls took care of that.

         By the end of practice everyone was annoyed, or angry or a fun combination of the two. That was everyone except for Will who still just seemed distracted. He wasn’t even winded from all the running which was like an insult to everyone else on the team.

          Will complained about the practices that they all had to run laps like everyone else. The reality was Will could run circles around the team. It was why the coach usually let Will miss the start of the season training camp each year. Will was in way better shape than everyone else on the team. It probably helped that while everyone else spent the summer playing video games and trying to sneak beer Will went to that weird camp and did who knows what.

          Dean wondered if there were steroids in the water at the place or something. Whenever he suggested it to Will, he always laughed when he suggested it. Sure the fact that Will was in far better shape than the rest of them was really their own fault. But the reason practiced had sucked was mainly Will’s so he could have at least faked being winded for his teammates’ egos.

          As they turned a corner into the locker room the faint sound of a phone ringing could be heard over Watts bitching. The sound caught Will’s attention before anyone else. That wasn’t really a surprise since Will had always had bat-like hearing. Also Will was probably listening for it when no one else was, Dean reminded himself.

          Will, who wasn’t even a little out-of-breath, darted toward his locker like his life depended on it. Felix practically got shoved into a wall for no other reason than he was in Will’s way. It was actually pretty amusing to watch, of course Felix clearly didn’t see it that way.

          Felix and Will had the whole friemeny thing going. Really that sort of thing should be behavior reserved for 12-year-old girls. Dean had pointed that out to both of them on separate occasions and neither of them found it funny. They both needed to lighten up, because that was fucking hilarious, Dean thought.

          Felix looked like he was going to say something but Dean grabbed him by the shoulder before he could. Using his free hand Dean patted him on the chest to punctuate his words “Dude, it’s been a shitty day, just let it go.”

          Felix rolled his eyes and huffed because he was Felix and that was what he did but he let it go without a word. That was what drove Will up the wall about Felix, how he was constantly mouthing off without caring who he offended. For most part Will was right, and it could be pretty fucking annoying but he wasn’t like that all the time. At least he seemed to listen when Dean told him to lay off most of the time.  
          Turning the corner at their row of lockers, Will was already leaning his back against the unoccupied locker next to his own. Pressed to his ear was his limited edition iphone that Dean still didn’t understood how he had gotten. Aunt Naomi definitely didn’t have that kind of money and all he really knew about Will’s dad was that he lived in New York. But he figured if the ass hat couldn’t pay child support or even send Will birthday cards he didn’t have that kind of money either.

 **Fun Fact** : Calling Will’s deadbeat dad an ass hat is not something one should actually say in front of Will. Dean had learned that one the hard way.

          “Hey” Will stated talking to the person on the other end of the line. He sounded relieved. He was also oblivious to everyone around him so Dean figured it was a safe bet that he was talking to Nico. “I called, you didn’t answer, I was wor-”

          Felix pantomimed a whip, to imply Will was whipped Dean was sure. Watts snickered at the display which was funny considering Nora had him wrapped around her little finger. Will was still oblivious which wasn’t at all surprising. Dean just rolled his eyes as he turned his attention to his own locker pulling out his regular clothes. He didn’t think anyone would argue Will wasn’t whipped, it was pretty fucking obvious.

          Anyone who had known Will for more than two seconds couldn’t even be surprised by the fact. Will didn’t do anything half-way. He was more the give a hundred and fifty percent type when he thought it was important type. Dean had always figured Will’s first girlfriend would pretty much have him on a leash. As it turned out he was right about everything but the girl part.

          “Oh” Will said and it caught Dean’s attention immediately. Not because of the content but because of the tone. Glancing over any sense of relief his cousin had had before was gone. He stood with his shoulders pulled tight, his free hand was clinched into a fist, and his jaw clenched tight. None of those were good signs, Dean thought nervously.

          Dean felt weird watching his cousin, like he was eavesdropping. Even thought if Will wanted privacy he could have walked away. He turned back to the contents of his locker and the shirt in his hands. Stripping off his jersey he reminded himself that if Will wanted to talk about whatever had him stressed and distracted he knew he could come to him. Not that he actually would, they talked plenty but about Will’s life not so much. As soon as that thought crossed Dean’s mind he rolled his eyes at himself- Now who’s the twelve-year-old girl?

          It never bothered Dean until this year because guys don’t really talk about stuff so it was really a non-issue. He figured his overachieving cousin was just so focused on school. Dean always figured that because of the way they grew up that Will would let him in on anything important right away. Like being gay for instance, or getting into his first real relationship, or losing his virginity. But it was still _whatever_ , Dean was _not_ at _all_ bothered that Will didn’t tell him about any of that.

          “Yeah it just got over, you have prefect timing” Will uttered with fake cheer. Dean wondered if Nico could tell the difference between Will actually happy and Will faking it because that’s what people expected from him. Most people couldn’t but Nico seemed like a perceptive guy.

          “Oh” Will hummed an acknowledgement. He hadn’t sounded exactly happy but he hadn’t sounded on edge either. Maybe Nico had whatever this was cover, Dean thought with a bit of relief.

          Dean put more of his focus on getting changed and less on Will conversation. He wondered if he could talk the guys into getting coffee. He knew everyone was in a shitty mood but maybe it would help lift their spirits.

          Plus, he was pretty sure Molly was working. He probably should have been deterred by the fact that the girl couldn’t remember his name but he wasn’t. Maybe it was just he had already put in the time, and it really sucked being the only one of his friends not getting laid. He wasn’t the only one, but he didn’t know if he could count Felix because he didn’t seemed to be trying to get laid either.

          “So what did Percy want?” Will asked nervously. Dean wanted to groan and slam his fist into a locker out of frustration. Why couldn’t his life be easy even for a little while he thought with self-pity.

          There was that name again, that name from Thanksgiving that immediately put a stink face on Will. The name from earlier that sent Will into panic-call-Nico-mode. Dean didn’t know who this Percy guy was but he was sure he wanted to punch him in the face. Seriously, what kind of name was Percy anyway?

          Dean shot Felix a look because he was the only one who had been there on Thanksgiving and had seen Will’s reaction. Felix just shrugged with disinterest which wasn’t even close to helpful. When Dean had tried to get Felix’ thoughts on who this Percy guy the only thought Felix had was “Dude, it’s probably his ex.”

          “Why would Nico’s ex call him?” Dean had argued.

          “Because he doesn’t want to be the ex.” Felix had retorted which made sense but Dean got the feeling there was more to it than that. He didn’t think Will would try so hard to hide his discomfort from Nico if that was the case.

          Dean no longer felt weird about eavesdropping and openly watched his cousin. Will was staring at the contents of his locker with disapproval. “That’s all?” he questioned doubtfully.

          Will was quiet and Dean was giving serious consideration to asking his cousin to put his phone on speaker. It was difficult to figure out what was going on when he could only make out one side of the conversation.

          “DEAN!” Felix all but shouted in his ear causing Dean to jump and jab his elbow into his locker door.

          “Fuck! What?” he hissed and glared back at Felix as he rubbed his abused elbow.

          “Dude, are you going to that stupid library thing too?” He asked speaking slowly like Dean was an idiot.

          “Yeah, I have to for history class, you know required community service.” He responded although he brain hadn’t completely caught up with what Felix was asking. Still that seemed like it at least had a chance of being an accurate answer.

          “You all fucking suck!” Felix whined “What am I supposed to do all Saturday.”

          Dean ignored Felix’ whining. Wash suggested Felix could always just come volunteer out of the goodness of his heart. If Dean had been fully paying attention he probably would have laughed at that suggestion and he was sure Felix did. Dean wasn’t fully paying attention however. He heard Will sighed heavily “Nic, Jason called me earlier.” The way he said it, it sounded like a confession. Dean wondered what that could mean. Who was this Jason guy anyway, and why did it matter that he called.

          “That’s why Percy called?” Will questioned and the tension from earlier was back with a vengeance in those words.

          “Will already has his community service hours taken care of” he heard Watts tell Felix. “He might be free.”

          “How has he finished his community service hours already?” Felix asked with annoyance.

          “He did all his community service during the summer.” Dean replied easily.

          Dean was actually a little jealous of that fact. He spent half of the previous school year trying to find an internship or job shadowing experience and found nothing. Will had managed to work out a way to help the nurse or whatever at the camp he went to every summer. Not only did he get experience to add to college applications but it also counted toward his community service for senior year. “And he’s volunteering at the library thing too.”

          “Of course he is.” Felix said with annoyance.

          “And you don’t think that’s….. _inappropriate_.” Will declared his voice strained with each word, especially inappropriate. Will’s voice wasn’t the only thing strained. Will's hand was gripping the door of his locker so tightly his knuckles were white. The metal was groaning under his grip which pretty much caught everyone’s attention.

          Dean wasn’t completely sure what caught Will’s attention first, the fact that everyone was looking at him or the fact that he was about to rip his locker door off its hinges. Either way he dropped his hand and turned his back on everyone. He let out huff sound that was halfway between amused and annoyed. “Well yeah, but that’s different.”

          “Oh Will you fool.” Wash declared shaking his head. Will didn’t seem to notice someone had said his name “No fight has ever been won with that line.”

          “Wasn’t that what you had said right before Ruby chucked your phone in Paradox Lake.” Watts asked.

          “Probably” Wash admitted with a shrug.

          “What do you mean?” Will asked looking over his shoulder nervously. He glared at them when he saw they were looking. That was a new thing, Will had never been the glaring type before this school year. Dean had wondered where it had come from until he actually met Nico and then he got it.

          “This is why I’m glad I’m single.” Felix declared jutting his chin in Will’s direction with clear disapproval. “Constantly on the phone, having to deal with someone else crap all the time. Who wants to deal with that shit?”

          “Dude, there are perks.” Wash retorted.

          “Like what?” Felix questioned doubtfully.

          “It’s been a while but if I remember correctly sex is pretty nice.” Dean replied. With the ongoing conversation, whatever Will said was lost but a quick glance in his direction and Dean could tell it wasn’t a pleasant. Will looked like he was giving serious consideration to punch his locker which was odd considering Will wasn’t know for being the aggressive type. Sure, when they were younger he got in his fair share of fights. That had had less to do with Will being aggressive and more to do with him not willing to put up with bullies. Unfortunately, being the bastard child in the bible belt lend to more bullying than it should have when they were younger.

          “You don’t have to be in a relationship to have sex.” Felix retorted with a smug grin.

          “Dude, don’t even try to suggest you’re getting some.” Wash laughed “’Cause I would buy Will randomly hooking up with some girl before you.”

          “Are you saying you think I’m gay?” Felix asked and he didn’t seem as offended as Dean would have figured but he did seem annoyed. Then again, he was Felix so that was like his resting state.

          “No, I’m saying I think you’re an asshole” Wash replied with a shrug.

          “Girls don’t would to hook up with assholes.” Watts added.

          “Percy’s has every right not to invite me, we’re not _really_ friends.” Will declared rather loudly and all four of them shut up to blatantly try to listen in on Will’s conversation. “We really only have the one thing in common, _you_. There is really no need to make more of it.”

          Felix slapped Dean on the chest before pointing toward Will causally “Told you that Percy guy was the ex. You only say shit like that about the ex.”

          “Not necessarily.” Wash disagreed “It could be like a sibling. Ruby is always trying to get me to make friends with Jaune.” He explained. “And don’t get me wrong, Ruby’s brother is great and everything but it’s awkward cause of the whole ‘I’ve had sex with your sister’ thing.”

          “Actually, not really.” Will declared still oblivious that they were talking about him. “Nic, I spoke my peace over the summer, if Percy still feels uncomfortable there’s really nothing I can do about it.”

          “Yeah, I’m going with sibling too.” Watts pointed out.

          “You and Wash agree on something?” Felix declared with heavy sarcasm “I’m shocked.” he grabbed his backpack out of his locker and slung it over one of his shoulders. “I’m still going with ex. No one gets that annoyed and borderline violent when talking about their significant other’s sibling.”

          Felix pointed toward Will like that proved his point. He wasn’t wrong as Will was white-knuckling the door of his locker again and speaking though clinched teeth. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

          Will must have sensed them watching him because he released the locker door. Once again looked over his shoulder at them. They were all too stupid to even pretend not to be eavesdropping. It wasn’t really surprise when Will’s nervous glance turned into something of annoyance. With one last glare he walked away phone still pressed to his ear.

          “Yeah, definitely not worth whatever that bullshit is about.” Felix declared gesturing in Will’s direction but waiting until Will was well out of ear shot.

          “Dude, maybe you just think that because you’ve never been in love.” Dean defended. He felt a little ridiculous, since he wasn’t sure he had ever actually been in love. He had liked his previous girlfriends obviously. He had always felt disappointed when the relationships had ended but was he in love with any of them he wasn’t sure. Will, on the other hand, only had the two temperatures- ‘It isn’t all that important so I’m going to chill’ and ‘I will literally murder for this’. Nico clearly fell in the second category for Will. Dean could only think that was the case because Will was in love with the guy.

          “He’s not in love!” Felix exclaimed dismissively. “He’s fucking an underwear model and getting too intense about it.”

          “Dude you don’t know Will.” Watts stated plainly. “Until this year I haven’t seen him get this intense about anything expect for maybe college.” he seemed to think about it for a second be amending the statement. “And, to be honest, he seems way more into Nico than he’s ever seemed into college.”

          When Will returned from his phone call the cute teenage romance face he usually wore after speaking to Nico faded in lightening speed which Dean figured was a bad sign. When Will declared he was going home and not heading to the coffee shop with the rest of them, Dean figured that was a really bad sign. When Will refused a ride home, Dean pretty much decided this was fucking horrible.

          Dean had really hoped that fucking horrible was going to be a temporary thing, like Will was just having an off day. He would have prayed for it if he was the praying type. When it became clear that fucking horrible was going to be the way of things he wondered if he should have prayed just to cover his bases.

          Here was the thing, if you asked almost anybody about Will Solace and they would probably say the same things. Will was a nice guy, he was that one popular kid every school had that in spite of his social status was nice to everybody. Will was easy-going. All of that of course was true but it really wasn’t a complete picture. Maybe because Dean had known him longer than anyone else or maybe because they were family but Dean seemed to see things that other people missed.

          He would never describe his cousin as easy-going. When Will seemed lax about something it meant he didn’t really think it mattered all that much. Like with soccer, Will may phone it in at practice but during a game he could get pretty intense. Will fucking hated to lose.

          Will never made a big deal about his grades although Dean knew he did pretty well in everything, except for English. Dean guessed that was because of the Dyslexia but even in English he didn’t do bad, he just didn’t do great either.

          But in sophomore year Will made this big deal about wanting to take AP biology. The school didn’t want to let him because the class was supposed to be for seniors. Will acted like actual lives depended on it. Eventually the school said he could take the class if he passed the entrance exam with a 90 or above. To this day Dean still thought the school only agreed because no one had ever gotten a 90 on that test. Will got a perfect score and spent the rest of the year complaining that the class was too easy. Will bought and read medical textbooks in his free time. Dean was pretty sure that was the opposite of easy-going.

          Alright maybe when they were younger Will could have honestly been described as easy-going except for the occasional fight. After that year he spent in New York that had all changed. When he came back at first Dean thought whatever had happened over the year had been a good thing. Will had seemed more self-assured, more comfortable in his own skin. Will stopped getting in fights all together. Although that might have had something to do with the fact he had grown like a foot and was now one of the tallest guys in the school.

          It was around that time Will started getting really focused in school. He even began talking about wanting to be a doctor. Sure, he came back acting a bit jumpy like he expected danger around every corner but Dean didn’t think much about it.

          Life was good and then Will went to that stupid fucking camp over the summer and came back the next year a hot fucking mess. He took jumpy to a whole new level, practically freaked out of the weirdest shit, like every day stuff. His grades slipped enough to have Aunt Naomi looking for tutors. Will, who had always been the social one, seemed to go out of his way to avoid people. Honestly, it was probably because of that year that Dean and Will had the same friends. The only time Will left the house besides school was when Dean dragged him along. He also missed a lot of school that year which was odd considering Will never got sick. Dean never said anything but he figured out the cause of all the absences, Will would go days with almost no sleep.

          The whole thing had seriously freaked Dean out. After a little research and a few thousand google searches he had come up with a theory that he absolutely fucking hated: PTSD. He knew it made no sense because that was something soldiers and rape victims got, not random teens in Tennessee but Will had all the symptoms. He brought it up to Aunt Naomi who had told him not to worry about it.

          Considering his own mother had left when Dean was too young to remember and his dad wasn’t going to be winning any father of the year awards Aunt Naomi was probably the closest thing Dean had to an actual parent. That didn’t stop the string of colorful language he sent in her direction when she sent Will back to that camp the next summer. You had to be blind, deaf, and dumb not to realize something really bad had happened there. So why would any caring parent let him go back?

          Dean was both surprised and relieved when Will came back seeming better, a bit like his old self. That wasn’t to say he wasn’t still edgy about some things, and Dean knew he still had sleep issues sometimes. Still, he seemed better and Dean didn’t want to question it.

          That’s how things went for a while. As a whole Will seemed to recover from whatever had happened without any more major issues. Sure there were a few relapses that Dean noticed but they were subtle and they didn’t seem to last long. From Dean’s research, he knew that if Will did have PTSD relapses weren’t unusual. Even those became infrequent. Before long Dean couldn’t remember the last time Will seemed out of sorts. Over time things got back to something that resembled normal.

          Last school year when, Will came back from camp Dean could tell right away something was different but this time it was in a good way. Will seemed really relaxed and happy. He was jumpy or to be more medically accurate he didn’t seem hyper vigilant. Dean wanted to throw a damn parade he was so happy. He did get a little nervous when he realized that a lot of Will’s new found joy seemed to come from his mysterious pen pal. It couldn’t be healthy to rely on one person for your own happiness. That concern didn’t last long and Dean decided whoever she (or he as it turned out) was, they were his new favorite person.

          Dean would be lying if he said that concern didn’t resurfaced a few times. The first being when Will finally came out as being gay. Before the rather unexpected confession Dean had been worried that Will’s sudden distraction and general moodiness was a sign that something was wrong. He had been worried something was really wrong, like _relapse_ wrong. Then Will admitted he was gay and the recent personality change had been the result of having a fight with his boyfriend. Dean’s first thought was one of concern…..alright that’s not entirely true. Dean’s first thought was ‘What the fuck! How could he not tell me this?’ which was followed closely by ‘How could I not tell?’ but concern was definitely one of his early thoughts. It was at least in the first five.

          The second real time he started to worry was at the café. It was the first real time he had seen them together. Sure, there was that time he had walked in on them doing….something, but he didn’t really count that. Will was too busy being annoyed with him and Nico looked too busy being embarrassed for Dean to really see how they interacted with each other. When they first got to the café Will fussed over Nico, which not only seemed unnecessary but was a little annoying.

          Any concerns that day were short lived once he actually watched not only them, but Nico as well. Sure Will seemed to fuss at first and it seemed unnecessary until they returned from outside and Dean noticed how Nico’s demeanor had changed. The guy seemed a bit more relaxed which made him realize how tense he must have been when they had first arrived. While the rest of them were oblivious to it, Will was just keyed into the guy’s emotions.

          Then there was the whole Eric thing. Nico proved he could fill the role of over-protective boyfriend just as good as Will, if in a slightly different way. Hell, the fact he had broken Eric’s nose was enough to endure him to Dean for life. Eric had always been a dick and a bully and he got away with it because of who his dad was. But it was more than just the fact he broken Eric’s nose, he clearly was capable of doing more but stopped when Will asked.

          Even if Dean had any lingering worries Thanksgiving more than put them to rest. That time it was Nico doing the fussing although he was far more subtle than Will. After the whole Aunt Naomi dating bomb was dropped Nico seemed to stay tuned to Will’s emotional state for the rest of the day. Any time Will even seemed like he could get agitated (and with Felix around that happened a lot) Nico was there. Sometimes it was with a comment, or a touch. Other times Dean wasn’t really sure what had passed between the two but something clearly had and Will would visibly relax. Dean was convinced the only reason the whole meal wasn’t a complete disaster was because Nico was there.

          So after all that, yeah Dean was one hundred percent team Nico. However, as the next month or so went by and Will had more than the occasional boughs of distraction and moodiness Dean wondered if maybe he should be at least a little concerned. It wasn’t like he knew Nico was the cause of any of this, although he suspected it was at least indirectly related. Of course that was a safe bet whenever they overheard Will talking Nico and the mysterious Percy was mentioned the call was followed by Will being generally unpleasant.

          That wasn’t the only thing sending Will over the edge though. Will was clearly being easily annoyed and Felix lived for pushing people’s buttons so that was a thing. Dean became so tired of having to physically step between the two to stop if from coming to blows. Trying to talk reason into Will was like banging his head against a brick wall at that point so Dean finally cornered Felix before practice one day.

          “Dude, you have to stop.” Dean stated completely exasperated. The thing was Felix really should not want to fight Will, there was no way he’d win. So all the times Dean stepped between them he was saving Felix’ dumb ass more than anything so he should see the reason in this.

          “Stop what?” Felix asked defensively. Although this was Felix so that just could have been his voice. “I’m not doing anything.”

          Dean rolled his eyes. “You’re goating Will” he told him although he was sure Felix knew exactly what he was talking about.

          “No, I’m not” Felix retorted with an amused glint filling his green eyes. “He’s just being overly sensitive for some reason which is saying something because normally he is-”

          “Will’s been through stuff.” Dean huffed. He doubted Felix would actually care, and it wasn’t like Dean could say what Will had been through. The truth was he had no idea. The event, whatever it was, was like a blackhole. It’s existence could only be detected by the effects it had. “He’s going through stuff, he doesn’t need your shit right now.”

          “What shit?” Felix questioned with a smirk “I’m acting like I always do.”

          “That’s my point!” Dean cried flailing his arms a bit to accent his point. “Ease off.”

          “Dude, he can’t be the golden boy and a delicate flower at the same time.” Felix stated dismissively crossing his arms over his chest.

          Dean looked at Felix curiously for a moment. The statement seemed out of place but at the same time there was an honesty in the way Felix said it. Considering most of what came out of Felix’ mouth was purposefully offensive or outrageous, honesty wasn’t really common. “Who’s said Will’s a golden boy?”

          “You, the way you guys talked about him all summer.” Felix replied plainly. Dean didn’t really remember talking about Will all that much over the summer but Felix said it like that was all they ever talked about.

          Well there it was. Dean seriously wondered if Will and Felix were even aware of why they hated each other. Will clearly felt like Felix had swooped in while he was gone and had tried to take his place. Felix felt like he was being held to an impossible standard. They were both being massively neurotic and needed therapy. Dean was not even going to try and deal with that shit.

          He groaned audibly and decided to change strategies. “Dude you know your abrasive personality doesn’t bother me but Will can’t deal with it for whatever reason.” he explained. “I would consider it a personal favor if you could just dial it back a bit.”

          “Fine,” Felix agreed with a sigh. “but you own me big.”

          “Yeah sure, I’ll just have to blow you at some point.” Dean joked. Felix blinked at him with a critical expression like he wasn’t sure if Dean was joking or not. He rolled his eyes “Dude, that was a joke.”

          Dean really hadn’t expected the conversation with Felix to have much of an effect but it did. Felix actually made an attempt to be a decent human being. It was Felix so he failed at least a one third of the time but it still helped a little. There was a lull where Will almost seemed normal. Downright happy around the times he talked to Nico, unless the mysterious Percy was mentioned. In that case he pretended to be happy right until they hung up and then he was miserable for a few hours.

          It wasn’t a perfect situation but it was something. Unfortunately it only lasted a few weeks. It was right before holiday break and life in general was pretty stressful. The state championship was in mid-January which really left only two weeks after Christmas for practice. That meant they were already practicing none stop. They had morning drill’s and afternoon practices and on the weekend they had these miserably long combination of the two. That was of course on top of all the midterms, class projects, and papers that were due as well.

          The team as a whole didn’t hang out as much outside of practice since they were already seeing enough of each other. This day was an exception for no other reason than it was the first afternoon in weeks they didn’t have an afternoon practice and they were all in desperate need of a break from homework. So they were hanging out at the café, which should have been fun but it wasn’t really working out that way. For whatever reason, Will had been increasingly edgy all week. Today was one of the days were Felix was just sucking at acting like a person. And on top of everything Wash, Watts and the girls really were only making things worse.

          “So are you guys” Wash started to ask gesturing between a bored looking Felix and a clearly distracted Will. “spending Christmas together since your parents are dating?”

          “No idea” Will mumbled a reply without any real interest. He was frowning down at his phone on the table for the eighth time in just as many minutes.

          “No, our parents are seeing each other on Christmas eve.” Felix informed dryly “Christmas will be done separately. Thank god. I can’t deal with another holiday like Thanksgiving”

          “Thanksgiving wasn’t that bad” Dean defended. Sure, it wasn’t going to go down in history as one of the coziest family holidays ever. Once everyone got past the initial shock of everything it really hadn’t been that bad.

          Felix grinned wickedly “Nico was amusing.” he declared. The comment probably wouldn’t have earned much love from Will if he was actually paying attention. Will, however, was still focused on his phone. Dean was pretty sure describing Nico as amusing was an understatement. After the whipped cream thing, god damned hilarious seemed more accurate.

          “Is Nico going to visit for the holidays?” Nora asked excitedly.

          “No” Will replied flatly, looking up from his phone with a general air of annoyance.

          “Why not?” Ruby asked with clear disappointment.

          “He’s visiting his sister in California for Christmas and then he has plans with friends for New Year’s Eve.” Will explained his voice being kept carefully neutral.

          “Well that’s lame.” Nora declared slumping in her chair.

          “Right” Ruby agreed “it would be cool if he was at the New Year’s party.” She stated.

          Damn Dean had all but forgotten about that, and from the looks around the table he wasn’t the only one. The New Year’s Eve party was a tradition that probably went back generations in this town. All the sports teams got together and throw this huge party. It was pretty much the only place to be if you were in high school in this town on December 31st. The thing was this was a football town through and through. So when it came to the party it was the football players’ show and the other teams were just background players. Normally that was fine but currently the entire football team wanted them dead since Eric got benched and they were on a losing streak. Dean wasn’t even sure if they planned on going.

          “Having seen Nico with some alcohol in him” Felix mused. “I’m sure it would have been interesting, and it probably would have ended with a public indecency charge.”

          Will glared heatedly at Felix. Dean had to bite his lip to stop from laughing, because after Thanksgiving he really didn’t know what Will expected. He and Nico had pretty much made out in front of them, and that wasn’t even mentioning the times Dean walked in on them. “Well like I said, he has plans.”

          “Yeah probably with Percy” Felix commented under his breath. The café was practically empty, and Felix didn’t mutter nearly as quiet as he thought he did, everyone heard him.

          Dean groaned loudly as the rest of the group sighed with resignation. The mysterious Percy had been a topic of conversation with the group when Will wasn’t around. They all had their own theories on who the guy was and why his name sent Will over the edge but they kept them to their selves. Will’s head snapped up, clearly having overheard Felix. His expression was stone-y. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

          “Nothing” Dean responded quickly, probably too quickly. He shot Felix an annoyed look but judging by Felix’ expression he didn’t really care.

          “Yeah, nothing” Felix stated dryly with a clear eye roll. “Nothing you aren’t already thinking.”

          Dean didn’t even hide his complete exasperation. He mouthed ‘ _What the actual hell_ ’ at him but Felix just shrugged like it was nothing. Dean was seriously starting to wonder if Felix _wanted_ Will to kick his ass, maybe he had a kink.

          Thank god for small favors because before Will could snap back at Felix his phone rang and he jumped to answer it. That, of course, could only mean one person was calling: Nico. “Hey you” Will answered with a smile. “I’m glad you called.” Well it was starting as a pleasant phone call that was a good thing.

          “Say hi for us!” Ruby stated rather excitedly.

          Will just only gave her an annoyed look before silently shushing her “What?” Will questioned “Wow, that’s unfortunately. I liked Frank.” He stated with a bit of a grin. Will then let out a bit of a laugh. “I guess I kind of assumed if you caught Frank in bed with your sister, he’s no longer with the living.”

          Wash visibly shivered at the thought “That poor soul.”

          “That may be a fate worse than death.” Watts agreed.

          Will’s grin actually widened, it was kind of nice considering he hadn’t been smiling much recently. “Hazel won’t let you touch him, would she?” he asked and he sounded on the verge of genuine laughter.

          “You would do that for me, right?” Wash asked Ruby clearly looking for reassurance “If Jaune caught us?”

          Ruby blinked back at him “Would I really have to?” She questioned seriously. “I love my brother but I’m surprised a stiff breeze hasn’t snapped him in half, what could he possibly do to you?”

          “Yeah, ‘cause Nico looks like a badass” Wash argued.

          Ruby and Nora exchanged a knowing look “Yeah, he kind of does.” The girls stated as one.

          Will laughed but Dean was positive it had nothing to do with their conversation. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed but your little sister is a badass, she can take care of herself.”

          Whatever Nico’s response to that was the words couldn’t be heard but his general tone was. Will seemed unaffected even though Nico sounded less than pleased. “Yeah and Hazel didn’t murder me when she caught us with my hands all over you. For which I am extremely grateful.” he explained. “Because your sister scares me a little.”

          “You guys really can’t catch a break.” Dean pointed out. He had walked in on Nico and Will three times, apparently, Nico’s sister had too at one point. Also, Dean remembered Will saying that Percy guy had walked in on them as well as others who’s named Dean had forgotten. “Maybe you guys should invest in a lock or something.”

          Will rolled his eyes at him but was wearing a smirk that told Dean that Will was amused at the suggestion. “Alright that’s not great” Will admitted to Nico on the other end of the line. “Just try not to think about it.” he suggested.

          “I mean I don’t have a sibling.” Nora stated “But I think if I did and I walked in on them getting it on it would be hard to just not think about it you know?”

          “Yeah, it does sort of sear into your memory and on the back of your eyelids” Dean admitted.

          “Yeah but at least both Nico and Will are total hotties” Ruby pointed out plainly “So it could have been worse.”

          “Whoa” Wash complained “Right here”

          “They’re gay, I’m allowed to point it out.” Ruby defended.

          “Also, I’m closely related to one and I’m straight so the other one isn’t doing it for me either.” Dean pointed out.

          Will growled, like full-on animalistic, growled. It caught the attention of pretty much everyone at the table. All of them made little effort to hide that they were eavesdropping. “Maybe Jackson should learn the meaning of the word _no_.”

          Everyone was silent, Dean wasn’t the only one who had been expecting a blow out on the subject. Of course, Dean figured it wouldn’t happen in front of them, and they would just be subject to the messy aftermath.

          Will’s shoulders slumped and he appeared deflated. “Nothing” he sighed apparently having lost his nerve. “Did you say hi to Hazel for me?” He let out another heavy sigh and fidgeted nervously. He muttered “It’s nothing”

          The tension in the air was still thick and no one seemed willing to speak. It felt kind of wrong to be witnessing something that was really none of their business. It felt wrong but Dean didn’t get up to leave either.

          Will made another growl-y noise before stating firmly. “Don’t go, I don’t want you to go.” Nico must have said something and Will huffed. “You _know_ where.”

          Alright this was so not the place for Will to be having this conversation but at least he was having it, Dean thought. Clearly keeping whatever possessive territorial thing that was running around in Will’s head wasn’t doing him any good. And Nico seemed like the no-nonsense time. He would probably tell Will to relax and he had nothing to worry about and all would be well.

          “You KNOW why!” Will shouted. Dean winced and the girls both hissed, that was not a very reasonable voice. It was not the voice one has when they have a healthy conversation with their significant other about a concern. “Do I really need to spell it out!?!?”

          “Will sweetie” Nora stated with a nervous edge to her voice “inside voice.”

          “I can’t believe I _actually_ have to say this.” Will declared with a humorless laugh completely ignoring Nora. “I don’t want my boyfriend hanging out with a guy he crushed on for _years_ who is literally just looking to hook up.”

          “Ow Will” Nora warned. Dean was with Nora on this, Will needed to zip this whole thing back up. Yeah, Dean had wanted Will to tell Nico whatever was bothering him but he wanted him to do so in a more Will-typical fashion. This was about as far as Will could get from Will-typical, this was more like Felix-typical. This was like watching a train-wreck in progress and not being about to stop it.

          “Yes that’s exactly what I worried about!” Will declared “Why does that surprise you?” Nico said something in response, Dean was sure of it. Whatever it was it gave Will pause, he seemed to genuinely think about it. “Trust you? With Percy?”

          “Will, honey carefully cho-” Ruby started to issue a sincere warning.

          Will ignored Ruby. “I…I don’t know” He stammered out the guilty confession. Well, at least he wasn’t yelling anymore. “Not completely…I just don’t know if I can completely.”

          Ruby and Nora hissed at the true idiocy of that statement. Dean was ready to just face plant on the table because this was just so bad. Even Felix looked like he was experiencing sympathy pains.

          “Nic it’s not…” Will let out a heavy sigh “I don’t…I don’t doubt that you love me.” Will shot a warning look at the rest of the group. Like anyone would actually think of saying anything right now. “But there’s history there, between you two and I’d be a fool to trust it.”

          “Will” Ruby and Nora both groaned with disapproval.

          “No, it’s not like that” Will defended. “I’m just not an idiot.”

          Both girls groan and drop head to table with two solid thuds. Dean just gapped at him. There was a time he would have described his cousin as the smart one in the family but now not so much.

          Will’s brows furrowed with concern “Nic?” He questioned “Nic!” he repeated. “FUCK!” He shouted pulling the phone away from his ear and looked at the screen which was clearly blank. Will stood and shoved his phone into the back pocket of his jeans. “I hate my life, I’m going home.” He didn’t wait for anyone to speak before grabbing his back pack off the back of his chair and started toward the door.

          Dean groaned before pushing out of his own chair and calling after Will. “I’ll drive you.”

          Will didn’t wait for him at the door but he walked straight to Dean’s piece of crap car and got in. He didn’t say a word the whole ride back to his house, which, in fairness, was only a few minutes but still. Dean tried to talk a few times but Will’s response was to turn on and up the radio. Dean took the hint, he wasn’t going to let the silence go on forever but he could take the hint for the moment.

          When they got to Will’s house, Will was out of the car before Dean could get it in park and was at the front door as Dean climbed out. “Go away Dean.” Will ordered as he pushed his way inside the house.

          “Dude, not happening.” Dean retorted as he sprinted to the door to follow Will in.

          “Whatever” Will grunted discontently. He didn’t actually slam the door in Dean’s face so Dean chose to take it as an invitation. Alright maybe not an invitation but it was invitation adjacent.

          Will tossed his bag on a chair in the living room thoughtlessly and kept walking toward the kitchen. “Dude, do you want to talk about it?” Dean called after him.

          “No” Will called over his shoulder as he crossed the threshold into the kitchen.

          “Right, that’s cool.” Dean stated rather usually as he dropped himself on the couch. After Will had let slip some of the things he and Nico had gotten up to when no one was around- more specifically where, like all the wheres Dean had been a little horrified. He proclaimed he wasn’t sitting on or eating off an area where they had done the dirty. That rule didn’t really last long considering that was pretty much the whole house. Now Dean just told himself not to think about it and he was surprised how little it actually bothered him.

          Alright, the kitchen table was still a little bothersome, Dean would have to admit. He really didn’t need the thought of his cousin getting all sweaty with his pretty boy boyfriend when he was trying to eat cheerios. Also, and this may have been a bit petty, but Dean was older. He had never had kitchen table sex, or shower sex, or couch sex so it seemed wrong Will had. It went against the natural order of things.

          A large crashing sound from the kitchen drove Dean from his thoughts and to his feet. He was careful not to run into the kitchen prepared to put out a fire- whether it be figurative or literal because that would have been making a big deal out of the thing. Of course, when he caught sight of the state of Aunt Naomi’s kitchen he realized maybe he should have made at least a little bit of a deal.

          What looked like the entire contents of Aunt Naomi’s panty was scattered across the floor. There were boxes of brownie mix and canned goods here and there as if they had spilled from the world’s weirdest cornucopia. In the center of the mess, Will sat on the floor looking dejected and a bit lost. When he looked up from his hands to acknowledge Dean’s general existence the look in his eyes was full-on sad puppy. “Dude, I fucked up.”

          “Nothing looks broken, I’ll help you clean up.” Dean tried to reassure as he stepped carefully over various bits of dry goods. “Aunt Naomi will never know.”

          Will sighed and pushed his fingers through his hair. “Wasn’t talking about that.”

          “Yeah, I figured.” Dean admitted gently kicking a can of pineapple out of the way so he could take a seat on the floor next to Will. “But as a single guy I don’t know what kind of advice I can offer.”

          “Doesn’t matter.” Will stated mournfully. Will looked down it his hands like he was defeated, like the relationship was already over.

          “Dude, Nico seems like a reasonable guy.” Dean tried to reassure even though he really didn’t know Nico enough to know if that was true. Even if it wasn’t he really did seem like he cared about Will. He didn’t seem like the type to end the relationship over one stupid fight. “Call, apologize for being a dick, I’m sure he’ll forgive you for whatever that was.”

          Will let out a said little laugh. “You’ve never seen Nico angry.” He stated looking over at Dean. “He’s not known for being level headed.”

          God Will was making this whole ‘being reassuring’ think fucking difficult, Dean groaned inwardly. He gave Will’s shoulder a nudge. “Give him a little time to cool off.”

          “I pretty much accused him of cheating” Will pointed out before asking. “What’s the cool down time for that?”

          Dean sighed. This was so far past any of Dean’s dating experience, he was in way over his head on this. “No idea” He admitted.

          “I don’t even know why I said it.” Will admitted the broken quality of his voice from earlier was gone and replaced with one of frustration. “Nico isn’t the cheating type, I know that, it’s just….Percy.”

          “Dude sounds like a dick.” Dean stated because that’s what you did for family. You hated people that messed with their lives even if you had never met them.

          “He’s not” Will sighed heavily “Percy’s actually a pretty nice guy. He’s a loyal friend. He’s funny and a bit of a spaz but in a good way” he explained clearly trying to sell the guy. Dean was still not buying it completely but he nodded so Will would continue. “Nico’s known him since he was ten. It’s a long story but he actually saved Nico’s life.”

          “Wow” Dean whistled “That’s some history.”

          Will let out another puff of air. “Nico had a crush on him for years.” He stated and the words had actual weight to them. Dean guessed they actually did, at least for Will. His cousin had a lot of great qualities but sharing wasn’t one of them. It probably drove Will nuts, having to share Nico with this guy, even if they were just friends.

          “So I guess this would be easier to deal with if this Jackson guy was a dick.” Dean thought out loud. If the guy was a told asshole, then Will would have every right to hate him. But if this Percy guy was actually a nice person then Will couldn’t hate him, he was forced to like him even if he didn’t want to. No wonder Will was freaking out, Dean thought, it was heavy stuff. “But dude, who actually ends up with their first crush?” He questioned trying to look on the bright side.

          Will turned and blinked at him before replying plainly. “I did.”

          “Wait, really?” Dean questioned his surprise more evident than was really necessary. Now that Will was out, Dean didn’t really have a hard time with the idea that Will liked guys. Actually, looking back, it made a lot of sense. But he was still struggling a little bit with matching his cousin with his dark and brooding boyfriend. They just didn’t seem like a natural match, so the idea that Nico was Will’s first real crush was still surprising.

          “There was just something about Nico.” Will explained wistfully. “There was always something about Nico, since the moment he showed up at camp.” he smirked at whatever memory was playing in his mind. “I just couldn’t take my eyes off him.” he sighed and his shoulders slumped. “I can’t compete with Percy Jackson.”

          “Do you have to?” Dean questioned sincerely “You and Nico are already together. You already won.”

          Will was staring off toward the other side of the kitchen and Dean doubted he actually heard a word he had said. “I can’t lose Nico.” He stated.

          “Alright, let’s not catastrophize just yet.” Dean insisted once again thinking how weird it was that he was playing the voice of reason. Normally Will was the voice of reason and Dean was the emotionally impulsive one. “You guys had a fight, you said some stupid stuff.”

          “I accused him of being a whore.” Will stated flatly “Nico’s words, not mine.”

          “Yeah, that’s not great.” Dean had to admit.

          “I’m aware” Will admitted.

          “But like Nico seems to…. you know… really love you or whatever.” Dean felt like he was a stammering idiot. He really didn’t think Nico was going to break up with Will. He might be pissed off for a while. He had pretty much already told that to Will in every way he knew how and Will didn’t seem to process it. “I’m sure you guys will work it out.”

          “You’ve never seen Nico mad.” Will stated firmly.

          “Yeah, I’m sure he’s a pocket-sized hulk.” Dean stated with an eye roll. Being reassuring wasn’t helping the situation at all. He decided to try a different tactic. Even if it didn’t work they were things Will needed hear anyways. “Alright, so I’m going to put something out there and you have to promise not to hate me or hit me.”

          “Why would I hate you?” Will questioned with clear confusion. “Or hit you?”

          “Cause what I have to say you’re not going to like it” he stated before continuing. He wanted to justify what he was going to say even before he said it. That was probably not a good thing Dean realized, but it was too late to turn back. “I like Nico, I really do. He seems smart, he shares my deep appreciation of pie, and he pretty much turned you into an incoherent puddle on Thanksgiving which was hilarious.”

          “The whipped cream thing was so …. unfair.” Will stated although Dean saw the little grin that tugged at the edge of his cousin’s lips.

          “It was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a while.” Dean corrected which was an understatement to say the least. Dean had never seen Will speechless before. Sure he had seen his cousin stay quiet but never truly speechless. Watching Will sputter and practically gasp for air might go down as one of the funniest things Dean had seen all year. “But back on point. Nico seems like a cool guy but if you two broke up it wouldn’t be the end of the world.”

          Will tilted his head and examined Dean critically for a moment. “What are you saying?”

          “Dude I don’t want that to happen, but if it did it wouldn’t be that big of a deal.” He reiterated.

          “You remember how you asked me not to hit you?” Will questioned “You still want that you should probably stop talking.”

          “I’m not saying it wouldn’t suck” Dean stated. “Dude it would suck! I remember breaking up with my first girlfriend and the first girl I ever had sex with and both break-ups sucked. But you get past it. It takes time but you do get over it.”

          “Why are you saying this?” Will practically growled.

          Dean sighed “Because the statistics on teenage romance says you’re going to have to face it eventually and I don’t want you to be blindsided.”

          “Nico and I aren’t like that!” Will argued and didn’t know if Will was on the verge of crying or hitting him. “We’re not just another stupid teen romance.”

          “Yeah everyone wants to think that, like their relationship is the stuff of legion and epic poetry but…well remember those statistics I mentioned?” Dean felt himself pulling back like he was bracing himself for the blunt impact of a fist.

          None came, instead next to him Will scrambled to his feet. “I can’t do this.” Will stated.

          “I know it’s hard to hear.” Dean continued swallowing down his own guilt as he moved to push of the floor.

          “No,” Will replied “I think I’m going to be sick.” With that Will was stumbled from the kitchen toward the downstairs bathroom.

          “And we’re back to panic attacks and dry heaving.” Dean commented aloud to himself. Dean remembered a few times that year he had been especially concerned about Will having PTSD or some anxiety disorder. He was pretty sure Will had had a few panic attacks, and the dry heaving was something that seemed to crop up with the random freak outs. He sighed “Felix might be right about him being a delicate flower.”

          When he heard the bathroom door fly open and then slam shut Dean slumped back down on the floor. He stared at the mess around him. A can of chicken broth rolled passed his foot like a tumble weed which would have been funny under different circumstances. Dean considered starting to clean up but decided against it. Will should have to help, after all how else would he learn.

          He didn’t notice Will’s golden iphone amongst the clutter until it rang. Well, it didn’t actually ring because it was Will’s phone, and Will hated ringtones. Instead Will assigned everyone their own song that played whenever they called. Will said it was nice to be able to differentiate who was calling. Dean used to find it annoying until Will made his song Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas, then he warmed to the idea.

          He didn’t know the name of the song it was playing now, although he had heard it plenty. A female voice which was both muted and powerful which made her sound otherworldly sang over a slow beat. There were other sounds that pointed to more of the techno genre which Dean didn’t even think Will listened to. It was more peaceful then Dean thought techno had any right to be. He found himself listening for longer than he needed to _._

 _Could we stay right here_  
                Until the end of time until the earth stops turning  
                Gonna love you until the seas run dry

          The women sang and by the third line there really wasn’t any questioned who was calling. Dean scooped the phone off the floor anyway. The screen read Death Boy and Dean couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “God Will, that is the weirdest pet name of all time.” He declared before swiping his finger across the screen and bringing it to his ear.

          Dean had barely sucked in a breath in the preparation of speaking before Nico stated speaking in his distinctive voice. Dean wouldn’t describe it as an accent but there was a hint of something in the way he said things. It sounded liked the words simply rolled off his tongue better than they did with other people. The first time Dean really noticed it was Thanksgiving and his first thought was _Poor Will_. The fact that Will got a hard-on every time the guy talking in Italian wasn’t all that surprising. The fact that he didn’t get a hard-on every time he talked was.

          “Before you say anything I know I hung up and I know I said….I promised I wouldn’t do that anymore but….” Nico spoke quickly and nervously. Dean realized it probably made him a bad person but he was glad to hear him nervous. Nervous meant this wasn’t a break-up call. People sounded self-righteous, or resigned during a break-up, not nervous.

          Dean cut him off before he could say something too personal. These were words meant for Will and not him. “Yeah this is Dean not Will, sorry.” He apologized as he pushed off the floor and started toward the downstairs bathroom.

          “What?” Nico questioned on the other end of the line. The fact that he wasn’t particularly happy with that development was more than evident in his voice. “Where’s Will?”

          “He’s” Dean started as he stopped outside the bathroom door. There was the distinct sound of dry heaving coming from within. Vomiting wasn’t sexy so Dean figured it would be best to leave out the details. “indisposed”

          “What does that mean?” Nico asked with force. Sure it was a question but Dean didn’t really feel like he had any kind of choice when it came to answering.

          Dean let out an involuntary sigh. “Honestly, he’s throwing up.”

          “What!?!?” Nico practically screamed, his voice was filled with pure panic. “Is he okay?” Nico asked and Dean realized what was in his voice was beyond panic. That was the voice of someone who was experiencing the kind of love that inspired epic poetry. _Shit, Will was right._

          “Yeah, it’s an anxiety thing” he replied dismissively not wanting to make it out to be a big thing. “He used to do it a lot.”

          “What’s he anxious about?” Nico asked sounding a bit confused. Dean could understand that, Will really didn’t seem like the anxious type.

          “The same thing that always has him in knots lately” He replied trying not to sound irritated even though he was. “You”

          The was a long silence before Nico spoke. “Can I talk to him?”

          “Yeah” Dean shrugged “Hearing you’re on the phone might calm him down. You seem to mellow him out.”

          “ _I_ mellow _Will_ out?” Nico questioned with clear disbelief. Dean didn’t get why that was surprising Nico seemed like a mellow type guy. Maybe not particularly social but not as tightly wound as his over-achieving cousin could be. He wasn’t going to question it.

          Dean’s hand was half way to the bathroom door prepared to knock when he paused. “Before I give you over to Will can I say something?”

          “Yeah, I guess.” Nico replied sounding unsure.

          “I don’t know how much Will told you about us growing up.” He admitted “About my dad or any of that.” If Dean was being honest he hoped Will had kept that stuff to himself. The fact that Dean’s dad not only sucked at being a dad but also sucked at being an adult in general was not something Dean liked people to know. “But Will is more like my brother than my cousin.” Actually they were probably closer than a lot of brothers were. “And I hate to sound like a cliché but if you hurt him I’ll beat your ass.” He stated plainly. It wasn’t personally it was just one of those things you did for family. “I know I don’t have your kung fu skills but I know a few guys that I could probably convince to help.”

          “If I ever hurt Will, I’ll let you.” Nico replied seriously “Back up won’t be necessary.”

          “Glad we have that all cleared up.” Dean admitted before adding. “Also having seen you in action I’m still getting Wash and Watts to help if it comes to it.”

          “You really didn’t see much of what I can do.” Nico replied with a bit of a laugh, like the fact that Dean thought the little thing at the café was anything was amusing. That wasn't particularly reassuring considering Dean had watched drive a guy that was easily twice his weight into a wall hard enough force to break his nose. “You can probably get Felix too depending on what you’re willing to do.” Nico offered.

          “Yeah, but who really wants to blow Felix?” Dean joked.

          “So Will told you?” Nico questioned sounding serious which was confusing.

          “Told me what?” Dean replied. He seriously didn’t get why no one seemed to find that joke funny.

          “That Felix has a thing for you.” Nico answered.

          Dean’s jaw dropped and his eyes bulged involuntarily. He sputtered for a minute before he remembered how to form words. “Felix has a what for who now?”

          “Um…..” Nico hummed nervously on the other end of the line. Dean wanted to scream for him to explain or say he was joking. Nervous humming meant he was serious but what did that mean!

          The bathroom door opened and Will leaned against the doorframe. “Dean, why are you still here?” He questioned “Is that my phone?”

          “What? Yeah” Dean responded somewhat numbly. To be honest he was still stuck on the whole Felix thing. “It’s Nico”

          “Give” Will ordered but didn’t actually wait for Dean to hand the phone over, instead pulling it from his hand. He pressed the device to his ear. “Nic, I’m so sorry, I’m so so sorry. I swear I’m going to learn a second language so I can apologize in that language too.” Will apologized quickly. “I don’t even know why I said those things. I didn’t mean them Nic I…”

          Will stopped talking clearly listening carefully to Nico talking on the other end of the call. He smiled and he started to blush. “Yeah, of course. I’ll only call you Nic during bedroom activities for now on.”

          Dean rolled his eyes and shook his head. Well, at least they had appeared to have made up if they were already talking about sex. Will, still grinning, made a shoeing gesture at him as he lied “No, he left.”

          “Fine” Dean hissed as he started to walk away. He didn’t really want to be present for the make-up phone call anyways “But I’m not cleaning the kitchen up by myself.”

Will-

          Will leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom and watched his cousin walk away. He was aware he probably owed Dean an apology or twelve for his overall bad mood lately, just like he was aware he needed to brush his teeth. The whole thing was his own fault and he knew it. He should have just talked to Nico about his concerns, his fears when it came to Percy but he didn’t. Instead, he pretended like he was fine and that it didn’t bother him. How many times in their relationship could Will fairly complain about Percy?

          And then he started having those damned dreams. At first they were just these weird fuzzy images of Nico and Percy kissing. Over the course of about a week they became increasingly graphic until the contents would probably make those in the porn industry blush. Seriously, which ever god was responsible for those should suffer an eternity in Tartarus.

          So Will lost his mind a little bit but it wasn’t like it was just the dreams that got to him, they just pushed him over the edge. They way Percy could be with Nico in real life wasn’t much better. He was always asking Nico about sex. That could have just been general curiosity but he didn’t do that with anyone else as far as Will was aware. And he always acted like Nico should just drop everything else and hang out with him which maybe was just an impulsivity thing but…..

          And then there was the time where Percy had walked in on them actually having sex. He didn’t even have the decency to act embarrassed. He actually had the nerve to say they looked hot which…..Alright, Will had always figured he and Nico looked good together. They both own their own were attractive and then there was the fact that their coloring contrasted so much. Plus Nico made the most beautiful faces in the throws of passion. And Percy didn’t have a whole lot of shame when it came to the topic of sex in general so he may have been being honest but still…

          After all that Will hears Percy has permission from Annabeth to have sex with a guy, he doesn’t invite Will to his bachelor party, and he immediately calls Nico- What was Will supposed to think? Okay, so the lack of an invitation thing happened before Annabeth had said anything, and Austin had said while Percy was asking a lot of sex questioned he didn’t seem interested in sex with Nico….

          Yeah, okay Will could see he had blown things way, WAY out of proportion. He really should have just talked to Nico about this right away and avoided looking like a wildly jealous, irrational ass hat. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

          Nico sighed heavily on the other end of the line “Will do you really not trust me?”

          The question hurt, the way Nico asked it hurt more. Will was positive he had earned worse boyfriend of the year award- maybe even the decade. “Nico, I do trust you.” He stated with conviction “I really do. I don’t know why I get so freaked out sometimes when it comes to Percy but I do.” Will sighed “When I heard the whole deal thing with Annabeth, all these irrational fears just came bubbling to the surface of my mind. Instead of recognizing them as irrational I just let them play in my head and get worse.” He pressed his head back against the doorjam “And then I acted like a crazy person.”

          “Really crazy person? That’s what you’re going with?” Nico questioned. His tone wasn’t angry but it was mocking “You don’t think that’s a bit of an understatement, and a bit kind?”

          “Probably, but the only other words I could think of involve cursing.” Will admitted.

          “Will I don’t want Percy.” Nico stated firmly before adding “In any way, shape, or form.”

          “I know” Will stated because he did. He knew Nico didn’t want Percy or at least the rational part of his brain did. Unfortunately the irrational, overly possessive, overly jealous part of his brain wasn’t convinced. “I just…..I guess I don’t have a frame of reference so I just don’t understand.” Will admitted. He remembered what Dean had said about ending up with your first crush. No one did that, except for Will apparently.

          “Was that sentence supposed to make sense?” Nico asked, and he actually sounded a little amused which was probably a good sign. “I don’t thing that sentence made sense.”

          “I just….I know you had a crush on Percy and I know you’re over it but I’ve never really done that.” Will felt like he was failing terribly at explaining himself. “You were my first real crush, and I ended up with you so I don’t know what it’s like to get over a crush.”

          “I was really your first real crush?” Nico questioned sounding skeptical.

          “Yes” Will huffed “Why does everyone find that so hard to believe?”

          “Because you’re you, and I’m me” Nico answered “and I was-”

          “The dark, mysterious, brooding hero?” Will questioned before adding with a dismissive huff. “Really, I didn’t have a chance, how could I _not_ fall for you?”

          “Maybe crazy person was an accurate description after all.” Nico commented. Will heard him take a large breath like he was steeling himself for what he was going to say next and any comment he had about Nico being self-deprecating died. “Will I don’t even know if you can call the feelings I had for Percy a crush. It was more like hero-worship with a dash of self-loathing thrown into the mix.” Nico sighed “I remember how tied up in knots I was by it but looking back it seems so…….silly.”

          “Oh” Will stated with understanding. The pause felt like it was filled with the expectation that he speak but he really didn’t know what to say. He knew Nico was telling him this to be reassuring and he knew Nico was telling him the truth but he wasn’t sure if it actually helped.

          “And I don’t know if this matters but I never thought about Percy _in that way_.” Nico stated.

          “In what way?” Will questioned being purposefully thick. He was sure he knew what Nico meant but part of him (a larger part than he was proud of) wanted to hear Nico say the actual words.

          “You’re really going to make me say it?” Nico asked sounding slightly annoyed and very uncomfortable.

          “Say what?” Will questioned playing dumb “I just want to understand what you’re saying.”

          Nico groaned on the other end of the line. “I never thought about Percy sexually.” He huffed after stressing the word sexually. “I honestly don’t know if I could, it would be too weird, and I wouldn’t want to try.” Nico made a noise that Will recognized as the sound that accompanied a shutter. Will couldn’t stop himself from smiling. Part of him thought he should be recording this conversation so he could listen to it whenever crazy-jealous Will threatened to make an appearance. “The first real person, the _only_ real person, I’ve ever thought about that way is you.”

          “Really?” Will questioned his excitement and pleasure at the thought filled his voice in spite his best efforts to contain it.

          “Yes!” Nico huffed “How is it that you start a completely idiotic fight and I end up stroking your ego?” Nico was clearly trying to sound annoyed but he had missed by about a mile so he sounded amused and playful.

          Will grinned, _they were okay_. “If you were here I would be happy to be the one doing the stroking.” he offered suggestively “Of course I would want to be hands-on if you know what I mean.”

          Nico laughed, like a genuine laugh, and Will’s heart skipped a beat with pure joy. “Yes, Will I know what you mean.”

          “Hey, clarity is important Nic.” Will retorted. Nico’s comment from early come to mind and he decided to ask “Do I really only call you Nic during fights or sex?”

          “Yeah, pretty much” Nico replied simply “It can make fights a bit confusing.”

          “How come you’re always the one to notice these things?” Will questioned.

          “Because I’m observant while you’re just horny.” Nico retorted.

          “Oh yes, I’m the only one that is ever horny.” Will stated sarcastically.

          “Didn’t say that” Nico replied his voice taking on a huskier quality “Are you really alone right now.”

          Will could practically feel all the blood in his body change course and head for his groin. Now he knew Nico probably meant was he alone in the house. Will figured he could settle for alone in the bathroom with the door closed. He was just about to say something to that effect when the sounds of cleaning- more specifically the sounds of Dean cleaning up his mess- came from the kitchen. “Not really, although I really wish I were.”

          “Please tell me Dean has not been standing there the whole time we talked.” Nico questioned seriously “Because I may die”

         “No, he’s in the kitchen.” Will sighed “I should probably go help him considering I’ve been a kind of impossible person lately. You know, because of being crazy.” Will heard Nico huff and took that as a sign of understand, even if it was annoyed understanding. “But whatever you had in mind, I say really hoping for phone sex, can we do it later?”

         “Can I shadow-travel to see you?” Nico asked flatly.

         “Oh I feel guilty but not that guilty” Will replied. He wanted to say yes, he desperately wanted to say yes. The only thing that stopped him was he had no idea how he would explain Nico's sudden appearance to his mother.

          Nico huffed “It would be more fun. Make-up sex is always more fun in person.”

          “Well obviously.” Will didn’t see the pointed of arguing when Nico was so clearly right. “But it drains you, and if my mom found out she would freak.” Will grinned to himself before he added. “I promise the next time we are together, like really together, I’ll bottom.”

          “That was a given Will.” Nico pointed out dismissively leaving the ‘after that fight you will bottom for life’ unspoken before conceding. “Fine, later.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright-
> 
> This is all from Dean’s perspective so some of the things he prescribes to Will having PTSD are more likely just symptoms of Will being a demigod who knows that seriously bad shit is going on. Also some of the things he prescribes to Will and Nico dating (that can make them seem a little co-dependent and unhealthy) have more to do with the recent defeat of Gaia and the low monster activity.
> 
> Will has to have some emotional trauma from everything he has seen and survived. Just saying I would think all the demigods that survived the battle of the Labyrinth, the battle of Manhattan, and the Battle of Camp Half-Blood would have some trauma.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, and I'll return to the main cast next week.


	30. Poor Frank

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Sunday friends
> 
> Sorry this chapter feels short after last week :)
> 
> Back to the POV of the main cast (Frank/Hazel)
> 
> This chapter marks the start of the three to four chapter epic that is bachelor party/the girls dress shopping- so if you have hopes or burning desires for those chapters now would be the time to tell me.
> 
> Due to a variety of factor I will likely not be posting the next chapter of Outtakes this Wednesday (apologizes). But I will be back Sunday with the next chapter of NL and will return with the next chapter of Outtakes the following Wednesday.

Frank had woken up early more out of habit than anything else. As a Praetor he was used to having to get up early today being a weekend didn’t change that. He got up and got dressed figuring he could go practice archery a little before he met the others.

He was just about to grab his bow when he heard his door creak open. He turned to see Hazel tiptoeing through the door and carefully shutting the door behind her. She turned and met his gaze and smiled brightly. Her gold eyes twinkled happily, her honey colored hair hung lose framing her chocolate-y skin like a halo. “Hey you” She greeted.

Frank wanted to be happy to see her, and he was but at the same time he was concerned. “Hazel! You can’t be in here.” He protested even though this was far from the first time Hazel had snuck into his room for a visit. “You could get caught.”

Hazel seemed unfazed by the idea as she crossed the room quietly. “Well then it’s a good thing my boyfriend is the Praetor.” She mused before pushing up on her toes and placing a light kiss on his lips. “He can keep me out of trouble.”

“What if ….. if someone comes looking for you?” Frank questioned with a nervous glance toward his door. It remained closed but Frank was suspicious.

“Who?” Hazel questioned. She tilted her head to one side and smiled at him knowingly. “Nico?”

“Well yeah” Frank admitted reluctantly as he settled down on his bed. Hazel sat down next to him and Frank was careful to keep a respectable distance between them, just in case. “He still looks like he wants to murder me and it’s been over a week since ….” Frank paused looking for the right way to say it.

“He walked in on us kissing.” Hazel offered.

“Yes” Frank sighed heavily, guessing that was probably the best way to say it. The whole thing had been Frank’s worst fears come to life. He and Hazel had snuck off to a quieter place around camp Jupiter so they could have a moment to themselves. It wasn’t something they did often. After all they both had responsibilities around camp, but when they did do it, it was nice.

They, of course, had started kissing because Hazel was pretty, and had great lips, and was an amazing kisser. Frank got lost in the kissing. He didn’t really remember how Hazel had ended up straddling his lap. Or how his hands had ended up under her blouse and pressed against the small of her back for that matter.

That was how Nico had found them, and the look on his face had been pure murder. At the moment Frank was sure he was dead right on the spot and to be honest he wasn’t entirely sure how he had survived.

“He was a bit taken a back in the moment” Hazel admitted with a shrug before adding “but he’s fine now.”

“Have you seen the way he has been looking at me?” He asked incredulously.

“Frank, that’s just how Nico looks.” Hazel laughed placing an assuring hand on Frank’s knee. “He has a natural glare, it’s nothing personal.”

Even before he had dreamed of dating Hazel Frank had been well aware of the ambassador of Pluto’s glare. He shook his head, the looks he had been getting were worse than that. “This has been a lot more intense than usual and it feels personal.”

Hazel waved her hand at him dismissively. “Well he had that fight with Will so you can’t be surprised he’s a little moody.”

“They made up later that same day.” Frank pointed out flatly. Yeah, Nico and Will had definitely had a fight which had made the murderous look so much worse. However, after a private talk with Hazel, Nico had called Will. When Nico had returned, he was all smiles. Then there was Christmas, whatever had happened there. They had DEFINITELY made up was all Frank was saying.

“Yeah, but Nico’s sensitive.” Hazel stated dismissively. Frank didn’t think sensitive was really the right word to use when describing the son of Hades. Moody, intimidating, and terrifying sure, not sensitive. Hazel leaned in a placed a soft kiss on his Frank and he forgot what he wanted to say. “Now, enough about my brother.” Hazel declared firmly.

This time Frank leaned in and met her in a kiss. It was chaste but still nice and Frank wanted to sigh contently from it. But more so he didn’t want to stop kissing Hazel. For a long moment, Frank’s mind went blank. The only thing he was aware of was the feel of Hazel’s soft lips and the smell of her skin; honey and cinnamon.

The moment was peaceful until a memory came pressing to the front of Frank’s love-hazed mind. He bowed his head and broke the kiss, aware of the tiny huff sound that escaped Hazel’s lips. “Aren’t we supposed to meet everyone for breakfast?” he questioned.

“We have time.” Hazel retorted. She was probably right, Frank had woken up early. The others were all on vacation from school and had taken to meeting up later in the morning. Breakfast could just as easily be called brunch or even just an early lunch.

“But what if Nico comes looking for you before?” He asked nervously. It wasn’t a completely crazy idea, after all that was pretty much how he had caught them last time. “You know, for brother sister time.”

Hazel smiled at him like he had said something really amusing. “That would involve my brother to wake up before 10 am which is unlikely.” She assured. “He’s not exactly what you would call a morning person.”

“Right.” Frank nodded. Considering every time, they met up with the others for breakfast Nico would be the last to show up. Usually looking like, he had just woken up, and grumbling about it being too early, he knew Hazel was right. Frank still felt worried.

“Frank, I promise you my brother is currently passed out in his ambassador suit and he will be for a while yet.” She assured “We are in no danger of him walking in on us.” Hazel moved closer to him on the bed so there was no longer a respectable amount of distance between them. Actually, she left no real distance between them at all. “Relax.”

“Are you sure?” Frank asked still nervous but Hazel was so close to him he wanted to forget being worried. He wanted to forget everything that wasn’t her presence.

Hazel smiled brightly at him. “Positive.” She declared before pressing her lips against his own.

All the tension in him melted away as they kissed. How could Frank worry about anything when he was kissing Hazel, perfect, beautiful Hazel. He let his hands run along the curve of her sides before coming to rest at her waist. He felt Hazel’s fingers brush up and down his chest and stomach.

The moment was so tranquil they both got lost in it. So absorbed in each other that neither of them seemed to react to the loud knock at the door. It wouldn’t have mattered if they had because the sound hadn’t finished resonating through the small room when the door flew open.

“Alright bro we need to….” Percy declared as he entered the room. He paused when his eyes settled on Frank and Hazel on the bed. Frank could feel himself blushing terribly as he moved on the bed to put some distance between himself and Hazel. He averted his eyes because of course Percy hadn’t been alone. Behind the son of Poseidon was Jason, Leo, Grover, and _Nico_. “wow”

“Sorry” Jason and Grover said together both sounding genuinely apologetic

“Nice!” Leo exclaimed with a large grin actually giving a thumbs-up.

Nico growled, he actually growled. Frank was positive he was going to die, there was no way one lived after the son of Hades growled at you.

“Hi guys” Frank greeted weekly.

“Hey” Percy smiled as he greeted him back “We were stopping by to discuss the plans for tonight.” He explained “But you guys look busy. We can come back later.”

“We will NOT!” Nico exclaimed forcefully looking at Percy like he may actually kill the demigod for suggesting such a thing.

“It’s alright” Hazel stated with a smile. Frank couldn’t understand how she could be so smile-y and happy when they had just been caught kissing by her brother, again. She hopped to her feet. “You have guy stuff to discuss I don’t want to get in the way.” She stated as she started toward the door. “I’ll see you guys in a little bit.” She paused at the door and patted Nico on chest before speaking to him. “Remember to play nice.”

“If I make it quick, does that count as nice.” Nico retorted darkly. Frank wanted to hide or run but knew both would be useless.

Hazel laughed, a genuinely amused laugh “I walked in on you and Will doing a lot worse.” She reminded.

Nico huffed but some of the dark aura that surround him and seemed to radiate malevolence when he was angry seemed to lessen. Frank to a breath with a bit more ease, maybe he would survive this after all. “That was different.” Nico defended.

“Will’s hands were on your-” Hazel began.

Nico groaned and shifted uncomfortable. “I remember where his hands were.”

“If they had their clothes on” Percy interjected “I’ve walked in on them doing way worse.”

The dark aura flared up again as Nico quickly put his hands over Hazel’s ears. The violent energy was directed solely at Percy this time “Shut up Jackson!”

“I hate to break this to you Nico.” Leo declared grinning wildly “But I don’t think Hazel is naïve enough to think you’re still a virgin.”

Hazel chuckled and moved her brother’s hands from her ears. “Leo’s right” she stated patting Nico on the chest again. “And you know the old adage about people in glass houses, so play nice.” Nico sputtered at her, looking frustrated, annoyed, and embarrassed all at once. Hazel ignored her brother and waved to the rest of them “Have fun, I’ll see you at breakfast.”

With that Hazel was gone and Frank was once again the center of attention. He had gotten used to being a leader, as Praetor he had too. He still wasn’t comfortable being the center of social attention. On the battle field was one thing, this was completely different.

“Hey Frank” Leo grinned. Inwardly Frank cringed. Valdez speaking meant a joke that would probably make Frank uncomfortable was coming. “does this mean I have to call you abuelo now?”

“That wasn’t what it looked like.” Frank defended weakly. Nico growled again and Frank reflexive shrank back.

“What are you, a Hellhound?” Percy questioned turning to Nico with a curious but amused look before he told him. “Calm down.”

“Yeah, we just caught Frank here with his hands on my abuela.” Leo stated rather unhelpfully Frank thought. “If anyone should be upset it’s me.”

“Not helping Valdez” Frank pointed out. Nico growled yet again. Maybe Nico was a hellhound, Frank thought rather unhelpfully. Now he was sure he was going to have nightmares about his girlfriend’s brother turning into a hellhound and eating him alive. Fantastic!

“Seriously Nico I realize Hazel is your little sister but bro I know what you did last summer.” Percy declared. “You really don’t have the right to pay the guard dog to anyone’s virtue.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nico responded crossing his hands over his chest defensively.

“Whenever you and Will were together we were just happy you kept your clothes on in public.” Leo responded with a shrug.

“Yeah cause we all know you weren’t in private.” Percy added.

Nico turned red, and squirmed uncomfortably but still managed to glare at Percy and Leo. Frank was going to have to ask how he did that. How he could be both embarrassed and angry at the same time, it seemed like a handy skill.

“Maybe I should go dress shopping with the girls?” Frank offered. He didn’t think spending the evening with Nico after he had caught Frank and Hazel together again was a particularly good idea.

“Nonsense” Percy dismissed. “You’re going to come have fun with us”

“Nico’s not going to hurt you” Jason added reassuringly

“I promise nothing” Nico grumbled.

“Alright in hindsight Austin might have been right. I probably should have invited Will.” Percy admitting eyeing Nico critically

“You just now realized this?” Nico asked with clear annoyance.

“Yeah, then you would be too distracted doing inappropriate hand stuff under the table to worry about murdering the guy that groped your sister.” Percy stated with a grin.

Nico’s eyes went impossibly wide and his face turned bright red. “I…..Wha….I would never!” The son of Hades sputtered desperately trying and failing to find the words. Frank felt a little bad for him but at the same time the whole display made him seem less intimidating.

“What?” Percy questioned seriously but he was grinning. “So you’re saying Will would be doing the hand stuff?” Percy shook his head with disapproval and made a tsk noise. “Dude that’s a bit selfish, you should give as you get.”

“I hate you” Nico declared flatly

“Get a new line dude” Percy laughed “We both know you don’t.”

“I don’t particularly like you right now.” Nico retorted heated. “We are not spending the whole day talking about my personal life.”

“Don’t you mean your sex life?” Leo corrected with a laugh.

“I will hit you.” Nico hissed.

“Don’t worry, we aren’t going to spend the whole time talking about your sex life.” Percy reassured. “There’s everyone else’s sex lives to talk about too.”

  
Hazel

The whole group met at a great breakfast place in the center of New Rome which was close to the university. When Hazel arrived Annabeth, Piper, Reyna, and Calypso were already there. The boys arrived about five minutes after she had. Frank had rushed to the chair at her side. He clearly looking to put some distance between himself and Nico. Her brother was glaring more intensely in Frank’s general direction. Hazel largely ignored it but made a mental note to speak to Nico before the night’s festivities.

Everyone placed their orders and exchanged pleasantries as they waited for their food to arrive.

“So ladies” Leo asked over his huevos rancheros “What are your exciting plans for the evening?”

“You mean while you lot are pickling your livers in copious amounts of alcohol?” Calypso questioned with a knowing smile directed at Leo

“Yup” Leo replied with a smile of his own. Hazel liked Leo and Calypso together, they seemed just perfect for one another. It was almost enough to make her forgive Leo for dying, almost.

“We’re going to taste cakes.” Hazel informed excited. The little bakery Annabeth had found was known for making the most delicious cakes.

“I like cake” Nico pointed out. He took a large bite of bacon and chewed before adding “Can I go with the girls instead?” He dropped the half-eaten piece of bacon to his plate. “I’m gay so I’m practically one of the girls.” he joked.

Hazel didn’t know if she should be surprised or proud to hear her brother joke like that. After he had first told people he was gay, Nico treated the topic of his sexuality rather defensively. Now he seemed so casual with the topic, so comfortable with who he was. A year ago he probably would have hit someone for making a joke like that.

“Dude, we are going to have an awesome night.” Percy insisted. Nico just blinked back at his friend, clearly unconvinced.

“You can come with us Nico.” Piper answered sweetly “After the cake sampling we going to try on Wedding dresses.”

“You do have good taste.” Annabeth agreed “I would love your input.”

“And you can help us get Annabeth into the different dresses.” Piper stated. “Some of the dresses are big and you need multiple people.”

A look of distaste spread across Nico’s face. “I’ll pass.”

Annabeth grinned triumphantly. “I had a feeling you were going to say that.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll send pictures.” Piper promised with a sincere smile.

“Please don’t” Nico stated flatly.

“What’s are all of you going to be doing?” Reyna asked curiously.

“I thought we already established we’ll be drinking large quantities of alcohol?” Leo questioned

“Yeah but where?” Reyna clarified.

“Some bar” Jason stated before turning to Percy. “Right Percy?”

“Yup” Percy agreed.

“In New Rome?” Reyna questioned her voice taking on a more critical edge. Out of all of them Reyna probably knew New Rome the best. She probably would at least be familiar with where ever the boys were going.

“Yeah, one of the guys at the café recommended it.” Percy confirmed before taking a large bite of his blueberry waffles with blueberry syrup.

“Please tell me not Cal” Annabeth questioned with a sudden concerned look.

“No, Rory” Percy assured.

“Oh” Annabeth seemed to let go of some tension “That should be fine than.”

Frank eyed Percy nervously. Hazel understood it, Percy was a bit more adventurous than Frank. She was sure Percy would get them into something by the end of the night. Frank would be better off just going with it. She knew Frank better than that though. “What’s the name of this place?” he asked.

“I don’t know off the top of my head.” Percy replied quickly which didn’t make Hazel believe him. “Don’t worry you guys are going to love it.”

Frank turned to Hazel looking downright terrified. It was kind of cute but Hazel wasn’t going to tell Frank that. “Can I go dress shopping?” he asked.

“Sorry, girls only.” Hazel stated with a shrug.

“And gays” Piper added.

“I should have invited Will.” Annabeth declared which Hazel had to admit was at least partially related to the conversation at hand. It did get Hazel wondering.

“You mean the gay that simple refuses to own a single pair of flip flops that match his camp Half-Blood t-shirt?” Piper questioned skeptically.

“Piper” Reyna laughed “I think your daughter of Aphrodite is showing.”

“Love Will” Piper defended “Just find his taste questionable”

“Except when it comes to men” Calypso added dryly “Out of all of us he clearly has the best taste in men.”

“Hey!” Leo protested with fake offense.

“Well, obviously.” Piper agreed.

This time it was Jason who protested. “Hey!”

“Why isn’t Will here?” Hazel questioned. She had asked this already but had yet to get a satisfactory answer.

“I was hoping to finally met this son of Apollo.” Reyna admitted. Hazel knew Reyna was withholding her stamp of approval on Will until she met him. Hazel had more than assured her that Will was amazing and great for Nico. Reyna just needed to see that for herself, but Hazel had no doubt she would.

“He had soccer” Nico stated dismissively.

“Translation” Annabeth offered. “My finance is acting like a five-year-old who doesn’t want to share his friend’s attention. When Will’s around he has to share Nico’s attention. So no Will, you can yell at Percy.” She explained annoyed "Gods knows I have."

“It’s bro’s weekend” Percy defended “You know the saying bros before hoes.”

“Did you just call my boyfriend a hoe?” Nico questioned with annoyance.

“No” Percy replied quickly before correcting. “Well yeah, but not in a bad way.”

“There isn’t a good way to take that word, Percy” Nico pointed out his voice practically a growl.

“All I’m saying is you and Will aren’t married yet. You two aren't even living together.” Percy stated “You don’t have to do everything together.”

“So, you’re saying that if Will and I were living together you would have invited him.” Nico concluded. He sounded confident like he was weaving a trap and knew Percy would walk right into it.

“Yeah, sure” Percy shrugged “why not.”

“And you couldn’t have waited to have this stupid party over the summer, or next year.” Nico whined.

“Why would I wait?” Percy questioned with a grin. Then something seemed to hit him “Wait, are you saying you and Will are moving in together?”

Nico winced as he realized he had said something he hadn’t meant to. He glanced down at his half-finished breakfast. “Yeah, kind of.”

There were a lot of reactions all at once. Piper and Calypso squealed excitedly, Annabeth sipped her tea and said she saw "it coming". Jason immediately had questions (“when did this happen?”), Percy grinned and congratulated him.

“This seems fast.” Reyna stated flatly.

“Not really.” Percy retorted “I honestly had expected for Nico to come back from Tennessee married, so this is slow.” Reyna didn’t look particularly reassured by that statement.

“When!?!” Hazel questioned no longer able to contain her excitement.

“Um… when Will starts college in the fall” Nico replied quietly. “Can we not make a big deal out of this?”

“Sorry big deal looks to be the only game in town” Leo commented looking around the table of excited faces. Nico groaned and scrubbed at his face with his hands.

“Isn’t Will a junior?” Jason questioned confused.

“He’s taken extra classes over the last few years so technically he’s a senior.” Nico replied.

“So where are you guys going to live?” Annabeth questioned.

“Will has applied to the university here at New Rome, and Columbia in New York, and maybe a few others.” Nico shrugged “We’ll decide when he gets accepted.”

“Does this mean you two are engaged?” Piper questioned hopefully, asking the exact question Hazel had been dying to ask.

“No” Nico squirmed “We’re just going to live together.”

“Oh my gods, I’m so excited!” Hazel exclaimed officially unable to contain her excitement any longer. “I’m not even bothered that you two are planning to live in sin!”

"Hazel!" Annabeth laughed.

"What? I'm happy!" Hazel defended "Nico, this is so exciting!"

 "It's not a big deal" Nico squirmed.

"Sure, of course it isn't." Piper stated reaching across the table to pat Nico's arm sympathetically. "When you two decide to have kids, let me know. I would be happy to loan you use of my womb."

"Me too" Annabeth quickly agreed.

 Nico groaned loudly pushing his plate out of his way so he could drop his head to the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally can't write hot and steamy Frazel- I have no idea why.
> 
> Look! Grover exists!
> 
> Its not just Nico and Will who get barged in on.
> 
> I mention Christmas- It will be covered in outtakes
> 
> I read this headcannon where Leo calls Hazel his grandma in spanish because of the whole thing with Sammy. I liked it so that's what he is calling her in spanish Grandma.
> 
> Percy is lying when he says he doesn't remember the name of the bar
> 
> Everyone wish Nico a happy belated birthday! (It was yesterday 1/28)


	31. Gladiators

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday internet friends.
> 
> So here it is, the start of the Bachelor Party. So i originally envisioned the Bachelor party being 3 chapters, each chapter being two characters POV (Chap 1- Percy/Annabeth, Chap 2 Jason/Piper, Chap 3 Nico/Will). However so much is happening in each POV that it isn't really sustainable for me as a writer. I would rather continue to post each week and give you one POV per chapter than go to spastic posting schedule. So if this part of the story feels drawn out I'm sorry but I honest hope it makes it better.
> 
> That said there is some mild nsfw-ish content (like soooooo mild).
> 
> And no this is not the Jercy chapter. Since I know some people are uncomfortable with that idea I will very clearly warn people when that chapter comes.
> 
> I will be back to Outtakes this Wednesday. 
> 
> Enjoy

          Percy may have lied a little when he said he didn’t remember the name of the bar. He had it written down and memorized it, along with its address. He just was sure if any of his friends knew where he was planning on taking them they would have protested. And since several of them were familiar with New Rome, he thought it would be best to keep the information to himself. He didn't want anyone rabbiting before they even got there. The look on Nico’s face as they stood outside the bar suggested that the son of Hades was still very much a flight risk.

          The bar itself didn’t look like much. The building was styled after common Roman architecture. Percy knew that because of the months Annabeth had spent designing the Roman Baths for Camp Half-Blood. The name, _Gladiators_ , hung over the door and was well lit by torches. The only thing on the outside that seemed to suggest its clientele was the short line at the door; all men.

          “Percy what is this?” Grover questioned with a nervous sideways glance in his direction.

          “A bar” Percy replied simply, and truthfully. Gladiators was, in fact, a bar.

          “A gay bar?” Frank questioned looking more terrified then Grover.

          “No, well technically yes.” Percy replied keeping a close eye on his friends most likely to run. “But I like to think of it as a bar that caters heavily but not exclusively to men with certain interests”

          “Other man” Nico offered flatly. The son of Hades was openly glaring at him which Percy thought was a bit funny. Out of everyone he should have been the most okay with this type of place, after all he was gay.

          Since the news that Nico and Will were moving in together, he was thinking of this weekend as being Nico’s bachelor party as much as his own. At the rate he and Will were moving this time next year they were going to be married with a cute adopted baby.

          “Exactly” Percy replied brightly. Nico would lighten up with time, although he was still thinking he might have been better off if he had invited Will. Sure, it might have been a little weird but Will just seemed to have a way of getting Nico to do things, and lighten up.

          “You could have mentioned we were going to a gay bar.” Jason complained before looking down at his purple t-shirt with distaste. “I would have dressed better.”

          “I would have stayed at my hotel.” Nico grumbled.

          “And on behave of your straight friends,” Leo declared. He gestured to himself, Frank, and Grover. “I would have protested. This is not the kind of place where fun can be had by all.”

          “Jason, you look fine.” He promised. Seriously, what was Jason worried about? He was good-looking, clothes didn’t matter. Although he did appreciate that at least Jason’s mind was moving in the right direction. “Nico, you’ll have fun so stop pouting.” He ordered which only intensified Nico’s glare. He thought about reminding him that Will was off at some party in Tennessee having fun but thought better of it. “And sorry straight friends but my finance gave me a one-time pass to hook up with a guy and this increases my chances.” He informed without sympathy. Just because it was a gay bar didn’t mean they all couldn’t have fun, they would see. “Now let’s get a drink.” He declared starting for the door.

          “Percy, none of us are 21” Frank pointed out as they all began to follow Percy across the street to stand at the end of the line. Percy was kind of surprised, he figured at least one person would need to be physically dragged. “We’re not even getting in, let alone getting drinks.”

          “Frank has a point.” Jason agreed gravely.

          “Dude, we saved the world.” Percy reminded “We’ll get in.”

          The line moved quickly as the bouncer checked ids and waved people in. They had been waiting no more than two minutes before they were standing in front of the bouncer. The guy was a big beefy guy. Everything about him just screamed child of Mars except the tattoo on his arm bore the symbol of Ceres. The guy took one look at them and didn’t even ask for IDs instead declaring “Sorry, too young.” before waving them away.

          Percy was getting into this bar. He was determined, he didn’t move. “Yeah, but I know Rory.” He offered realized only after the words were out of his mouth how weak they were.

          “That’s nice” The bouncer stated with clear disinterest. “Still too young.”

          “But….” Percy tried to think of something else to say.

          “Out of luck” Nico stated, not hiding how happy he was by that fact as he grabbed Percy by the elbow. “So, let’s go Jackson” he stated urging Percy to move.

          Jason’s hands come to rest on his shoulders. “Yeah, Percy come on.”

          Percy had only taken a half step away when he noticed the bouncer look up at him again. “Percy Jackson?” he questioned not sounding impressed but at least mildly interested. There was hope, Percy thought as the bouncer seemed to take them in for a minute. His eyes zeroed in on Nico as he pointed out “You look familiar.”

          “I’m the ambassador of Pluto.” Nico replied uncertainly.

          “The am….Oh” The bouncer smiled with recognition and Percy was positive it had nothing to do with Pluto. “And is this your posse?”

          “Posse?” Nico questioned with clear confusion.

          “Yes, we are” Percy answered figuring he would explain what had happened to Nico once they were in the bar. “We are his posse.” he reiterated gesturing amongst the rest of his friends.

          “Alright, head on in.” The bounce ordered jutting his chin at the door. “Just try not to get in too much trouble.”

          “Right, yeah absolutely!” Percy promised with enthusiasm. He grabbed Nico by the elbow and started moving him toward the door. “Will do” He declared rushing through the door before the bouncer could change his mind. He trusted Jason to herd in the others behind him.

          “That was weird.” Nico muttered as Percy pulled him along.

          “Not really” Percy stated. It was funny how Nico seemed to forget that he was a model, it was less funny when you reminded him of the fact. Percy found it was best to just let him remember on his own.

          They walked through two sets of doors before they were actually in the bar itself. Percy wasn’t really sure what he had been expecting but it looked a lot like a regular bar. Not that Percy had been to a lot of bars but it was loud and poorly lit which seemed standard. The dance floor seemed larger then what he figured was normal and it looked pretty crowded. Yeah, this place looked like fun.

          “There are half-naked men dancing” Frank pointed out. He sounded a fun mix of frightened and appalled.

          “On tables” Grover added which Percy hadn’t noticed but he was right. On a few of the tables scattered around the dance floor and along the walls there were indeed shirtless man dancing. That was kind of awesome, some of the guys looked like that could be attractive.

          “And on the dance floor.” Jason pointed out enthusiastically. Again, Jason seemed to be the only one in the right spirit.

          “Apparently shirts are optional for the bartenders.” Leo noted before adding with dry sarcasm “That’s nice.”

          “The rainbow lighting under the bar is an interesting touch.” Nico stated sounding bored. Percy resisted the urge to goak at him, how could he be bored. “The one’s on the tables are probably employees.” The son of Hades informed matter-of-factly.

 _Well that was interest information_ , Percy thought to himself. He wondered how Nico, of all people, knew that. Apparently he wasn’t the only one to wonder because Jason questioned it. “How do you know that?”

          “Some of the other models I’ve worked with do it when they need cash.” Nico informed plainly. “I’m told it pays well.”

          “Right, I guess that makes sense.” Percy nodded. He couldn’t imagine Nico doing something like that. He also figured Nico was probably not your typical underwear models.

          “Should we find a table or get drinks first?” He asked before looking around with an amused sort of excitement. _Seriously_ , Percy thought to himself, _why was Jason the only one with the right attitude about this whole thing_. He was going to have to buy Jason a drink or something.

          “Table” Leo answered “We can always do what girls do and send people up in pairs.”

          “Good plan” Percy agreed “Let’s do that.”

          The group started to push their way through the crowd. It was difficult for all of two seconds before Nico growled. Once Nico was in the lead the crowd seemed to part with ease. Sure, more than a few guys’ eyes lingered on Nico as they passed but they got out of the way.

          “Why do girls do that?” Frank mused as Nico steered them toward a few empty tables not as close to the dance floor. "They travel in packs like wolves."

          “I think it’s a safety in numbers thing.” Percy replied.

          “Reyna doesn’t do that.” Nico pointed out “And neither does Annabeth or Piper for the most part.”

          “They don’t need to” Jason replied “They are their own numbers, like each one of them is a one women army.”

          “Here” Nico declared pointing to an empty table big enough for the six of them. They all picked a chair and took a seat. Nico grinned “Does it ever bother you that all of you are dating women that can fight a war single handedly while you hold their purses?”

          “Juniper isn’t like that.” Grover defended.

          “Actually, the fact that Annabeth is a complete badass is part of the turn on.” Percy pointed out before grinning back “Does it ever bother you to be dating a guy that acts like your mom?”

          “Will doesn’t-” Nico begin to protest.

          “No shadow travel Nico. Eat your vegetables Nico.” Percy interrupted doing his best Will impression. It wasn't very good but it got his point across. “Have you been sleeping Nico?”

          “He cares” Nico defended “It’s nice, I-”

          Nico clearly had more to say on the topic which made Percy grin. As much as he teased Percy liked how overprotective Will got with Nico, the kid deserved it. Percy liked to think Bianca would be relieved to see someone take care of her little brother that way.

          Nico didn’t get to continue listing why Will’s overprotectiveness was a good thing because a guy appeared at the side of their table. Based on the number of drinks he was carrying Percy was going to guess he was a waiter. “Complements of the guy in the white v-neck at the bar.” he declared vaguely gesturing over his shoulder toward the bar as he put a drink in front of Nico.

The waiter kept handing out drinks to the others. Percy should have thought was strange but the sheer confusion on Nico’s face had captured his attention. “What is it?” The son of Hades questioned.

          “Jack and coke.” The waiter replied pressing the now empty tray of drinks against his side. “I would have figured you for more of a rum guy but…” he shrugged liked he really didn’t care. From working at the café Percy understood that general feeling of apathy that washes over you when working costumer service.

          “Okay?” Nico responded still clearly confused.

          “So what about the rest of these?” Jason gestured to the rest of drinks around the table. That was when Percy really processed that each one of them had a drink and each was different. _Good question Jason_ , Percy thought. Seriously, Percy needed to buy the son of Jupiter a drink or something.

          The waiter sighed “Do you to know specifically which guy sent each one of you a drink?” He asked the question in a way that made it clear that he really wanted the answer to be no. “Honestly v-neck guy slipped me an extra ten to remember he existed. The others were not so thoughtful so if you ask me they aren’t worth the effort.” he seemed to give it more thought before adding. “Actually v-neck guy isn’t worth the effort either if you ask me but to each their own.”

          “Wait” Leo held up his drink which was red and smelled like tequila “You’re saying someone bought this for _me_.”

          The waiter smiled at Leo with genuine interest. It was the positive emotional response the waiter had shown since showing up next to their table. “Absolutely chico, I would think you’d be used to it handsome.”

          “I withdrawal my earlier complaints about this bar.” Leo announced before sipping his drink happily.

          The waiter chuckled with amusement. “So should I bring the rest of the drinks?”

          “Rest?” Nico asked still starting at his drink with a mistrust.

          “Yeah, several other patrons would like to buy you boys a drink.”

          “Why?” Nico questioned sincerely.

          The waiter just blinked at Nico like he was waiting for him to say he was joking. Boy he was going to be surprised when he found out Nico was dead serious. “He’s that oblivious, it’s almost cute.” Percy explained before answering the original question. “And yes we would like you to send the other drinks.”

          “Coming right up.” Waiter declared before turning and walking away. Percy was about seventy-five percent sure he winked at Leo before he left but figured it was best not to point it out.

           Once the waiter left, Percy grinned at his collection of friends. “We won’t even need to pay for our own drinks”

          Jason was sipping his blue cocktail with ease, while Leo gulped at his. Frank and Grover still looked out of place and unsure of themselves. Nico was glaring at his untouched glass as he asked “I don’t understand why strangers would want to buy me drinks.”

          Leo set down his drink to laugh outright. “You’re an underwear model.” He reminded.

          Nico scowled at him “What’s your point?” He questioned seriously. Percy had to cover his mouth to not cough up the sip of his drink.

          “They’re hoping to ply you with liquor so they may get in your underwear.” Jason answered gravely. It wasn’t quite Jason’s mommy voice but it was close. That was just another reason Will didn’t need to be there. Jason was already playing the overprotective role with Nico.

          “What?” Nico exclaimed in horror pushing the drink away. “Will wouldn’t like that.”

          Alright, Percy liked that Will was overprotective to an extent but this was just taking it too far. He rolled his eyes heavily before pushing the drink back toward Nico. “Bro, Will isn’t here.”

          The glare Nico shot in his direction could probably kill a lesser demigod. “Don’t remind me” Nico grumbled before actually picking up his drink and sipping it. Percy couldn’t make it out but he heard him mumble something about rum.

          Just because Nico was drinking didn’t mean he wasn’t annoyed. Grover picked up on the general sense of death before anyone else, which was probably a Satyr thing. Percy noticed he worked hard not to bay with fright. “This place is really crowded.” He observed frightfully.

          "It's New Year's Eve" Jason stated.

          “Lots of choices!” Percy pointed out. He was carefully ignoring the sense of terror-inducing darkness Nico was giving off. It wasn't as much of a challenge as it had once been. Maybe Percy was just so well practiced at it, or maybe Nico wasn't as good at being frightening as he once was.

          His eyes landed on this guy that was just down-right pretty. He was standing at a table closer to the dance floor but Percy could still make him out. He looked to be around Percy’s height, and close to his age. He had neatly trimmed blond hair, that had a bit of a wave to it, like it would be curly if it was longer. Even in the dim light Percy could tell the guy was rocking the standard issue California tan.

          Yeah, the guy was definitely Percy’s type but he knew Nico wouldn’t be interested in checking out guys with him. So instead he figured he’d point out the looker to the one friend who would appreciate him. “Jason check out that guy over there.” he instructed while pointing.

          Jason looked over his shoulder and took a minute to find the guy Percy was talking about. “He’s kind of blonde” Jason observed with distaste.

          “I know” Percy agreed. What issue could Jason have with blondes, he was blonde. “I like that!”

          Jason seemed to give it some thought before shaking his head dismissively. “I think I prefer dark hair.”

          “Austin will be so disappointed.” Nico muttered into his drink. When he sighed, and looked over his shoulder Percy almost fell out of his chair with shock. “And he looks a bit thin and definitely too short.”

          “How tall are you?” Leo questioned with an amused grin “How much do you weigh?”

          “Enough” Nico replied flatly before taking another large sip of his drink. Percy considered telling the son of Hades to slow down a little with his drink. After all, Nico may weigh _enough_ , but he was a small guy. Two things stopped him; one, Nico wouldn’t appreciate the gesture, and two Jason would swoop in if it got concerning. Nico set his glass on the table with a rather dramatic clank sound. “All I’m saying is if you’re going to be with a guy just once it should be someone built like a _guy_.” He paused and a wistful expression spread across his face. It wasn’t a look Percy saw on Nico’s face often, or ever. It was a little unnerving. “Someone tall and broad.”

          “Like Will” Percy supplied figuring that was where he was going.

          Nico grinned “Exactly” he replied brightly.

          Percy smiled, glad to see Nico was already loosening up a little. He had honestly figured it would take longer, but was happy to be wrong. “You really do have a type.” He noted with a chuckle when Nico rolled his eyes at him. He still had no intentions of letting Nico forget he had said Percy wasn’t his type. Not that he wanted Nico to want him but how was he not supposed to be a little offended by that. Of course, now that Nico was with Will he got what Nico meant but it was still really fun to tease the son of Hades about it.

          Jason nudged his shoulder to get his attention. “What about that guy?” He asked pointing toward a guy standing near the bar.

          Percy looked and saw the guy Jason was pointing at. He was shorter than the blonde guy Percy had been checking out. He was probably a little shorter than Percy. He had dark messy hair and a skater/punk vibe that just screamed trouble-maker.

          “I don’t know if I’m really into the whole slacker-slash-trouble maker look. I think I prefer a guy a bit more clean cut.” He informed casually before shrugging. “And I really like blondes.”

          “Umm…Guys” Leo started sounding amused.

          “Shush” Nico interrupted holding a finger to his lips. “Let’s see how long it takes them to figure it out.”

          “Figure what out?” Jason asked confused which was a sentiment Percy could understand. He had no idea what Nico and Leo were talking about.

          Leo and Nico exchanged a significant look before Nico replied quickly “Nothing.” He stated before return to his drink

          “What about the go-go dancer over there.” Leo pointed quickly clearly trying to change the subject. “Based on what I can see from his seriously tight shorts he has A LOT to offer in the manhood department.”

          “Wow” Percy exclaimed looking where Leo was pointing. “I think that’s an understatement.”

          “I suddenly feel kind of small.” Jason commented sadly before sipping his own drink.

          “I’m confused” Grover stated looking around the table before settling his eyes on Percy. “What are you talking about?”

          Percy didn’t get a chance to answer because of all people, Nico did. “They’re saying he has a big dick.” He declared plainly. Percy wasn’t sure which was more funny; the way the statement made Grover sputter, the fact that Nico had just said that, or the shock and horrified expression on Jason’s face. Nico didn’t even blush, instead he glanced over his shoulder quickly. Turning back toward the others he stated matter-of-factly. “And they’re wrong, he’s definitely stuffing.”

          “What do you mean, stuffing?” Percy questioned, glancing once again at the well-endowed dancer.

          Nico sighed like he thought Percy was an idiot, took a sip of his mostly gone drink, and answered. “I mean he’s stuffing his pants to look bigger.”

          “How can you tell?” Jason questioned sounding equal parts skeptical and disappointed.

          “Lots of underwear models do it.” Nico explained. Again he sounded downright _bored_. That just seemed _wrong_ considered what they were talking about. “You learn to tell the difference.”

          “Do you stuff?” Leo asked sincerely

          Nico furrowed his eyebrows with clear confusion. “Why would I?”

          “To look bigger” Leo explained seriously to Nico who still looked confused by the concept.

          Percy took a gulp of his own drink, he had no idea what it was but it was blue which made was all that really mattered to Percy. “Dude” he offered seriously “I can attest Nico doesn’t need to stuff.”

          Frank groaned loudly before dropping his head to the table. He mumbled something that Percy couldn’t completely make. It sounded something like _“I don’t want to know that”._

          Leo just laughed and shook his head at Percy. “How do you know that?”

          “Skinny dipping on the fourth of July” Jason replied for Percy with no real enthusiasm.

          Leo grinned “I am so glad I missed that.” He stated before sipping his own drink.

          “You went skinny dipping!?!” Frank lifted his head to ask looking horrified at the concept.

          “Skinny dipping is a great way to commune with nature and it can be very romantic.” Grover blurted out without thinking. When he seemed to realize what he had said his eyes went wide and he clamped a hand over his mouth.

          Percy couldn’t help but look at his friend with surprise. For some reason he forgot about Grover and Juniper as a couple a lot of the time. But the truth was Grover and Juniper had been in a relationship longer then Percy and Annabeth. Also, while Grover looked around Percy’s age, he was actually in his 30’s. “Grover, my original bro, I’m proud of you.”

          Grover blushed visible, even in the low lighting of the bar. “Thanks?” he stated uncertainly as he eyed the napkin sitting in front of him on the table. Percy was a bit surprised he didn’t eat it out of nervousness.

          “You know I know nothing about your sex life.” Percy admitted looking at Grover. He turned to Jason before stating “I know plenty about yours.” Jason just shrugged as he finished off his first drink. Percy then turned to Nico, who was close to finishing his second drink. “I know some about your but I still need to figure out who has the eye contact thing.”

          “If you really wanted to know you should have invited Will.” Jason pointed out. “He overshares sober, after a few beers he’d probably draw you graphic pictures.”

          “Or Nico could stop being a prude and spill.” Percy directed the statement at Nico. The son of Hades stared back at him clearly unamused. “I’ll give you a few more drinks to loosen your tongue.” Percy declared and Nico just rolled his eyes. Percy turned his attentions to the son of Hephaestus. “So Leo what’s Calypso like in bed?”

          “Percy that’s really inappropriate” Jason chided with clear disapproval.

          Leo didn’t seem bothered. He grinned impishly. “Amazing, adventurous and incredibly sexy.” he informed proudly.

          Jason groaned audibly. “And unless want to find out for yourself never iris message him without warning.” He warned with a wary expression sent in Leo’s direction.

          “Dude, I’m sorry about that.” Leo stated clearly trying to hold in a fit of laughter.

          “This sounds like a fun story!” Percy pointed out excitedly “I want to hear..”

          “No you don’t, it was so traumatic” Jason declared with a visible shutter.

          “It’s worse being the one walked in on” Nico stated flatly before gulping at his drink. “Trust me, I have _experience_.” The son of Hades shot a glare in Percy’s direction.

          “Dude, you shouldn’t be embarrassed.” Percy told him dismissively. Really, how many times could Percy apologize for that. “You and Will looked hot!” he stated and Nico’s glare became more heated. Percy pushed another drink toward Nico stating. “Right, you still need a few more drinks.” Percy turned his attention to the son of Mars. “So Frank, have you and Hazel take the plunge yet.?”

          “What!?!” Frank exclaimed nervously looking around. “I…..we…..” he stammered before looking at Nico specifically. “No!”

          “Really?” Percy questioned a bit surprised. “You two have been dating longer Leo and Calypso and WAY longer than Nico and Will.” he noted “Gods knows they didn’t wait long.”

          “You make it sound like we had sex right away.” Nico complained “We didn’t” He stated firmly before taking a large gulp of his drink. “I mean, there was the whole hand job thing the night we started dating.” He paused to take another smaller sip of his drink. “but that’s barely sex.”

          Jason sputtered, and Frank almost choked on his own drink. Percy could feel the grin spread across his face. “Alright, we need to put a pin in that delightful bit of knowledge for a moment.” Percy stated. Nico just shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. They were definitely going to have to come back to that bit of information. For now Percy returned his attention to the nervous Roman Praetor. “Frank, what are you guys waiting for?”

          “I…..we…..marriage?” Frank stammered sounding unsure.

          “Good idea” Nico stated approvingly. No surprise there really.

          “Frank,” Percy patted Frank reassuringly on the shoulder as he spoke. “let us, your more experienced friends” he gestured around the table at the others “give you some advice.”

          “Um” Frank started looking at Percy nervously.

          “Don’t build the first time up in your mind.” Percy offered what he thought was a pretty great advice. There was no reason to set expectations for yourself that you would never be able to achieve.

          “It’s not going to be perfect.” Jason added before gulping at his own drink.

          Leo nodded in agreement before adding. “It is going to be quick.”

          “That is very true” Percy stated. He had certainly not been the definition of stamina the first time he and Annabeth had been together.

          “And it’s messy” Jason stated. “There may be blood”

          “Yeah, that whole ‘popping cherry’ thing isn’t just a saying, there’s an actual pop.” Percy explained “I mean you feel it instead of hearing it but it’s still there.”

          “Gross” Nico exclaimed with a shutter before turning to his own drink.

          “All I’m saying is your first time is going to suck a bit.” Percy summed up patting Frank on the back again. “Just be prepared for that”

         “Well that’s just not true.” Nico exclaimed before draining the last of his drink in one long pull. “I mean it’s not going to be perfect, and it certainly not going to be your best time ever but it can still be _good_.” There table was quiet, honestly Percy was surprised the whole bar hadn’t hushed form surprise. Nico di Angelo was willingly and voluntarily talking about sex. Frank looked petrified while the rest of them just looked stunned. “Here’s the thing, your first time is going to be awkward. You’re both virgins so neither of you really know what you’re doing.” He explained before picking up his empty glass realizing it was empty and putting it back on the table. “If you talk about it beforehand and decided that night is the night suddenly the sight of a condom becomes really intimidating.” Nico shook his head at that like he was remembering something that seems silly now. Percy figured it had to do with his own first time but Nico simply refused to talk about that in any real detail. “But if you try not to take things to seriously and don’t rush it, it can still be good.”

          “That is the most words I’ve ever heard you string together at a single time.” Jason pointed clearly in shock.

          “And it was about sex.” Percy noted in a similar state of shock.

          “Something is very wrong with the force.” Leo declared

          “Or very right.” Percy contradicted.

          “I’ve had plenty of sex, in a variety of interesting positions.” Nico declared with a casual shrug, like he was commenting on the weather. “Why shouldn’t I be able to talk about it.”

          It was so unlike Nico that Jason’s jaw literally dropped and he looked too stunned to even have one of his mom moments. Leo was biting his fist and snickering. Frank and Grover were looking at Nico at a complete lose.

          “We need to get him more alcohol.” Percy declared to the others before addressing Nico directly. “We need to get you more alcohol.”

          Nico was glaring at his empty glass critically as he spoke “Actually, I think I’m okay for the moment.” He stated “I told Will I would take it slow.”

          “Lots more alcohol.” Percy stated completely ignoring Nico’s assertion that he was fine. Percy actually climbed so he was standing on his chair so he could better speak above the crowd. “Attention! The chances of this underwear model taking off his shirt and showing off his tattoos increases expentually with every drink he consumes.”

          “No Percy seriously” Nico groaned “Will is already worried and I…….I’m kind of a lightweight”

          Percy climbed down off his chair as Leo replied perfectly to that statement. “We’ve noticed.” he stated with a wicked grin.

          “Don’t worry bro” Percy offered as a type of reassurance “We won’t let you do anything too embarrassing.”

          Nico gave Percy a skeptical look before turning seriously toward Frank. “I promise not to murder you for groping my sister if you promise to stop me from doing anything I will regret come morning.”

          “Starting now?” Frank questioned nervously “Or is this deal retroactive?”

          “If it’s retroactive you’ve already failed.” Leo pointed out.

          Nico sighed “Starting now I guess.”

          “Alright, I’ll try” Frank agreed weakly.

          “Don’t try to hard Frank.” Percy told the son of Mars “We want to have fun here.”

          They really didn’t have to buy their own drinks, they just kept arriving at the table in a steady stream. They had been at the bar near an hour and the drinks didn’t seem to be slowing any either. Honestly they would probably die of alcohol poisoning if they tried to keep up with them.

          Their waiter was amazing in that he kept flirting with Leo even though he was clear about being straight. Leo was great in that he didn’t seem bothered but rather strangely flattered.

          Frank was less cool and more freaked out when someone recognized him from the Legion and came over to chat. The guy carefully circled the topic of Hazel for a minute or two before less than subtly asking if they broke up. Frank was confused and fumbling until Percy stepped in to explain why Frank was at a gay bar. That was the point Frank sprouted cat whiskers and couldn't make them go away. They were their for at least five minutes before disappearing.

          Nico was indeed a lightweight, and apparently had picked up his boyfriend’s habit of over-sharing. Frank really tried to keep up his end of the bargain. He tried to stop Nico from talking but he was clearly a bit afraid of Nico. And it wasn't like he could just put his hand over the son of Hades mouth to get him to stop. Jason seemed to yo-yo between repressing everything Nico said immediately and groaning in protest when he spoke. Leo and Percy were the only ones that actually seemed to be enjoying the disinhibited son of Hades.

          “Why haven’t we gotten Nico drunk sooner?” Leo questioned with amusement “We should do this more often.”

          “I know” Percy chuckled “Although I kind of get why Will would be worried.”

          Nico sighed “I miss Will.” He declared with a pout as he moved to lean against Jason and place his head on the son of Jupiter’s shoulder. Jason allowed it but as soon as Nico seemed settled he made a displeased face. “Jason your shoulder is kind of boney”

          “It’s a shoulder” Jason commented as he was still eyeing the trouble-maker he had pointed out earlier. Percy still didn’t get the appeal but to each their own he guessed. “What do you expect?”

          “Something more muscular and tone.” Nico grumbled sitting back up. He glared at Jason’s shoulder like it had personally offended him. "You've trained with a sword for Olympus' sake. Your shoulder should not be that bone-y."

          “Sorry I’m a poor Will substitute.” Jason apologized with amusement.

          Nico slumped in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He shot Percy a look unhappy look and Percy had to work hard to resist the urge to point out he was pouting. “Wouldn’t need one if Jackson had just invited Will.”

          “Dude, it’s bro’s weekend!” Percy defended. He had already gone over this with Nico, and Annabeth, and Jason. He didn’t understand the constant need for review. “No significant others allowed.”

          “Will’s a bro” Jason stated before picking up his drink. If Percy remembered correctly the waiter had said Jason’s drink was called a Blue Hawaiian. It didn’t really matter what it was called because Jason was clearly a fan. He was throwing them back like it was nobody’s business. At the rate that Nico and Jason were going the two sons of the big three were going to need to be carried out of the bar.

          “And didn’t you invite Reyna?” Frank pointed out rather unhelpfully. Percy couldn’t really could blame Frank for that, he pretty much had to take Nico’s side.

          “Reyna is a bro.” Percy defended to the group before turning to Nico specifically. “Will plotted to murder me.”

          “Not seriously” Nico stated still pouting.

          “And really who hasn’t?” Leo questioned seriously. Frank and Grover both rose their hands and Leo just waved them off dismissively. “You two don’t count.”

          “Bro” Percy sighed before taking a sip of his own drink and continuing. “if I invited Will we would have spent the evening watching you two have semi-public sex.”

          Nico rolled his eyes before dismissing the idea plainly. “In spite of what everyone seems to think we have some self-control.”

          Percy laughed at that, and he laughed hard. That might have been one of the most inaccurate things he had ever heard. “No you two don’t.” he declared.

          Leo had joined Percy in his laughter. The son of Hephaestus agreed whole-heartedly “Not even a little.”

          Nico glared and looked genuinely offended by their presumption. “Name one time we had semi-public…..anything!” Nico dared them defiantly.

          “The infirmary” Percy supplied with ease. He still didn’t know the story behind that. According to the rumors around camp (mainly the Apollo cabin) Nico and Will had definitely done something more than kiss.

          Some of Nico’s righteous outrage slipped from his face and he looked away. “That is a vicious rumor.” He stated not all that convincingly.

          “The fourth of July” Jason offered. Percy was pleasantly surprised to have Jason’s assistance in the matter. “The showers are the definition of semi-public.”

          “And there was that forty-five minutes you sat on Will’s lap.” Leo reminded.

          Nico let out a groan before stating. “I like Will’s lap!” Nico’s eyes narrowed at them for a moment before he appeared to come to some sort of decision. “And you know what? I like sex. I’m _good_ at sex. I’m not ashamed of that.”

          Frank gapped at Nico in horror. The son of Mars apparently he had forgotten he was supposed to stop Nico from saying things like that. A guy that had been walked by must have overheard Nico’s statement and verged toward their table.

          The lanky brunet leaned on the table between Nico and Leo and grinned. “Hey there” he greeted taking a moment to obviously size each one of them up. “I think this is the sexiest table of men I’ve ever seen.”

          “Not interested.” Nico declared dismissively actually making a shooing gesture in the guy’s direction. “Go away.”

          The guy took one look at Nico and could tell he was serious. “Right” He stated with resignation before turning and walking away.

  
          “Dude!” Percy protested once he got over the initial shock of what had just happened. Nico had just sent away an available guy. Okay, sure he wasn’t Percy’s type but still that was for Percy to decide.

          “Make him come back!.” Jason whined “He was pretty”

         Nico made a face of disgust “Seriously?” he questioned skeptically. He glanced over his shoulder in the direction the guy had disappeared into. “You have horrible taste”

          “Let me guess, he’s not Will enough?” Percy questioned even though the answer was more than obvious.

          “Will’s pretty.” Nico replied with a wistful smile.

          “Well you can’t say he isn’t consistent.” Leo pointed out.

          “I still think this whole thing is weird” Frank declared seemingly out of nowhere.

          Nico corked an eyebrow in Frank’s direction “What, the gay thing?” He questioned flatly.

          “No” Frank replied nervously “No the…..” Frank proceeded to flail his arms in Percy and Jason’s general direction in an attempt to communicate something. It wasn’t a successful attempt “thing.”

          “I think what Frank is trying to say without actually saying it.” Leo offered “Is the go forth and bang a dude thing Piper and Annabeth suggested.”

          “Oh” Nico hummed with understanding. “I’m right there with you Frank.”

          “Actually,” Grover stated. For a split second Percy though he was doing an Annabeth impression he sounded so academic. “if you look at practices common in both ancient Greece and Rome it’s not that strange.”

          “Thank you, Grover” Percy declared. It was nice that at least one of his friends (that wasn’t in the same situation) wasn’t judging him for it. After all it was Annabeth’s idea, and she was a smart girl, Percy was just doing as he was told. Really, he loved Annabeth so much, he didn’t want to be with anyone else. So he never thought about the things he wouldn’t experience because they were marrying young. But if Annabeth wanted him to have at least one of those experiences, well he wanted it too. “I knew you would have my back.”

          “I just surprised that Annabeth suggested it.” Grover stated “Daughter of Aphrodite not so much, but Annabeth.”

          Jason seemed just as bothered by that statement as Percy and Percy wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the stereotype of Piper being the flighty daughter of Aphrodite. They both went to defend their significant others but neither got a chance.

          Nico groaned loudly cutting them both off. “Speaking of Piper and Annabeth” he declared pausing to sip his drink. He had slowed down some but still seemed to be tossing them back pretty fast. “They both asked me to make sure you didn’t get yourselves hurt.” He stated sounding annoyed as he sat up straighter in his seat. He appeared to dig in his pockets as he talked. “And while I don’t care nor see why its my responsibility here.” The son of Hades tossed several packets of various sizes. On closer inspections Percy realized that some of the packets were condoms while others were packets of lube. Percy didn’t even know lube came in little one-time use packets. Nico let his now empty hand fall to the table with a heavy thud. “Do I need to go over the importance of lube?”

          “No, Will covered it.” Jason replied scooping up a condom and several packets of lube. Shoving the packets into his pocket he nudged Percy with his shoulder. “Lube is important.” The son of Jupiter stated meaningfully.

          “Got it” Percy declared moving to scoop up a few of the packets himself. He had thought of condoms (or Annabeth had pointed it out) but he hadn’t thought about lubricant. It wasn’t really a necessity when you were having heterosexual sex, female biology took care of that.

          Nico reached out quickly and snatched a packet of lube right out of Percy’s grasp. He held it up and looked at Percy seriously “Lube isn’t important, it’s _necessary_ ” he corrected.

          “Right” Percy nodded “Got it”

          Percy reached out to grab the packet but Nico pulled it further out of his reach. “Say it” he ordered.

          “Lube is necessary?” Percy replied unsure.

          Nico rolled his eyes “I guess that will do.” He declared dismissively as he tossed the packet of lube at Percy. “My sympathies to the poor soul you hook up with.”

          “So I’m taking it you’re not interested then.” Percy retorted teasingly. He and Nico were friend they could totally joke like that.

          “PERCY!” Jason shouted with disapproval.

          Nico seemed largely unaffected by the comment, simply shaking his head dismissively. “You know it’s comment like that that made Will want to murder you.”

          “He shouldn’t be so insecure.” Percy retorted. Seriously, was the guy blind? Nico was clearly head over heels, or in his case combat boots, for him. “Maybe you should get his name or something tattooed somewhere on your body to reassure him.”

          Nico grinned and tugged down the collar of his shirt so that the black stylized sun tattoo on his chest was mostly visible. “Covered.”

          “You know I never put that together.” Percy declared. “I really should have figured that out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pretty much imagine all the demigods being attractive in their own way so of course people want to buy them drinks.
> 
> I don't know why but I just imagine Leo as that straight guy who if he were hit on by another guy he would just be like "Thanks that's faltering but I'm straight" and be just completely comfortable with it.
> 
> Comments and Kudos feed my soul!


	32. Let Them Eat Cake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look it's not Sunday (Surprise).
> 
> I have to work tomorrow morning so instead of having you all wait til mid-afternoon I would post now.
> 
> So while the boys are hitting up the town at a gay bar the girls are going to have some fun- and some unexpected guests.
> 
> Enjoy!

The bakery near the campus was warm and smelled like sugar and other sweet things. The colors were warm but muted and the lighting was soft. The whole place was the textbook definition of cozy. It was what Annabeth imagined sweet, cookie-baking, grandma’s kitchen to be like. She liked it more than he cared to admit. It also gave her a strange desire to learn to bake. Although considering her lack of skill with cooking in general that may not be the best idea.

The girls had barely walked in the door before Hazel rushed to one of the glass displays and stared excitedly at the contents. “Look at all the cakes.” she declared looking back at the other girls like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Piper, it still seems weird tasting cakes” Annabeth admitted. “Percy and I haven’t picked a date yet.”

“It’s fine” Piper stated dismissively. She moved to join Hazel in her admiration of the displayed pastries.

“It’s an excuse to taste cakes!” Hazel offered happily.

Reyna gave Annabeth’s shoulder a nudge and Annabeth turned to the daughter of Bellona. “I hear this place makes the best hot chocolate.” She informed with a small grin.

“And I’m sold” Annabeth caved. Reyna knew Annabeth’s weak points- and hot chocolate was definitely a weak spot. She turned toward the other girls. She saw Calypso had joined the other two at the display case and was examining the cakes thoughtfully. “Let’s taste cakes.” She declared with false cheer.

“Oh good I didn’t miss anything!” A women’s voice declared from further in the café. They all instinctively turned in the direction of the sound.

Annabeth knew the bakery had been empty of customers when they had walked in the door. Even though no one had walked past them since they had entered there was now a women sitting at one of the tables. She looked young and beautiful and somehow indistinct. Annabeth recognized the goddess immediately. “Aphrodite?”

“Mom?” Piper asked in clear horror.

“Venus!” Hazel exclaimed in surprise.

“This can’t be good” Calypso huffed with annoyance and poorly masked disdain.

“Oh don’t be sour, it shows your age.” The women declared cheerfully, the comment clearly directed at Calypso. “Yes, I am the goddess of love.” she stated moving her hands as if she was unveiling herself. She wagged her finger with playful disapproval at her daughter. “Piper sweetie, let’s keep the mom stuff to a minimum. It makes me sound old.”

“Why are you here?” Piper asked nervously.

“It’s not every day your OTP gets married.” Aphrodite replied with an abundance of cheer. “I’m here to help!”

“That sounds ominous.” Reyna groaned.

“What’s an OTP?” Hazel questioned sounding completely lost.

“No offense.” Annabeth interjected trying to keep her tone neutral even if the presence of a goddess was making her nervous beyond belief. “But gods wanting to help usually is less helpful and more disastrous for me and Percy so….”

“Oh sweetie” Aphrodite declared sympathetically. “But that’s all over now, you and Percy have been through enough trial and tribulation. You’ve earned your happily ever after.”

“I know that was supposed to sound reassuring but it wasn’t.” Piper informed dryly.

“Nonsense, how was that not reassuring?” She questioned sounding amused. Then the goddess patted the table on either side of her. “Now sit, eat cake and we can talk about boys.”

“That sounds like a horrible idea.” Reyna commented flatly.

“It’s worse than it sounds I’m sure.” Calypso agreed more or less with Reyna’s assessment of the situation.

“Oh, will you stop?” Aphrodite declared brushing off Calypso’s comment like it was nothing. “You have a perfectly good demigod that you have been getting plenty of use out of.” She stated sounding particularly proud of herself. “And I haven’t gotten a thank you.”

Calypso growled and looked genuinely outraged at the goddess. “You can’t take credit for Leo!”

“Of course I can” Aphrodite replied with fake innocence. “I’m the goddess of love.” She reminded unnecessarily. She pointing toward the empty chairs next to her once again, this time more firmly. “Now sit” She ordered.

As a group, they grumbled but not a single one of them actually said no. Each girl dragged their feet over and dropped themselves into a chair at the goddess’ table. The women that ran the bakery appeared soon after looking confused that people were there at all. She looked suspiciously at the goddess, like she knew something was different about her. The baker rushed into the back and quickly returned with a platter of cake samples.

“Wow they’re all so pretty!” Hazel exclaimed as she looked at the platter with wide-eyed excitement. “Look at that one, it’s so fancy.” She pointed to a cluster of samples that were pearl white with a sprinkling of gold.

Aphrodite reached out and picked up one of the cake squares Hazel had indicated. She examined it critically. Annabeth figured as the goddess of love, Aphrodite took wedding cake seriously. “Edible gold dust” The goddess explained plainly. She set down the piece of cake and smiled brightly at the group. “You know they make body powder like that, also edible”

“Mom!” Piper protested looking at the goddess with shock and disapproval. Annabeth took a special interest in a cluster of cakes. They were frosted so they appeared to be covered in lace to stop herself from laughing.

“Why would they make body powder like that?” Hazel questioned innocently.

“Oh Hazel sweetie” Reyna offered, patting Hazel’s hand reassuringly. “We’ll explain it to you when you and Frank are a bit older”

“Is it a sex thing?” Hazel asked. It was so unexpected Calypso coughed around the sip of water she had taken at an inopportune time. Annabeth adored Hazel and Frank individually and as a couple. Still for some reason she often thought of them being younger than they were. Unlike the rest of her friend’s relationships which she figured had a physical component Frank and Hazel’s relationship was cast as one of pure innocence in her mind. That was probably incredibly naïve of her. “Just because Frank and I haven’t….doesn’t mean I don’t know about sex.” Hazel pointed out defensively. It would have been more believable if she didn’t blush as she was talking and whisper the word sex like it was a bad word.

“Have you been talking to your brother?” Piper questioned with a grin.

“There are worse ideas” Calypso offered seriously “He certainly knows how to please a man”

“He does have a lot of experience” Annabeth agreed.

Annabeth, Piper, and Calypso exchanged a glance before simultaneously bursting out laughing. Nico and Will weren’t nearly as subtle as they thought they were, and she doubted they actually thought they were subtle. Still, it was a very unexpected turn of events for Nico in Annabeth and Piper’s opinion so it had become a topic of discussion. According to Calypso, who had met other children of Hades, she said they tended toward extremes but could really go either way. So they tended to be either asexual or extremely sexual. For a weird reason that made since to Annabeth in the abstract but it still didn’t match up with the bubbly kid she had met at Westover.

“What exactly are you alluding to?” Reyna questioned. Oh right, Annabeth had forgotten Reyna was worse than Jason on the ‘protect Nico’ front. All three girls struggled to but managed to stifle their laughter under Reyna’s critical expression.

“That Nico has been having a lot of sexy time with Will” Hazel explained simply. Everyone, except for the goddess turned to look at Hazel with surprise. “What? I’ve accepted my brother’s virginity is a thing of the past.” She explained with a shrug. “Plus, I like Will, he and Nico are good together.”

“This is why I’m concerned” Reyna declared. “This Will sounds like a bad influence.”

That was another reason Percy should have invited Will, so Reyna could met him and stop worrying. Annabeth understood where it came from children of Apollo could be a bit much, and the Romans actually seemed worse than the Greeks. They definitely didn’t seem like Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, type by a long shot. And then, of course, there was the fact that Octavian had been a legacy of Apollo. In spite of assurances from pretty much everyone that Will was the sweetest, most down to earth guy (and completely devoted to Nico) Reyna remained skeptical.

The real funny thing was Annabeth was sure Reyna had already met Will. After the battle of Camp Half-Blood most injured demigods, Greek and Roman, were treated in Camp Half-Blood’s infirmary. Annabeth knew Reyna had made it a point to personally visit each injured Roman at least once. Annabeth had also heard Will had refused to leave the infirmary while there were so many injured to look after. So the two had probably met on several occasions. At the time Reyna had been in full Praetor mode and Will had been in doctor mode. So in all likelihood neither of them had processed the other’s existence beyond their purpose. Annabeth was actually a little curious if either of them would realize this when they did finally meet.

“Nay” Piper dismissed the idea of Will being a bad influence like it was nothing. Which, in all fairness, it was downright laughable. “Nico plays shy in public but I have the suspicion he’s often is the aggressor and always an enthusiastic participate in private.”

“My daughter is very perceptive.” Aphrodite pointed out thoughtfully “It must run in the family. Like brother, like sister.”

“Hazel!” Annabeth and Piper exclaimed in shock as one.

“What?” Hazel questioned clearly embarrassed as she took a sudden and intense interest in the table cloth. “Frank wants to wait, so we’re waiting.”

“Wait, Frank wants to wait?” Annabeth questioned trying to wrap her mind around this very unexpected bit of knowledge “As in you don’t?”

“No, I’m fine with waiting” Hazel replied not entirely convincingly. She picked up another little cake square and examined it. “Completely fine.” She reiterated before breaking the cake square in half and examining its insides. “Ow look the inside of this one is pink!” She held the cake out for the others to see as a clear distraction from the previous topic of conversation.

“Percy has requested a blue cake.” Annabeth pointed out allowing Hazel her distraction at least for the time being. “And since it is the only thing he’s requested I’m inclined to give it to him”

“Blue?” Aphrodite questioned sounding a bit horrified at the suggestion.

“Why blue?” Piper asked mournfully. They had already discussed Percy’s obsession with blue food to death. Piper was just going to have to accept that their wedding cake would in fact be blue.

“Does the whole cake have to be blue, or just the inside?” Hazel questioned curiously.

“I don’t know” Annabeth admitted “I haven’t asked.”

“But seriously, why blue?” Piper reiterated.

“It’s Percy” Reyna pointed out seriously “Why question it?” Annabeth could only nod in agreement with the daughter of Bellona.

“And how is Percy?” Aphrodite asked with an excited twinkle in her eyes.

“Fine” Annabeth replied simply before taking a sip of her drink. She had no interest in discussing her relationship with the goddess of love. The same goddess that talked about the hell her and Percy had been through to find and stay with each other like it was a game.

“Well that answer’s no fun” The goddess pouted overdramatically. “I want to hear about your domestic bliss.”

Annabeth knew better but she couldn’t stop herself from snorting at the assertion. “Domestic bliss? I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Oh?” The goddess perked up “Do tell”

“It’s Percy” Annabeth reminded. “He leaves his dirty clothes all around the apartment, especially socks.” She explained. “The other day I found one of his dirty socks in my bookbag. I still haven’t figured out how it got there unless the sock is somehow a child of Hades and actually shadow-traveled there.”

Hazel laughed, Piper snickered and Calypso made a horrified face which was surprising. Annabeth didn’t figure Leo for an organized and neat demigod. Reyna took a sip of her water before declaring “Well that is mildly gross.”

“And he doesn’t study ever.” Annabeth sighed and fought back the sense of anxiety that Percy school habits gave her. “And he puts his homework off to the last possible moment, and then turns into a frenzy to get it done.”

“That sounds stressful” Aphrodite commented as she continued to look interested.

“It is” Annabeth agreed. “But it’s Percy.” She stated again and this time she felt herself smile a little. “I might be the worse cook in history but the first time I made dinner he refused to say it was bad. He probably would have eaten the disaster if I let him.”

When Percy and Annabeth had first moved into their apartment Annabeth had been so determined to make a nice meal for them. Annabeth had never really cooked in her life, even when she had been on the run as a child. When she had been on her own she had she had either stolen food or eaten things that didn’t require cooking. After Thalia and Luke had found her they had done the cooking.

The dinner was a complete mess- the chicken was burnt, the pasta was so overcooked it was mush, and the tomato sauce was just indescribably wrong. Percy had been incredibly sweet about it. Annabeth was the one to put a stop to it because they had already been through enough torture for one life time. They ended up throwing out everything and going for pizza.

It was a nice memory and it made her smile as she continued to talk. “And when I have late night class and he’s working at the café. Instead actually being lazy on his break he’ll rush across campus to surprise me with a latte or a hot chocolate.” she grinned and shock her head at the memory “He always seems to know what I’m craving without ever asking.”

“Aww” Piper and Aphrodite chorused. When Piper realized she had just sounded like her mother she cringed.

“That’s so sweet” Hazel cooed.

“I do love a good love story.” Aphrodite proclaimed. “The trial and tribulation to get there is nice but the happily ever after is just tooth rotting fluff.” The goddess sighed contently before turning on her daughter. “And how is Jason?”

Piper looked a little panicked and very uncomfortable. “Jason’s good” she answered carefully.

“Umm” The goddess hummed “I bet he is.”

“Mom!” Piper protested in shock. Annabeth thought her mother disliking Percy was bad. She was positive if Athena suggested she was attracted to Percy she would have died from the horror of it.

“Does he still talk in his sleep?” Reyna asked curiously.

Annabeth somehow forgot that Reyna and Jason had been close before Hera had yanked him from camp and took his memory. She didn’t think they had ever dated although Jason and Reyna both were non-specific about that. She did know that Jason’s first time had been with Piper, Piper had told her as much. Still there was a lot of ground between nothing and sex…. “How do you know Jason talks in his sleep?”

“We went on a few quests together.” Reyna replied. “We would take turns watching for monsters while the other slept.”

“Oh” Annabeth nodded. She guessed that made sense even if it still left some questions in the air.

“Yeah he does” Piper stated with a grin “It’s pretty amusing”

“Have you ever asked him questions?” Reyna inquired.

“No” Piper admitted and Annabeth could see the wheels turning in her friend’s mind.

“He’ll answer” Reyna informed “I don’t know if they are completely honest but he’ll answer.” Reyna picked up a cake square, bit into it and chewed. Once she swallowed she grinned “It’s really funny.”

“I can’t wait to try this” Piper declared “I should start writing a list of questions.”

“Make them embarrassing” Annabeth suggested.

“Well obviously” Piper agreed.

Calypso groaned “I can’t possible eat another piece of cake” Hazel hummed in agreement. Annabeth looked down at the platter of mostly eaten cakes and found that she too had had her fill of cakes.

“Where are we off to next?” Aphrodite asked excitedly which made Annabeth’s stomach turn with nervousness.

“We are going to look at wedding dresses” Hazel replied

“There is no we” Calypso pointed out. “There is us” she pointed to Annabeth and the rest of the girls before pointing at the goddess “and there is a you, but no we.”

“Nonsense” Aphrodite declared smiling “And I know just the place.” Before anyone could complain or protest or speak the goddess snapped her fingers.

The world spun and twisted around them and within them. Annabeth was sure she wasn’t going to be able to hold down the cake she had just eaten. When the world around her solidified again one was immediately evident: they were no longer in the cute little bakery.

Where ever they were now was designed to be elegant. The floor was cream and pink marble which seemed brighter because of the antique white walls and the mirrors. Mirrors hung seemingly everywhere yet the lighting in the place still seemed soft. There was a small sitting area with a couch and two chairs; all white and over a classic design. Annabeth felt wildly out-of-place.

“Oh gods” Reyna exclaimed sounding horrified as she looked around at the sea of white. “where are we?”

“You girls said the next stop was dress shopping.” Aphrodite replied like this was all very obvious and she was doing them a curtesy explaining any of it. “Well here we are,” The goddess gestured around herself proudly. “the best bridal shop around”

“There is only the one in New Rome” Annabeth pointed out slightly annoyed and not trying to hide it. She had never been there but she knew where it was. It was only a block from the bakery so there was no need for whatever the goddess did to get them there. Annabeth’s stomach churned in agreement. “So, it’s not like they have any competition.”

“Oh sweetie, aren’t you cute.” Aphrodite declared with bemused sympathy that should be reserved for the ramblings of crazy people and very young children. “we aren’t in New Rome”

If Annabeth hadn’t already felt queasy she definitely would have after Aphrodite’s words. They could be anywhere in the world, taken there by a fickle goddess who could bore of them at anytime and abandon them in some foreign city. Why, she wondered mournfully, did the gods insist on complicating everything in her life.

“Then where are we?” Calypso questioned cautiously as she looked around the white room with suspicion. If anyone had the right to be distrustful of the goddess taking them places it would be Calypso, Annabeth remembered.

“Like I said, the best bridal shop I know.” Aphrodite replied with the most non-answer Annabeth had ever heard. If the goddess became any less clear Annabeth would have thought she had turned into the oracle. Annabeth knew she couldn’t attempt to strangle the extremely frustrating goddess of love but she found herself fantasizing about it.

“Again, that sounds strangely ominous” Reyna pointed out. Annabeth noted how the praetor eyed the door like she was prepared to make a quick escape if it came to that.

Before Annabeth could think of what to say a women in her mid-to-late forties walked into the room. Her dark hair was pulled up in one of the buns that looked effortless but actually took serious skill to construct. She wore nice clothes and high heels so high they hurt Annabeth’s feet just looking at them.

The women looked momentarily startled by their presence and then her eyes zeroed in on Aphrodite and she smiled brightly. “Dearest friend, it’s been too long.” The women spoke in a thick accent. It was so thick that it took a minute for Annabeth to realize the reason she couldn’t understand her was because she was actually speaking another language.

“Oh my gods, mom you teleported us to France!” Piper exclaimed horrified. Aphrodite and the women did the European thing where they kissed each other’s cheeks.

“Of course not” The goddess replied but then seemed to think about it. “Although now that you mention it that isn’t a bad idea” She stated like teleporting to Europe wasn’t a huge deal. “Maybe if we don’t find anything here.”

“So if we’re not in France, where are we?” Hazel questioned looking around the room like she was looking for clues.

“Only the greatest city on Earth dear.” The women declared this time she was speaking English although her accent was so thick it was still hard to understand. “New York”

Annabeth’s first thought was, Percy would like this women. Then it actually hit her, Aphrodite had transported them to New York City. Actually that wasn’t all that bad. They were still in the US so they didn’t have to worry about not having passports. They were also close to Camp Half-Blood and Ms. Jackson’s apartment so if the goddess did get bored of them and abandoned them were they were they had places to go.

“Mom!” Piper exclaimed giving the goddess a disapproving look.

“Piper dear” Aphrodite began. “My OTP is getting married. The bride simply can’t get her dress just anywhere.” She explained before gesturing around herself in a grand gesture. “This boutique has the best selection.” The love goddess clopped her hands commandingly before fixing the girls with a serious expression. “Come on girls let’s find Annabeth something pretty to try on” She turned to the women “And Eva we will need champagne.”

Aphrodite turned and started for the doorway the women had appeared from moments earlier. The goddess only made it a few steps before a man appeared. He was tall and lean, dressed in simple clothes. His dark hair was ink black, and his eyes…his eyes were red. He would have been a handsome man but the red eyes were rather unnerving. Then as he fully entered the room Annabeth saw his snow white wings and she was pretty sure she knew which god he was. “No need ladies, I have the dress selection covered.” He stated in a commanding way that really made you believe him as he walked through the room. He gestured for them to follow.

“Um” Annabeth hummed nervously staying still even though she felt compelled to follow.

“Eros!” Aphrodite hissed. The goddess’s displeasure at seeing her son was more than evident as she stomped after him. Her high heels clicking aggressively against the floor. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh one of my greatest successes is getting married. I’m here to help.” The god of love proclaimed never breaking his stride. As he passed through another doorway Annabeth hadn’t even noticed before he called back. “Come on Annabeth.”

“Your greatest success!” Aphrodite shouted with complete outrage as she followed the god through the doorway.

“Should we follow them?” Reyna questioned uncertainly.

“Two bickering gods?” Calypso replied “It doesn’t seem like a very good idea.”

“Do we really have much choice?” Annabeth pointed out. They all exchanged a look before collectively sighing. As a group they moved to follow the god and goddess of love through the doorway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


	33. Competition Can Lead to Interesting Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunday is Finally Here!
> 
> Let's get the warnings out of the way first  
> SMUT WARNING: This chapter contains SMUTTY goodness.  
> I also promised I would warn people when Percy and/or Jason take advantage of the deal they have with their girlfriends and be with a guy. I'm not calling this a cheating warning because in the context of this story it is not cheating but I know some people are still uncomfortable with the concept. It's going down in this chapter- consider yourself warned.
> 
> Now that that is out of the way please enjoy this chapter.

Things were going far better than Jason would have ever guessed, especially since Percy had brought them to a gay bar. Sure there were some problems like the waiter flirting shamelessly Leo. There was the guy with an Asian kink who came over to talk to Frank. The Roman to sprout a set of cat ears from awkwardness but over all things were going good.

Except for Nico, everything was actually kind of fun. If you ever asked Jason what Nico’s response to being brought to a gay bar would be Jason would have said he would run. Jason would have never thought that the son of Hades would start throwing back rum and cokes like they were water and throw modesty to the wind.

At one point Jason had to leave the table to escape hearing more about Nico’s sex life. Percy had just decided one of Nico’s earlier comments needed farther evaluation. “So a hand job your first night officially dating? I mean I figured Will was hypersexualized as a child of Apollo but that it seriously bold.”

Nico snorted- Seriously, Nico di Angelo, son of Hades snorted and grinned at Percy like he was clueless. It wasn’t a humorless grin that made an enemy’s blood run cold on the field of battle either, it was genuine. “Why do you assume Will was the one that started it?”

“Because you’re you and Will is Will.” Percy replied simply.

Nico’s grin widened into a genuine smile which in the absence of Will seemed strange “Well you’re wrong.”

“Seriously?” Percy questioned sounding amused.

“You little slut!” Leo adding playfully smacking his hand against the table causing a small fire around his hand. He casually put it out with a nearby napkin. It wasn’t the first time Leo had caused an accidental fire and the phenomenon only seemed to get worse as the night went on. Leo acted casually about the whole thing just using his hands to pat the fire out.

Nico didn’t take offense to that comment which was shocking. He actually looked a little proud of himself which was so beyond shocking Jason wasn’t sure there was a word for it. Nico shrugged casually.

Percy laughed and slapped Jason’s arm excitedly. “Okay, so I’m just having a hard time believing you’re the one that initiated a hand job.” Percy stated through barely contained laughter. “Please, paint me a word picture.”

“Sure, but there isn’t much to tell.” Nico replied “Will barged into my cabin, we started kissing and I put my hand-”

“Oh my gods!” Jason protested as loudly as he could to stop Nico from talking further. He was pretty sure he knew where Nico put his hand and Jason did NOT want to hear him actual say it. “I need another drink, I need so much more alcohol.” Jason declared firmly as he had gotten up from the table “I’m going to the bar to get another drink.” He informed “Please, _please_ don’t be talking about this when I get back.”

“Bring me back a rum and coke” Nico called.

He was three or four steps away from the table when he had heard Frank call after him “Wait, I don’t want to hear this either.”

Once they were out of earshot of their table Frank muttered “I’m just never going to be able to unhear these things.”

“Yes, but if we drink enough maybe we will get lucky and forget.” Jason had joked before adding more seriously “And Nico’s coke might be missing it’s rum.” He shook his head absently “I thought Will was bad.”

They had to walk to the far end of the bar because something was going on at the other end and it was all crowded. They ordered and Jason encouraged the bartender to be go lite on the rum in Nico’s rum and coke. Jason really couldn’t handle hearing Nico talk about his sex life, it was somehow worse than when Will did it. Maybe it was because Will at least tried to keep it on the vague side while drunk Nico wasn’t so considerate.

When they got back to the table the waiter was there flirting with Leo again. Everyone had a new drink in front of them including Nico, who's looked to be half gone. “You guys took forever.” The son of Hades observed.

“Did you make the alcohol yourself?” Percy questioned sarcastically.

“Sorry” Jason shrugged “There was something going on at the bar, it took a bit to actually get our drinks.”

“Something is going on at the bar?” Percy questioned before looking over his shoulder at the crowd gathered around the bar. When he turned back to the rest of them he had that excited glint in his eye that usually got them in trouble. “What’s going on over there?” He asked the waiter excitedly.

The waiter reluctantly looked away from Leo and glanced with a bored expression. “Oh they’re doing body shots.”

 “What’s that?” Percy asked with increased excitement. You would think after everything that Percy had been through he would be little more hesitant of the unknown but he wasn’t. Jason normally appreciated that but sometimes he wished Percy could be a little more apprehensive about things.

“When you do a shot of tequila or some other kind of liquor off someone else’s body.” The waiter explained matter-of-factly.

“Seriously!?!” Percy exclaimed surprised as he looked back at the bar for a second before turning back to everyone at the table. “I want to do that!”

“Sure,” The bartender shrugged “just bring your partner up to the bar.”

Percy’s face went excited to confused in about two seconds which was a little funny. “Partner?”

Leo laughed “Doesn’t sound like a solo activity.”

“Oh right” Percy nodded with understanding as he seemed to think it over. Jason agreed with Percy that body shots sounded fun, especially if you were doing it with someone especially good looking with a really nice body kind of like Pe…… But Jason wasn’t actually going to say that out loud. The thoughtful look on Percy’s face was giving him a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“Or you can walk up to the bar and see if you get any volunteers.” The waiter offered casually. “You’re young and attractive you should plenty.” A few guys a couple tables over shouted and the waiter glanced over in their direction. They were clearly signaling for more drink. The waiter groaned and walked off toward the other table leaving them. Not before winking at Leo of course.

Leo slapped Jason’s arm “Our waiter is hitting on me.”

“We know” Frank groaned. It wasn’t the first-time Leo had pointed that out, and it wasn’t like the waiter was being subtle.

“It’s kind of faltering” Leo admitted “I’m still straight but it’s faltering.”

Percy had clearly not been paying attention to the waiter conversation. He turned to Nico who sitting between them and nudged his shoulder. “Nico bro, come on let’s do body shots!”

“Percy!” Jason protesting coughing a bit around the sip of drink he hadn’t quite swallowed. As nice as it would have been if Will was actually here, when Percy said stuff like that Jason thought it might be for the best that he wasn’t. Jason could just imagine Will’s reaction to hearing Percy suggest that. Jason still didn’t get how Percy didn’t realize how inappropriate it was for him to suggest that to someone who used to have a crush on him and now was in a relationship.

Nico seemed unfazed by the suggestion. He looked at Percy with amusement as he questioned “In what universe would I ever do that?”

“This one” Percy replied seriously.

“Maybe” Nico admitted with a shrug which caused shock around the table. Well maybe not the whole table, just from Jason and Frank. Leo looked amused and Percy looked hopeful. Nico looked around like he was trying to find something. “But we seem to be missing a key ingredient for that to happen.” Nico declared looking back at Percy with an almost sympathetic expression. “It’s tall, blond, tan, covered in freckles. Has killer legs, goes by Will.”

“Thought for sure he was going to say something about him being good with his tongue or something.” Leo commented off-handedly to Nico before taking a sip of his own drink. Jason had no idea what Leo was drinking but he could smell the cinnamon from across the table.

Nico seemed to give the comment genuine thought and Jason started praying for duct tape. “Well, Will certainly knows how to do some amazing things with his mouth but I think he would agree I have the more talented tongue.”

“My ears are literally going to start bleeding” Jason groaned. It’s bad enough Will already pretty much told him the same thing already. He was starting to think he needed new friends.

Frank groaned and dropped his head on the table. Jason figured Frank’s whole deal of stopping Nico from doing something stupid was officially over. Jason couldn’t blame him, short of covering Nico’s mouth with his hand there wasn’t much he could do.

“I love drunk Nico” Percy declared with amusement “Now seriously, I don’t want to do a body shot off a stranger.”

“Jackson there are three reasons that will _never_ happen and here they are.” Nico responded pausing to sip his drink before continuing. “One, I have absolutely _no_ desire for you to lick any part of me.” he gestured to his own body as he spoke. Again, he paused and sipped his drink. At least he seemed to be taking sips now instead of large gulps. This time when he spoke he gestured at Percy’s body. “Two, I have absolutely no desire to lick any part of you.” He took another sip before holding up three fingers. “And three, even if one and two weren’t a thing, which they _so_ are, Will would kill you for suggesting it.”

“But that’s why it makes sense.” Percy stated insistently. Jason was ninety-five percent sure Percy hadn’t listened to a word Nico had just said. “If it’s you and me it would be completely void of sexual tension.”

Nico just looked at Percy with bewilderment which was a feeling Jason could understand. Grover was the one who actually gave voice to the emotion. “That makes no sense.”

“Percy,” Leo stated “I think sexual tension is the point.”

Percy opened his mouth like he was going to say something but then his jaw slapped shut and he looked frustrated. “Jackson” Nico offered with a sympathetic tone that Jason suspected wasn’t genuine. “If you want to do it so badly why don’t you and Jason do it.”

“Ay….” Percy exclaimed uncertainly his eyes locking on to Jason. They exchanged a look that started of unsure and nervous but slowly morphed. Like most things between Jason and Percy it somehow turned competitive. Neither of them had to say a word for it to become a silent game of chicken. Who would look away or say no first would be the loser.

“Why not?” Jason shrugged casually as he screamed at himself internally. Was he actually agreeing to let Percy- one of this best friends- to do a shot of alcohol off his body? What was he thinking? He should be saying no way, this was not a competition. “If that’s what you want.” he added.

“I’m game, if your game bro” Percy replied casually. It was said in the most casually way possible, which from Percy was pretty casual but it still felt like a challenge.

“I’m game” Jason replied with fake ease. He hopped off his chair and gestured toward the bar. “I guess we should go up to the bar then.”

“Yeah,” Percy agreed and hopped off his own chair. He too gestured toward the bar “after you dude.”

Jason started pushing his way toward the bar cursing himself internally. The stupid children of the big three competitiveness thing had gotten him and Percy into some stupid situations but this might have been the worst. Why hadn’t he followed in Nico’s footsteps and told Percy no way. And for that matter why had Nico suggested he and Percy do it.

It wasn’t like Jason was opposed to the idea of body shots. Actually, it did sound kind of hot. Under different circumstances he would have been excited by the idea. And it wasn’t that he found Percy unappealing. Unlike Nico he didn’t mind the idea of Percy licking parts of his body, or maybe Jason licking parts of his…… _Wait what_?

Jason was very aware of Percy at his heels and the others following close behind as he made his way toward the bar. The barely contained giggling from Nico and Leo were a dead give away to their presence if nothing else.

Was it weird to be okay with the idea of one of your best friends licking you? Like really okay? Like more than just okay? Jason wondered a bit frantically. Anything that could make him feel that panicked, and confused, and _excited_ had to be a bad idea he told himself. He really should just tell Percy this was a bad idea, and let the son of Poseidon have the win.

They had almost reached the crowded end of the bar where people were lining up to do body shots when they walked by the cute guy Jason had pointed out earlier. Up close Jason saw that the guy had brown eyes and it kind of ruined his appeal- at least for Jason. Otherwise the guy actually looked familiar. He looked a lot like…… _fuck_ ……he looked a lot like Percy.

 _Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!_ Jason cursed himself.

They made it to the bar and crowded around trying to make out the pair of guys currently doing body shots. Jason could only make out what was happening in broad strokes because it was hard to see through the crowd. The gist of it appeared to be that one guy laid on the bar shirtless, salt was put on his chest, a lime was put in his mouth, and a shot glass of tequila was put right above the waistband of his pants. The other guy (the one not laying on the bar) proceeded to lick the salt off the guy’s chest then take the shot (oh look no hands), and finally eat the lime out of the guy’s mouth.

Percy’s mouth was going to be really close to his own, Jason realized. Percy’s mouth was also going to be really close to his dick, Jason internally panicked.

“Who’s next?” The bartender asked as the guy from the last pair hopped off the bar.

Jason was too caught up in running through all the reasons this was a horrible idea and would go horribly wrong to do or say anything. Percy, on the other hand, waved his hand like an excited kid. “Right here!” he shouted to get the bartender’s attention.

The bartender nodded in recognition. “Sure” he jutted his chin at them “Come on up.” They pushed closer to the bar. When they got to the edge of the bar the bartender looked from Percy to Jason and back again. “Alright, who’s top and who’s bottom here?”

“What!?!” Jason and Percy choked out in unison. From the sounds of it Percy was just as taken aback by the question.

Jason heard someone start laughing so hard it sounded almost painful. He looked down the bar at his group of friends to see Nico red-faced and laughing harder than Jason thought the son of Hades had ever laughed in his life. “Guys” Nico managed before breaking into a second fit of laughter. “I think he met who’s doing the shot and who is laying on the bar.”

“Oh” Percy hummed with understanding and turned to Jason. It happened again, when their eyes met they both were unsure and questioning but they turned to a challenge quicker than seemed natural.

Once again Jason broke first “I’ll do it” He declared and for a split second he wasn’t even sure what he was agreeing to. “I’ll lay on the bar” he told Percy “You can do the shot.”

Oh my gods, Jason screamed internally. What was wrong with his mouth? Why did it keep saying the opposite of what he wanted to say?

“You’re cool with that?” Percy questioned. It sounded sincere but in reality it only upped the feeling of challenge that hung in the air between them.

“Sure” Jason stated with a shrug. Seriously, why did he keep saying these things? “If that’s you want bro.”

Percy shrugged “Sure, as long as you’re good with it.”

“Alright,” The bartender declared and the subject suddenly seemed very closed. Jason realized it was past the point of no return. “lose your shirt and lay on the bar.”

Jason just stared at the bartender blankly. He couldn’t actually process his words and then he felt Percy’s eyes on him. When he turned to meet, Percy’s gaze the son of Poseidon looked at him expectantly “Anytime you’re ready bro.”

Jason wasn’t sure if it was the serious look in Percy’s eyes (his startling green eyes) or if it was the timber of his voice but it caused Jason to remember what was supposed to be happening. “Oh right” He muttered hoping his own level of discomfort didn’t read in his voice. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and all-but-ripped it over his head before he could decide this was a truly horrible idea. He handed his t-shirt over to Frank, partially because he was closest and partially because Nico was still shaking with fits of laughter and Leo was smirking like a fool.

Jason focused on the sheer mechanics of the movement as he climbed on the bar and laid down on his back. He felt like a million pairs of eyes were one him but that must have been his imagination. The bartender appeared above him grinning and for the first time Jason really processed that he was attractive. He was tan with dark messy, hair and hazel eyes. His smirk was kind of lopsided, like Percy’s…………. _FUCK!_

Jason felt a weight low on his stomach that snapped him back to reality at least for the moment. The son of Jupiter dared to glance down the length of his own body to see a shot glass placed below his navel. He was way, _way_ passed the point of no return. “You’re a cute one” The bartender declared looking down at him. _Yeah, that definitely wasn’t helping_ , Jason thought.

“Where are you going to put the salt?” He heard Leo question somewhere above his head. Jason didn’t bother to tilt his head back to actually see his friend. He could make out the impish grin he was wearing in his voice.

“That’s really up to cutie here.” The bartender replied matter-of-factly. “Some people like the neck and others the chest. Got a preference?” he asked once again grinned down at Jason with his lop-sided Percy grin. _How_ , Jason wondered, _had he gotten himself into this situation_. The bartender looked up toward someone and as he spoke Jason realized he was talking to Percy. “Or should I be asking you, green eyes.”

Jason had no idea what Percy’s reaction was to that question. He didn’t turn his head to look. The last thing he needed right now was to see Percy’s face. Leo spoke before Percy could actually answer the question with a question of his own. “If it’s the throat doesn’t some one have to lick it first to make it stick?”

No, Jason told himself firmly, there could be no pre-shot licking. “Chest!” Jason declared before Percy could turn it into some weird unspoken competition. “Chest is good.” The bartender nodded and grabbed the salt shaker putting a small amount of salt on the center of Jason’s chest. Percy didn’t say a word, for which Jason was very thankful.

“Smart” Leo noted and at first Jason thought Leo was talking to him but then the next thing he said made no sense. “Take a picture.”

“Actually, I’m taking video” Nico replied simply. “Will and I sort of have a bet.”

“About body shots?” Leo questioned curiously.

 _Were they seriously having such a casual conversation right now?_ Jason wondered. From Leo or Percy that wasn’t exactly surprising but Nico. He tilted head to look and saw Nico leaning on the bar with his phone in his hands and Leo hanging over his shoulder. “Nico!” he protested.

“Not exactly.” Nico replied to Leo before looking over his phone at Jason sympathetically. “Jason, I’ve got a lot riding on you so yeah.”

“That much money.” Leo questioned serious.

Nico tilted his head to one side thoughtfully. When he spoke it sounded like he was choosing his words carefully. It seemed unnecessary considering he didn’t say much. “Not exactly.”

“That dirty?” Percy questioned with a laugh somewhere off to Jason’s right.

“Kind of” Nico attempted with a casual shrug. “I’d do it eventually anyway but I don’t like to lose”

“Seriously?” Jason growled at them. He couldn’t deal with them talking so casually while he was laying on a bar with a shot glass of tequila inches from his dick.

“Sorry” Nico, Leo, and Percy apologized as one although none of them had the decency to stop grinning.

“Lime” the bartender stated above him drawing Jason’s attention back to him.

The bartender was standing above him with a lime wedge in his hand. “What?” Jason questioned.

“The lime goes in your mouth, cutie.” The bartender reminded wiggling the lime wedge in his hand for emphasis.

“Right” Jason nodded with understanding before taking the lime. He placed the wedge in his own mouth so his teeth were biting into the rind. Focusing on breathing through his nose Jason keep telling himself that this wasn’t going to be weird.

“You’re up green eyes.” The bartender informed looking in Percy’s direction, or at least in the direction where Percy was standing last as far as Jason knew. A second later Percy appeared above him with his green eyes and his lopsided grin. Jason realized it would probably be best if he closed his eyes.

Eyes closed, the bar sounded louder than before and he was a little cold because he was shirtless. Nothing happened for what felt like an eternity. Jason was about to spit out the lime so he could tell Percy to hurt up then it happened. He felt something warm and wet dragging across his chest were the salt had been placed.

 _Oh gods, Percy is licking me_ , was his first thought followed by the startling realization that it felt good. It felt more than good, it felt exciting. He felt parts of himself twitch at the sensation, which was the absolute worst thing that could happen right now.

The feeling of Percy’s tongue was gone almost as quickly as it had come. Although it felt like Percy had licked him more than was necessary. There was a half a second of nothing and there was increased pressure below his navel where the shot glass was resting. It lasted less than a moment before it and the cold weight of the shot glass were gone.

Percy had just taken the shot, Jason knew. He wondered if Percy had managed to do it without using his hands. The thought, or more specifically the mental imagine Jason’s brain produced, had another warm rush flowing through his body and an excited twitch below the belt. Jason carefully pushed that thought away, far _far_ away.

Then there was the sensation of someone close, really close to his face. There was the smell of salt and water, which was just how Percy always smelled, vaguely like the ocean. There was also the distinct smell of tequila, which wasn’t Jason’s favorite. He focused on that as the lime was pulled from his mouth, the smell of tequila instead of the nice smell of a beach.

Jason took one deep breath to steady himself, which he realized was idiotic considering he was still laying on a bar. He opened his eyes and sat up so his legs dangled off the side of the bar.

Percy was pulling the lime out of his mouth and grinning excitedly. “Alright, I’m not really a fan of tequila but that was kind of awesome!”

Of course, Percy was excited and oblivious because he was Percy. “I’m going to regret this in the morning” Jason muttered more to himself then Percy.

“Huh?” Percy questioned looking confused.

If this ended badly he could always blame the alcohol in the morning, Jason told himself. “Percy, shut up.” He ordered before reaching over and grabbing Percy by the collar of his shirt. He pulled the son of Poseidon in quickly and kissed him hard on the lips.

He expected there to be a momentary pause on Percy’s end, a half a heartbeat of surprised at the very least. But as soon as their lips meet Percy was kissing him back. It was so much different than kissing Piper. For one Percy was kind of an aggressive kisser. It wasn’t bad, actually Jason liked the intensity of it, but it was really different.

“Gods damn it Jason!” Nico exclaimed jarring Jason back to reality. He released his grip on Percy’s shirt, which he hadn’t even realized he still had. He and Percy stopped kissing and Jason looked toward the son of Hades. Nico was staring at them, cell phone still in hand, looking annoyed and disappointed. Leo was standing behind Nico with his face buried in Nico’s shoulder and even over the music Jason could hear him laughing. “I thought for sure it would be Percy.” Nico declared slipping his phone into his back pocket. “Now I’m going to have to dress up in a…. never mind.”

“Nico, we are so talking about that later.” Percy stated firmly. As he talked Jason felt Percy’s hand slip into his. “But right now, me and Jason have a thing.”

Jason felt Percy tug his hand and he didn’t even think. He hopped off the bar and let Percy start leading him through the crowd. They were nearing the dance floor, close to where their table was when his brain caught up with what was happening. Jason finally thought to ask. “Percy, where are we going?”

“Not sure” Percy admitted not stopping. For someone who didn’t have an idea of where he was going he certainly was moving with determination. “Hoping somewhere private.” Percy glanced back at him and his eyes clearly did the thing, the _I’m checking you out_ thing. He grinned and turned his attention back to pushing through the crowd. “Decent lighting would be nice because your chest is seriously sculpted and the visual would be nice for the making out.”

That comment made Jason flustered in about six different ways. First, it reminded him that he was still shirtless, and he suddenly felt self-conscious about that. Also, this wasn’t the first time Percy had seen him shirtless. Was Percy just noticing he had a nice body now, or had Percy noticed that before. Was that a rabbit hole Jason wanted to go down right now? No, it wasn’t. He focused on the part of Percy’s statement he could best handle. “We’re going to be making out?” He asked. Jason thought he deserved a medal for it because he actually sounded confident which was the opposite of how he was feeling.

Percy stopped dead in his tracks and turned to look at him. He blinked at Jason and the giant tornado of emotions Jason was feeling filled Percy’s eyes. “Um, you kissed me” Percy stated. For once Percy sound uncertain instead of confident, cocky, or joking. Jason found that more reassuring than he could probably ever express. “So I was kinda hoping.”

Jason leaded in and down a little (because Percy was shorter then him) and kissed him. It was softer than he had at the bar because Jason wasn’t being driven solely by an internal bundle of nervousness. Still, it was passionate, and Percy seemed to sink into, kissing him back with matched desire. Jason pulled away first, and grinned when he noticed disappointment play across the son of Poseidon’s emerald eyes. It only lasted a second but the sight made Jason feel more confident with the situation. Sure it was still really weird that he was attracted to one of his best friends and they were kissing and they were going to make out, but Percy wanted him too. “I’m good with making out.” He stated causally.

Percy grinned impossible wide. “Then follow me shirtless wonder” He declared before starting to move again. It wasn’t like Jason wasn’t going to follow him, after all he and Percy were still holding hands.

“Dude” Jason rolled his eyes as he let Percy start leading him through the crowd again “don’t make me regret this.”

Jason still had no idea where Percy was leading them, knowing Percy didn’t either wasn’t helping his internal panic. Still Jason wasn’t backing out now. He hadn’t even realized he wanted anything like this until he kissed Percy at the bar. Now he DEFINITELY wanted it.

They moved through the crowd. It seemed to take forever to move three feet but that was at least partially because they kept stopping to kiss. Jason was equally to blame for that as Percy was and it honestly almost seemed like they were taking turns.

The had finally made it to the other side of the dance floor and he had Percy pressed against a wall when Jason came to a simple but earth shattering realization: Percy Jackson (one of Jason’s closest friends) was a really amazing kisser. Kissing Percy was nothing like kissing Piper. What was it Nico had said earlier about if you’re going to be with a guy they should be like a _guy_? Well Percy kissed like a guy. The whole experience was inherently masculine, from Percy’s seriously chapped lips, or how he tasted kind of salty, how they seemed to be fighting for control the whole time, or the way Percy would groan a little whenever Jason stood up straight forcing the brunet to tilt his head up to continue kissing. The whole thing was intense, kind of aggressive and overall exhilarating.

It was also exciting, like really exciting, like more exciting then Jason was comfortable with while kissing against a wall in a crowded bar. Considering his girlfriend got turned on by the idea of doing sexual things in public places, Jason should probably be more comfortable having an erection in public but he just wasn’t.

Jason wasn’t even sure what had caught his attention, it was almost like magic. He noticed what looked like a hallway with a half-lit exit sign hanging above it. It appeared dimly lit and unoccupied. Jason was sure if it counted as private but it was certainly more private then where they were standing now.

Reluctantly Jason pulled away. He found himself grinning when Percy moved to chase his lips. This time he slid his hand into Percy’s before pulling the older boy along.

“Where are we….?” Percy started.

“Hallway” Jason answered as he pointed at it and continued with a sense of determination.

“Oh” Percy hummed with understanding before adding “Nice catch bro.”

The hallway was short and led to a set of large doors that probably led outside and were clearly locked. There was no overhead lighting, or what there was wasn’t currently working so the only actually light was coming from the bar itself. The fact that it was dimly didn’t stop Jason from realizing how dingy the floor and probably walls were, not that he really cared. It was deserted which was the only thing that mattered at the moment.

He had every intention of turning to Percy and joking about how he had found somewhere private but not well-lit so they would just have to improvise. Cracking wise ass comment while wearing a cocky grin was something Percy would have totally done. He always seemed pretty confident doing it too.

Jason didn’t get a chance to say a word because before he knew it or even knew how it happened he was the one pressed against the wall and Percy’s lips were one his. Out of habit more than anything Jason wrapped an arm around Percy’s waist and let his hand rest on the small of his back. That’s when he had another realization, Percy was all rock hard muscle. That was another difference between Percy and Piper. Piper was tone but her body was still supple. Jason didn’t think one was better than the other, they both had their merits. The one currently pressed against was certainly having a positive effect on him.

Jason had a panicked moment where he realized Percy could probably feel how hard he was because they were pressed together so tightly. He actually started trying to think of a way to escape with at least a few shreds of his dignity intact when Percy shifted his hips against him slightly and Jason _felt_ it.

 _That’s my friend’s hard dick pressed against my leg_ , Jason thought to himself. Strangely feeling Percy’s erection made him less nervous. It was a comfort to know Percy was as into this as Jason was.

Percy moved from Jason’s lips. The son of Jupiter wanted to protest but then Percy started kissing along his jaw toward his ear. He pressed his head against the wall behind him as his eyes fluttered shut. Jason decided to just stop worrying and go with whatever was happening because it felt good. “Dude.” he sighed pleased (Jason didn’t moan, not at all).

Percy groaned, and not in a sexy or turned on way right next to Jason’s ear. The sound caused his eyes to snap open with surprise. So maybe he wasn’t quite over worrying. He looked at Percy with confusion but Percy’s eyes were diverted. Instead of meeting his gaze the brunet was staring down and off to the side. “Locked” Percy declared with annoyance.

Jason blinked for a second before following Percy’s gaze and saw the son of Poseidon’s hand resting on a door handle. _Oh_ , Jason realized he wasn’t leaning against a wall he was leaning against a door. Percy could be a real genius sometimes, Jason had to admit. “Unlock it.” he instructed, surprised at how labored his breathing sounded.

“Love to” Percy replied. Jason caught the faintest glimpse of a grin before Percy returned to kissing up his neck. Percy shifted against him slightly again. “no idea how” Percy informed in a husky voice as Jason felt the brunet’s knee slide between his legs.

Jason could feel Percy’s thigh pressed against his own hard length and it was just so….. “ _Oh_ ” He sighed (again it was not a moan) at the new feeling.

“We’re good,” Percy offered reassuringly as a whisper at the shell of Jason’s ear “no one is going to come back here.”

Jason had learned to be okay (more or less) with public sex since it got Piper so excited. Still, he felt somethings should be private, like firsts. Whatever was happening between him and Percy and whatever might happen between them it felt like a first and therefore it should be private.

Jason knew nothing about locks but he couldn’t just take Percy’s word of it and assume the door was locked. He had to at least try to get the stupid door open but he didn’t want to stop what they were doing to look at the door either. Jason was trying to think of a solution when Percy started to suck a spot in the crook of his neck, his leg pressing a little harder against Jason’s groin as he did.

Jason groaned because dear gods Percy was giving him a hickey. “You’re worse than Piper.” he declared grabbing Percy by biceps and using his grip to swiftly switch their positions.

Percy’s back hit the door with a bit of a thud and the brunet groaned “Dude, rough”

“Sorry” Jason grumbled an apology. He hadn’t meant to put so much force into the motion. He figured he was just was a bit worked up in the moment, and it wasn’t like Percy was breakable. He took a minute to look Percy over now that he was standing in the more dominant role (not that he was thinking about that). Percy dark hair was messier than usual, and several strands hung down over his green eyes. He was flush and grinning, and Jason could see his chest heaving.

“I don’t mind getting a little rough.” Percy stated. Jason couldn’t really tell if he was teasing or if it just sounded that way because it was Percy. “Just give me a heads up first.”

Percy licked his lips absently and Jason’s brain threatened to just shut down entirely. He looked down at the door handle and was surprised. It had an electrical pad on it for one of those locks that opened with a keycard. Jason figured with all the children of Vulcan and Mercury around the city an electrical lock was probably more secure. Secure from the standard lock pick sure but Jason could easily override it.

Jason looked back up meeting Percy’s bright eyes. Percy was still grinning at him with the twinkle of a challenge in his eyes for his last comment. He brought one hand up to tangle his fingers in Percy’s dark hair. Tugging lightly, he nipped at Percy’s jaw as he spoke “Percy I might get a little rough.” Jason placed his free hand on the electrical pad sending a small spark of electricity through his palm. There was a district sound of a lock disengaging.

Before the lock could re-engage Jason pushed the door open and they stumbled into the space together. His fingers were still tangled in Percy’s hair and their lips were frantically trying to meet.

“Bro, that was really hot.” Percy declared before catching Jason’s lips. The door shut behind them leaving them alone. They found themselves in a storage closet based on the shelving unit Jason bumped into.

“Percy if we’re going to do stuff don’t call me bro.” Jason requested when Percy released his lips and moved to suck another mark on his throat. Jason fumbled but managed to find the light switch casting away at least some of the darkness. “It’s weird”

Percy chuckled against his skin and the feeling of his hot breath sent chills down Jason’s spine. “Sure dude, whatever you want.” Percy offered. Jason groaned at the wording of that too, it just sounded so wrong in this context. He was still struggling to reconcile the fact that he was making out with one of his friends. He wanted some kind of distinction between what they were doing now and their normal lives. Percy pulled away and stared at him incredulously. “What? Dude doesn’t work for you either?”

Jason sighed. He didn’t really want to be talking right now. “You could use my name.” he pointed out.

“Seriously?” Percy laughed “You want me to moan your name?” he added teasingly.

“Yeah, I do” Jason retorted easily meeting the unspoken challenge in Percy’s words. “Got a problem with that?”

Jason felt so confident he had just out-sassed Percy but the brunet was grinning at him like he thought Jason’s effort was cute. A mischievous glint twinkled in Percy’s eyes for a second before the other demigod acted. Percy didn’t say a word, instead he grabbed the hem of his own t-shirt, and pulled it over his head.

 _Fuck_! Jason thought to himself, Percy’s body was amazing. Jason had seen him shirtless before but never consciously processed how nice Percy’s body was. Now he was just glad he managed to keep his appreciation to himself, so he could at least try to play it cool. Percy was great, but Jason didn’t trust him not to tease him endlessly if Jason started waxing poetic about his sculpted chest. Percy tossed his shirt aside and grinned at him. “Not at all” he shrugged “as long as you’re moaning too.”

“I guess that’s really up to you.” Jason pointed out as casually as he could while trying to subtly check out Percy’s abs. Okay, maybe it started out subtle but….Jason was officially done with the witty banner. He stepped forward into Percy’s space and pressed their lips together.

As they started kissing again Jason hands began to wander. Percy hands began to roam Jason’s bare skin gripping and pawing at random spots. Percy’s hands were strong and calloused which was a foreign sensation but not a bad one. It became heated almost at the moment their lips met again. Jason wasn’t sure how it even happened but Percy ended up pressed between Jason and the door. Jason moved from Percy’s lips to kiss along the strong line of his jaw. Some part of his brain remembered Percy doing something similar to him in the hall. He also remembered what else Percy had done that had felt shockingly good. Jason decided to copy the move and pressed his knee between Percy’s thighs using the meat of his own leg to apply a bit of pressure to the other boy’s groin.

Percy actually shuttered at the pressure. “Jay that….I…..” he stammered. Jason felt Percy’s fingers tangle in his hair. The son of Poseidon used his grip to pull Jason back to his lips.

Jason rested one hand on the wall behind Percy and pressed himself more firmly against the other boy. With his free hand he roamed over the muscles of Percy’s arm, shoulder, and stomach. Percy’s hands pawed at Jason’s bare skin unpredictably. Jason thought the unpredictably should annoy him but he surprised himself by liking it. As Percy’s hand’s run down his chest calloused fingers grazed one of Jason’s nipples. A groan escaped Jason’s lips before he could stop himself.

Slightly embarrassed Jason pulled back slightly to find Percy staring at him curiously. “Sensitive?” He questioned in a teasing tone.

“Perc,” Jason groaned trying to stuff down the self-consciousness that was threatening to well up. “there is really better things for your mouth to be doing right now instead of being sassy”

Percy corked eyebrow at him and grin suggestively. “Is that so?”

“What?” Jason questioned seriously. It took him to realize how suggestive what he had just said actually sounded. That wasn’t what he met, or at least it wasn’t what he thought he met. “No, I mean… I meant…” Jason stammered before groaning with frustration. “I meant kissing.”

“Sure” Percy shrugged but Jason could have sworn he saw a flicker of disappointment. Percy leaned in and kissed him and Jason just couldn’t be sure.

Wait, if Percy looked disappointed that meant _he_ wanted to do more than _kiss_. Jason’s whole body suddenly felt like he was on fire. He was kissing Percy back and he was using his free hand to paw at Percy’s bare chest, and it wasn’t enough. He moved away from Percy’s lips and kissed hungrily along his jaw and up to his ear. Once there he nipped at Percy’s earlobe playfully, which was something he had never done before in his life. Percy let out a little pleasured noise at the action and Jason couldn’t really regret it. In as whisper he spoke into Percy’s ear. “Or we could do more than just kiss” As he spoke he put extra pressure on Percy’s groin with his thigh.

“ _Ohhh_ ” Percy moaned throwing his head back a little as he did. _I just made my friend moan_ , Jason thought partially shocked and partially proud because yeah, he did that. “Yeah, let’s do more than kiss I am all about that idea.” Percy stated quickly.

The part of Jason’s brain that was responsible for rational thought didn’t have time to really process Percy’s words before his body responded. Still kissing at Percy’s neck Jason’s hands ran down his bare chest and stomach to clutch the waistband of his jeans. He had undone the button and had them halfway unzipped when he thought to pause. Pulling away just enough to meet Percy’s gaze. He sucked in a shaken breath when he saw how wide Percy’s pupils were blown with lust. He figured his were the same but it wasn’t everyday you saw an expression like that on your friend and knew you were the cause. “This is okay, right?” he questioned his eyes flicking between Percy and his own hands still gripping the zipper of Percy’s pants.

Percy grinned at him “Seriously?” he questioned teasingly.

“Shut up,” Jason grumbled feeling slightly flustered “consent is important.”

Before Percy could come back with some sarcastic comment (because he was Percy Jackson and that is what he did) Jason pressed their lips together. This time Jason involved his tongue a bit, letting it swipe across Percy’s bottom lip teasingly. He was a little surprised with how quickly and eagerly Percy met his tongue with his own.

As they kissed, their tongues clashing Jason quickly unzipped Percy’s pants the rest of the way. Then he slide one hand under the elastic of Percy's boxers. He brought his other hand to rest on Percy’s hipbone as he wrapped his hand around Percy cock. As soon as he solidified his grip there was a whimpery noise. It took Jason a few seconds to realize that it had come from Percy and not himself.

Percy was just so hard. Feeling that in his hand actually had Jason stiffening further which he hadn’t even thought possible at this point. Jason had always figured a dick would feel like a dick. He had touched his own so he really didn’t think touching another guy’s would feel all that different. Percy’s felt different in his grasp. Outside of feeling painfully hard, Percy felt thicker. Jason couldn’t close as much of his fist around Percy as he could around himself, indicating Percy was a bit more girthy. He could feel Percy’s course pubic hair against one side of his hand and a prominent vein under the pad of his thumb.

Focusing on the little details and not on how turned on he felt by holding is friend’s hard dick Jason gave Percy an experimental stroke. Percy gasped against Jason’s mouth at the motion. Jason realized Percy might have more girth but Jason might have been a bit longer, like a quarter of an inch. After his second stroke (and a louder gasp from Percy) Jason was sure his own dick was longer. Not that it was a competition or anything. A few more strokes, each eliciting a louder sound from Percy and Jason felt like he had found a rhythm that worked even if moving his hand in the confines of Percy’s boxers was challenging.

Percy turned his head a bit breaking the kiss which was fine, Jason just moved to kissing his throat. “Oh Jay…. _ahhhh_ ” Percy moaned before catching Jason’s hand stopping his motion.

Jason pulled away from Percy’s throat and met his eyes with concern, confusion, and frustration. Jason was sure he had just gotten good at this, so why would Percy want him to stop? Percy’s chest was heaving as he panted for breath (which was a good look for him if Jason was being honest). “Like…. can I touch you at the same time?” The son of Poseidon questioned and he actually sounded unsure.

Fuck! FuckFuckFuck! _Fuck_! Percy wanted to touch his dick, _Fuck_! Jason thought. Choking back the desire to cry _dear gods yes_. Jason did his best impersonation of Percy’s cocky grin, or the best he could manage under the current circumstances. “Seriously” he asked teasingly just as Percy had before.

“Hey, you said consent is important!” Percy defended.

Jason grin widened “Yes, Percy you may touch my dick” he stated with mock seriousness.

Percy rolled his eyes. “Now who’s being sassy?” The brunet declared with a huff his hands already at the top of Jason’s jeans. Percy moved fast, he had Jason’s pants undone before Jason could really brace himself for it.

With Percy no longer holding his arm still Jason started stroking Percy’s length again focusing on rediscovering the rhythm he had before as a distraction for _Oh my gods, Percy is about to touch my dick!_ The motion didn’t seem to distract Percy at all, actually if anything it seemed to make him move more swiftly.

Percy was more bold then Jason or maybe just less patient. Instead of pushing his hand into Jason’s boxers, he pushed the blonde’s pants and boxers down his thighs until his erection sprang free.

At the rush of cool air against warm skin Jason’s first thought was _Cold_. Then he noticed Percy look down at his exposed manhood and lick his lips absently. Suddenly cold wasn’t really a problem.

Jason tried to pour more of his focus on stroking Percy hard length. Still, he couldn’t stop the groan that escaped him when Percy hand wrapped around the base of his own erection. “Perc!” He cried in spite of himself as he felt Percy’s hand, calloused from swordfighting starting to move up his length. He was applying just the right amount of pressure.

Jason recaptured Percy’s lips. Partially as an attempt stopping himself from moaning wantonly. Partially because he didn’t trust himself to be able to hold it together if he looked into Percy’s startling green eyes. The kisses were hungry and a bit sloppy compared to before. It was hard to focus on kissing and stroking at the same time while someone was also stroking you.

Percy was an annoyingly quick learner when he put his mind to it. The brunet seemed to find a confident rhythm much more quickly than Jason had. Jason wasn’t even sure when or how it happened but at some point it somehow turned into a competition between them. They both seemed to be trying to get the other off first.

Jason tried doing a few of the thing he himself liked, like swiping his thumb of Percy’s cockhead. Percy seemed to enjoy it based on the sounds he made and the beads of pre-cum that slide down his cock and on to Jason’s hand. The fluid made Jason’s motions slick and yet felt sticky at the same time. The fact that Jason had caused it just turned him on more. He was going to get Percy to cum first.

Jason was so confident of that fact until Percy started twisting his fist around him and swirling his thumb over the head of Jason’s dick. The first time Percy did it, it was so unexpected, and it felt so unbelievably good he broke away from Percy’s lips to moan. “Fuck!”

Jason noticed how Percy grinned at him victoriously before recapturing his lips but there was really nothing he could do. He tried to focus on what he was doing to Percy, and the little whimpers that escaped the son of Poseidon. Still, every time Percy did that move Jason’s vision tunneled and he felt weak in the knees.

As Percy started moving with more conviction Jason didn’t trust his legs to hold himself up right. He had no choice but to stop stroking Percy and remove his hand from the brunet’s pants to place both palms on the wall for support. “Percy” he managed to pant out. He felt like he was too shaken to even moan. Percy only seemed to be working harder to get him off. “Fuck, that… _ahhh fuck_ ….. that’s good.”

Percy grinned at him for second as he picked up the pace. Jason leaned forward and kissed Percy hard for no other reason than to get that cocky (kind of sexy) grin off his face. Percy matched his passion without his hand losing its rhythm. Jason pressed his tongue forward demandingly. He was pleased that Percy parted his lips to allow him entrance. As he licked at the roof of Percy’s mouth, Percy moaned.

 _Good_ , Jason thought to himself, _he could focus on that_. Focus on kissing Percy instead of on how his knees were actually shaking and his muscles felt impossibly tense, and there was this hot ball of lead in the pit of his stomach that was getting tighter and hotter and moving lower by the second demanding release.

As Percy started doing that thing with his hand again, twisting his fist around the widest part of Jason’s swollen cock, he actually started sucking on Jason’s tongue. It was all too much, and Jason couldn’t hold back anymore. The wild rush of release flooded his senses as he came in Percy’s hand and, from the warm splash he felt, a bit on their stomachs as well.

The whole world buzzed and the back of his eyelids were painted white with sensation. His knees still quivered and everything felt heavy. Not really thinking beyond that Jason dropped his head and brought his forehead to rest on Percy’s shoulder. He was amazed at how loud his own breathing was and that he could still hear his own heartbeat over all the noise.

“Guess we now know for sure who lasts longer.” Percy declared and Jason didn’t have to look up to know the bastard was grinning cockily

Reluctantly, Jason lifted his head and sure enough Percy was grinning at him like he had won something. “You know” Jason panted out still too satisfied by his own orgasm to be annoyed. “I was going to offer to blow you but if you’re going to mouth off I can just not.”

“What!?!” Percy exclaimed with genuine surprise. His eyes went wide and everything. “Seriously? Jay, dude consider me officially done talking.” he promised swiftly. Jason wasn’t entirely convinced anything short of duct tape could actually stop Percy from talking. His doubt must have read on his face because Percy added. “I can still moan, right?”

Jason was quickly realizing how cold the closet was not that his arousal was subsiding. He pushed off the wall and stood under his own power. Reaching down, he pulled up and rebuckled his pants as he spoke. “As long as it’s not smart ass comments.”

“I’ll do my best” Percy promised eagerly.

“Perce, that’s not very assuring.” Jason pointed out. When it came to being a smart-ass Percy seemed to have very little control over it. He didn’t actually wait for Percy to say anything in response before he moved to his knees. The longer he waited the more of post-orgasm buzz would fade and he would realize he just offered to give his friend a blow job. He might panic and back out. Jason didn’t want to back out, Percy had gotten him off and he wanted to get Percy off too.

Above him Percy, who was clearly leaning on the door for support. He took a deep breath as Jason grip the waist of his boxers and pants. Jason worked them down, trying not to move too quickly and look over-eager. As it was Percy would probably never let him live down cuming first, he didn’t need to hear how desperate he appeared to have Percy’s dick in his mouth. Thank the gods he hadn’t moaned Percy’s name when he came or he might have actually died of embarrassment (or been forced to kill Percy to stop him from teasing about it).

When Percy’s erection finally sprang free Jason swallowed hard. He was actually salivating at the sight which was unexpected. Apparently he was excited by the idea of having another guy’s dick in his mouth, who would have guessed? Not Jason. Of course, Percy’s dick just had to be impressive, and it was definitely thicker then Jason’s. Percy was by no means small length wise either but Jason still thought he was a bit longer. Percy apparently wasn’t one for manscaping which wasn’t really a surprise so the base was framed by dark curls. Even in the low light of the storage closet Jason could see how the head glistened with smeared pre-cum.

Jason bit his lip to stop himself for licking them. Now that he was on his knees looking at Percy’s dick (his big, thick erection) the whole act seemed a bit intimidating. Again, Percy was big and Jason knew there was no way he was getting that whole thing in his mouth. He had never actually gotten any real advice on technique either. It was way too personal to ask his school friends and it felt strange even thinking about asking Piper or Nico. Now he kind of wished he had sucked it up and just asked somebody.

Above him Percy took another long, deep breath. “Any time you’re ready Jay” he declared sounding impatient.

“What did I just about smart ass comments?” Jason retorted glaring back up at Percy. He was going to do it he just needed a minute to build up the nerve and figure out how.

“Sorry” Percy apologized. Jason realized Percy was breathing heavily and his voice sounded a bit shaken. “it’s just you on your knees looking at my…..” Percy stopped and broke eye contact. He pressed his head against the wall behind him. Jason could tell he was staring very deliberately at the far wall. He took another controlled breath. “I’m just saying if you don’t do something soon I’m going to cum from the sight.

That actually helped ease Jason’s nerves. If Percy was having that hard of a time holding it together with Jason just kneeling there then the way Jason figured as long as he didn’t completely suck at it Percy was going to get off on whatever he did. Feeling relieved Jason reached out and wrapped one hand around the base of Percy’s erection. As he did Percy sucked in another rather dramatic breath which had Jason grinning. He let himself enjoy the reaction for a second or two before leaning in. To start he ran his tongue over the tip of Percy’s dick tentatively.

Percy groaned immediately his hips bucking forward. Jason backed off even though he was still gripping Percy’s cock with his fist. “Dude!” he declared warningly. Jason wanted to do this but that didn’t mean he wanted to gag on Percy’s huge dick.

“Sorry” Percy huffed above him, squirming slightly. Jason dared another glance up at the brunet. Percy was still very carefully not looking down at Jason. From the shuttering quality of his breathes and the heaving of his chest Jason could tell Percy was trying and largely failing to control his breathing. His hands hung at his sides, held in fists so tight his knuckles were white. Percy was clearly working hard to hold himself together.

Jason took his time, partially because he could tell it was torturing Percy who was mewing and whimpering above him with his every move. And partially because Jason had never done this before and he was figuring it out as he went. He started by licking the tip of Percy’s erection, swirling his tongue around the head. Percy’s hips shuttered a few times but he never bucked forward. As Jason got more comfortable, he wrapped his lips around the head and started sucking there gently.

That caused Percy’s hips to shutter more violently as the brunet moaned “Jay… _ahhh_ ”

Getting Percy to actually moan made Jason feel more bold. He started bobbing his head in a back and forth motion taking a little bit more of Percy’s length in each time. By the time Jason felt Percy’s cock hit the back of his throat Jason felt like he had actually gotten the hang of the whole thing. Percy was moaning nonsensically and nearly none stop above him which has to be a good sign. Jason still couldn't take Percy’s whole length so as he continued to bob his head he started using his hand to stroke the base.

Jason dared a glance up and saw Percy gripping the doorframe for dear life. That would have made Jason smile proudly if his mouth wasn’t busy doing other things.

By chance Percy chose that moment to look down. Their eyes caught each other’s for a second before Percy’s screwed shut and his head fell back against the door. “Jay!” Percy moaned and then without warning came shuttering, and filling Jason’s mouth with cum. As flavors go it wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t what Jason would describe as pleasant either. He just manages to choke it down, and gained a whole new level of respect for Piper who always swallows like it’s nothing.

When he could tell Percy was completely spent, Jason pulled away. Rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand. He climbed to his feet he grumbled “Perce, a little warning would be nice next time.”

“Sorry, kind of snuck up on me” Percy explained apologetically although he was smiling. He groped lazily down his own body for his pants managing to grasp them on his third or fourth try. As he rather gracelessly pulled his boxers and pants up his legs Percy added. “You’re better at that than Annabeth.”

Involuntarily Jason shuttered at the comment. “Perce could you not mention your finance while I still have the taste of your cum in my mouth?” He requested seriously.

“Dude,” Percy retorted as he buttoned his pants “it’s not like either of us cheated.”

“I know” Jason replied with a shrug “but it still seems wrong to mention our girlfriends after we just…..” Jason left the rest unsaid, he wasn’t even sure he could actually explain it. I just felt weird.

“Whatever you say Jason” Percy stated without any real conviction.

They were both were quiet for a moment, neither moved. It was like they were both frozen. Jason figured that this was the part where things would get weird. Then he noticed Percy lip twitching like he was fighting off a grin. “What?”

“Dude, did you say next time?” Percy asked.

 _Fuck_ , Jason realized he had actually said that. Why had he said that? Jason found he very desperately needed to look at something besides Percy. His eyes wondered a bit before they landed on Percy’s crumpled t-shirt on the floor, by his feet. Jason bent over, picked up the shirt, and throw it at Percy’s grinning face “Come on we should get back to the others.”

Percy caught the shirt in one hand and slung it over his shoulder. He grabbed a rag off a shelf Jason hadn’t even noticed. He wiped off his hands absently. “Yeah, bailing on my own party is probably rude” he agreed tossing the rag aside. He didn’t move from where he was leaning against the door as he grinned. “But seriously can we talk about how you said ‘next time’ like there is going to be a next time?”

“I don’t remember saying that” Jason declared hoping his embarrassment didn’t read on his face.

Percy pulled his shirt off his shoulder and stuck his arms into it. He paused before pulling it over his head. “Dude, I’m all for a next time if you want.”

“What?” Jason exclaimed shocked.

“Annabeth said I should go out and have sex with a guy.” Percy explained finally putting his shirt on before adding “While that was awesome it wasn’t sex.”

Jason blinked at him for a second. “We apparently have very different definition of sex.” He stated. He didn’t really understand how Percy didn’t count that as sex but he didn’t really want to question it either.

“Whatever” Percy shrugged. He too didn’t seem up to having a philosophical debate about what counted at sex. “I’ll I’m saying is if you wanted to do more I’ll be up for it in like twenty minutes because ya know recover time.”

“More?” Jason questioned. What did he mean more, and why was the suggestion making Jason’s palms sweaty.

“Yeah, like ya know….whatever.” Percy replied with a complete non-answer that had Jason’s mind running off trying to figure out what he actually meant. Percy shrugged “Or not, no pressure I just figured it would be less weird with you.”

“Less weird?” Jason questioned doubtfully. He really wanted Percy to start making some kind of sense.

“Yeah, ‘cause we’re friends so like we are comfortable with each other and stuff.” Percy explained rather awkwardly. He paused for a moment staring at Jason critically like he expected Jason to actually say something in response. When Jason just stared back at him with confusion Percy diverted his eyes. “I’m not speaking English? You’re looking at me like I’m not speaking English?”

“No, that was all English.” Jason assured “I was just marveling at your brain. You seriously think it would be less weird?”

“Then fucking a complete stranger?” Percy questioned putting to rest what “more” meant for Jason. “Yes, I think it would be less weird”

“But we’d have to see each other afterwards, that could be awkward.” Jason pointed out which felt ridiculous because it was glaringly obvious.

“Bro,” he sighed dismissively “me and Nico are friends and he used to have a crush on me. If that’s not awkward, you and me fooling around and it won’t be awkward either.”

“You make that awkward all the time.” Jason exclaimed. He could probably think of ten times Percy has made that awkward in the last 24 hours. Will probably had a gods damned list.

“No, you and Will feel that it is awkward, me and Nico are good.” Percy retorted. “It’s only awkward if you let it be but I was just putting the idea out there.” he gave a casual shrug which in and of it’s self was frustrating Jason. This wasn’t a casual topic so why did Percy insist and talking and acting like it was. “If you’re not interested that cool, this was still fun.”

Jason stared at Percy critically for a moment. This easily could have turned into one of the silent challenges where Percy said it was up to him but the choices were loaded but it didn’t feel like that. Percy seemed to be genuinely leaving the decision up to Jason. Technically speaking, they had already fooled around, Jason considered it sex even if Percy didn’t. Things didn’t feel all that awkward. Actually, things didn’t seem different between them at all except the topic of conversation.

He still felt like he needed to check in with Piper to make sure this didn’t somehow break the rules. Still, he was interested but didn’t think he could actually say it. He stepped forward into Percy’s space and pushed their lips together. Every other time Jason had done that Percy had kissed him back immediately but this time Percy started laughing. Jason pulled back and started at Percy confused. “Bro, I was serious about the recovery time.” Percy informed with amusement.

“It seriously takes you 20 fucking minutes!” Jason exclaimed doubtfully. Twenty minutes was a really long time. Jason could usually bounce back in five. Sure they’d been drinking so the number might get pushed up to ten, not twenty.

“No, I could probably go in ten but why risk it.” Percy admitted. “Besides we both know you would never let me live it down if I couldn’t get it up.”

“You’re thinking of yourself there Percy.” Jason replied seriously although he might tease Percy a little if that were to happen but not too badly, he wasn’t a complete ass.

“You might be right quick draw.” Percy replied with a grin.

Jason grinned back “Bro, you moaned my name when you came” he reminded seriously.

“Right” Percy’s grin slid slightly. He pushed the door open behind him “Come on, lets see what trouble everyone else got in while we were gone.”

Jason smiled at his victory as he followed Percy out of the storage closet. “I haven’t heard fire alarms so it can’t be too bad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First things first, I promised the amazing petrichor1992 I would share my theory about Percy and Jason when I posted this chapter. Percy and Jason are literally each other's type. Percy is with Annabeth who has blonde hair and light, intense colored eyes (Gray), and is regimented and rule-oriented. Jason has blonde hair and light, intense colored eyes (Blue), and is more regimented and rule-oriented. Jason is also with Piper, who has dark hair and distinctive, striking eyes (multi-colored) and is more impulsive acting often based on instinct and emotion, and she is historically a bit of a trouble maker. Percy has dark hair and distinctive, striking eyes (green) and is more impulsive, acting often based on instinct and emotion, and we all know he's a bit of a trouble maker.
> 
> While Nico isn't in much of this chapter he is responsible for all my favorite moments in this chapter.
> 
> It's really interesting how everyone seems to have a different view on what counts as sex and from my research there seems to be more variability when it comes to gay sex so I wanted to play with that idea a little here. Jason just seems like the type that might have a more conservative view on the subject.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated.


	34. Gods and Dresses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday All,
> 
> Small announcement: I will not be posting Outtakes for a couple of weeks. I'm still working on it, but my life has been extra busy lately and it is going to be so for the next week or so. I just want to remove the pressure of an additional deadline. This is a good thing however because I'm almost caught up to the content of Normal Lives in Outtakes so this will help put distance.
> 
> Alright then enjoy this chapter! Next Week is Will's POV

Eros (followed closely by a pissed off Aphrodite) led them through the main showroom. It was pretty much just soft lighting and racks full of white dresses. Eros walked through the room like it was nothing. He set a pace that had Piper and the others practically jogging to keep up.

He led them back to another smaller room that looked more like the room Aphrodite had originally teleported them into except smaller. There was a couch and a few chairs set up as a seating area toward one side of the room. Along one wall there were floor to ceiling mirrors with a round pedestal. One the other side of the room there was a curtained off area. Piper figured was the changing room proper. Next to the curtain a rack that looked to contain six or seven white dresses.

“You can NOT take credit for Percabeth!” Aphrodite exclaimed stomping her foot so her heel made a dramatic click against the tile.

“I’m a god of love, they’re in love” Eros explained casually. He walked over to the small rack of dresses and appeared to examine its contents like he was trying to decide. “Of course, I can take credit.”

“Everyone knows Percabeth is one of my masterpieces!” The goddess shouted with increased frustration.

The god stopped his examination of the dresses and looked over his shoulder at Aphrodite. “Mother, now you’re just being dramatic.”

“Dramatic!” Aphrodite cried with outrage. “You’re taking credit for my work!”

“Yes, dramatic” Eros stated unaffected before turning his red eyes on Piper. “Piper, isn’t mother being dramatic?”

Piper had no desire to get involved in this fight. As the god of love stared at her all she could think about was how Jason had described Eros when he had met him. He had said the god’s red eyes were predatory, and she could see now he wasn’t wrong. “Um” Was the only response Piper could manage.

She was thankful when the god lost interest in her and turned his attention back to Aphrodite. “Honestly, what kind of god needs to take credit for another god’s work?”

Aphrodite huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. A distinct pout took over the goddesses face and she turned her head to the side looking away from the other deity. “Oh, you’re still going on about _that_.”

The god pulled a dress off the rack and examined it more thoroughly for a moment before holding it out. “Annabeth, try this one first” he declared. Annabeth seemed uncertain and hesitant but accepted the dress. A moment passed and Annabeth remained where she was with the dress in hand looking uncomfortable. The god seemed to grow slightly impatient and made a shoeing gesture toward the curtained off area “Go on.”

Annabeth shot Piper a nervous look, or maybe it was more than nervous, maybe it was a look of panic. Piper tried to look reassuring as she mimicked the gods gesture. Annabeth didn’t look particularly reassured. She walked toward the dressing area keeping a cautious eye on the god when she passed.

Once Annabeth disappeared behind the curtain Eros turned his attention fully on Aphrodite. “And yes mother, I’m still going on about _that_!” He hissed disapprovingly. His expression changed quickly to something more smug and Piper found it unnerving. “It isn’t nice when someone takes credit for your work, is it?”

“Oh honestly” Aphrodite huffed “Eros you can’t claim full credit for that one.” At that Eros’ blood red eyes seemed to go unnaturally wide, and his jaw dropped. What Aphrodite said was apparently so shocking the god was stunned into silence.

Piper was ashamed to say her interest was peeked. She wanted to know exactly what, or she guessed who the two gods were arguing about. A quick glance at the others told her she wasn’t the only one. She was trying to look uninterested while carefully listening for clues when Annabeth’s voice called from behind the curtain. “Piper!” she exclaimed sounding extremely frustrated. “I’m studying to be an architect and I still have no idea how to get into this thing.”

Piper grinned to herself as she started toward the curtain. “I’ll help” she assured. She pulled the curtain up just enough to slip into the changing area before pulling it shut behind her. She found Annabeth standing in the middle of the room. She was in nothing but her bra and underwear with her arms across her chest. Her face pointing downward scowling at the floor. The dress Annabeth was supposed to be trying on was lying in a heap on the floor. The white heap appeared to be the target of Annabeth’s visible annoyance.

Piper chuckled a little to herself as she shook her head. Annabeth was clever beyond belief yet she was bested by a wedding dress. She retrieved the dress from the ground, shook it out and started unlacing the back. Outside of the dressing room they heard Eros finally speak with clear outrage. “What do you mean I can’t take full credit!?!” he cried. Piper didn’t think a god’s voice could crack but if it could she was pretty sure Eros’ just did. “I brought them together!”

Piper finished unlacing the dress enough for Annabeth to get into it. She arranged the fabric at the bottom and held it open toward the floor. “Here,” She offered looking from the dress to Annabeth “step in” Piper instructed. Annabeth still looked annoyed, probably because she required help and couldn’t figure it out on her own. Still Annabeth did as she was told.

Once Annabeth was in the dress Piper pulled it up and turned it the right way. Outside the changing room, they heard Aphrodite declared dismissively. “Oh I’m sure I had something to do with that.”

Annabeth looked over her shoulder at Piper who had started lacing up the back of the dress. Piper paused and met Annabeth’s gray eyes. They didn’t say anything, they didn’t have to, it was obvious that they were both thinking the same thing, _gods_. After exchanging a grin at the overgrown ego of the Olympians, Piper returned to lacing Annabeth into the dress. She was about halfway down Annabeth’s back when she noticed a bit of a problem. “You know you’re going to have to take off your bra, right?” She asked Annabeth in a whisper.

Outside the dressing room the god of love shrieked. “EXCUSE ME!”

“Oh right,” Annabeth reached back as if she planned to unhook the bra herself. She couldn’t get her hands through the ribbon that laced up the back. “Can you unhook it for me?” She asked. Piper replied by slipping her hand between a crisscross of ribbon and unhooked the undergarment. Annabeth squirmed and shimmied slightly for a few seconds before shedding the piece of clothing entirely.

“I had every intent of rewarding the one whose name escapes me at the moment for the Battle of Manhattan. So I’m sure I had something to do with it.” Piper heard Aphrodite state plainly. Piper still had no idea what the gods were arguing about but even she didn’t buy what her mother was putting out there.

Piper finished lacing Annabeth into the dress as she listened to Eros’ retort. “Mother, I shot one of them with my arrows, resolved that absurd love triangle, put them in each other’s path during the battle. I caused them to feel sparks when they first touched.” He explained getting more heated with each word. “Plus, they’re gay and the gays are mine! Everyone knows that!”

Piper took a second to arrange the layers of fabric at the bottom of the dress before Annabeth pushed the curtain open. Piper followed Annabeth out of the changing room carrying a bit some of the weight from the back of the dress.

Annabeth paused and looked between Eros and Aphrodite for a moment. Then she asked the question that was swimming around in Piper’s head. “Are you both arguing about who can take credit for Nico and Will?”

“You mean _my_ masterpiece and personal OTP, Solangelo?” Eros questioned with a bit of pride coloring his voice. He was apparently very proud of his work. Piper figured it wouldn’t be a good idea to tell him Nico would be infuriated if he knew the god was taking credit for his relationship. “Yes, we are.”

“Ow,” Hazel declared. The daughter of Pluto had taken a seat on the couch in the seating area. A quick glance around the room and Piper realized that all the girls seemed to be giving the two deities a wide berth. She couldn’t actually argue with the logic in that, staying away from bickering gods seemed like a basic survival instinct. “Solangelo is a pretty name.” Hazel noted.

“We should start calling them that” Calypso stated. She was stationed on the far side of the room leaning against a small table. She had put the most physical distance between herself and the gods, which again, Piper understood.

Piper noticed the dirty look her mother shot in Eros’ direction before it faded. The goddess was all smiles as she approached Annabeth. “I suppose it sounds pretty but not nearly as pretty as Annabeth looks right now.” she declared placing a hand on Annabeth’s shoulder. The goddess ignored or was oblivious to the way Annabeth tried to flick away from her touch. “Come, l look at yourself.” She stated in the friendliest order Piper had ever heard as she led Annabeth to the mirrored area of the room. Piper followed and helped lift the skirt of the dress enough for Annabeth to step up onto the pedestal.

Aphrodite examined Annabeth critically for a moment. The intensity of the goddess’s expression made Piper nervous so she could only imagine how Annabeth felt with it focused on her. She seemed to come to a realization or decision and snapped her fingers. When the goddess snapped her fingers it was like when Piper had first been claimed by Aphrodite when she had arrived at Camp Half-Blood. This time, however, it was Annabeth that got the magical makeover. Her blonde curls seemed to tame themselves, becoming more smooth and distinct. The majority of her hair pulled up into a carefully messy mass that still allowed stray ringlets to fall here and there. Annabeth’s cheeks pinked from blush, her lips took on a glossy sheen. Pink eyeshadow appeared out of nowhere that made Annabeth’s gray eyes stand out more than usual, and her lashes appeared longer and darker. Annabeth looked horrified at the whole thing which was a feeling Piper could relate to. She had felt the same way when it had been her.

“So pretty” The goddess sighed contently. Clearly satisfied with her work Aphrodite looked passed them to glare at Eros. The god was leaning against the wall by the dress rack. “And I would hardly call it your best work.” she stated. “Honestly, how many times are you going to do the whole gay lovers meeting on the battlefield thing?”

Eros smiled triumphantly “So you admit they are mine?” Aphrodite just shrugged at that but looked away like she hadn’t realized she had admitted so much.

Calypso huffed and pushed off the table she had been using as support. She approached Annabeth and fixed a layer of sheer fabric on the dress. Looking up at Annabeth she asked “So Annabeth what do you think?”

Annabeth looked at her reflection critically and Piper did the same. The dress was pretty but Piper could tell right away Annabeth didn’t like it. It was a ballgown style dress with a heavily beaded bodice. The skirt was layer upon layer of sheer fabric with each layer cut a bit shorter than the one before it. The longer Annabeth examined herself in the mirror the more the expression she wore resembled a scowl. When she finally answered Calypso’s question Piper wasn’t really surprised. “I feel like I’m going to drown in this dress and it itches.”

“So a no then?” Reyna questioned. The daughter of Bellona was standing nearest the door keeping a wary eye on both gods. And while her posture looked casual Piper was positive the girl was prepared to run if things got out of hand.

“Definitely not” Annabeth agreed with one last look of distaste at the dress she was wearing.

“It’s pretty but I see what you mean.” Eros stated thoughtfully. The god turned and pulled another dress off the rack. He held it out toward Annabeth. “How about this one next.”

Piper helped gather up some of the bottom of the dress so Annabeth could step off the pedestal without tripping on fabric. As Annabeth stepped down the women from earlier appeared in the doorway. She was carrying a bottle of champagne in each hand. “But first” she declared in her extremely thick accent. “Champagne.”

“Oh yes” Aphrodite agreed “Champagne.”

The woman seemed to take Aphrodite’s word as law which was mildly unnerving in Piper’s opinion. She deposited the two bottles on the coffee table in the sitting area. She then walked to the cabinet Calypso had been leaning on and opened it to reveal champagne glasses. Eros and Aphrodite moved to assist with the pouring of champagne and the distribution of glasses.

Eros smiled at them as he handed a glass to Piper and Annabeth. She was sure it was supposed to be friendly or even flirtatious but the red eyes made it predatory. Both girls still accepted the glasses, and Annabeth only took a half a step back. Piper took a sip and the bubbles tickled her noise a bit. After a second sip, she turned to Annabeth. “And we have to take a picture of you in that dress.”

Annabeth turned to look at her with confusion. “Why?”

Piper grinned wickedly more to herself then her friends. “We promised to send pictures to Nico.” She reminded before taking another small sip of her champagne.

“If we send him a picture of me in every dress by the end of the night he is going to shadow travel here to kill us.” Annabeth stated seriously.

“Pff” Piper dismissed the idea with the wave of her hand. “By the end of the night he’s going to shadow travel to Tennessee. He will be far too busy with Will and the nakedness to be worried about us.”

Calypso appeared at Piper’s right nodding in agreement. Eros grinned in her direction as he noted. “Perceptive little sister”

“Good point” Annabeth admitted handing her glass over to Piper. “one picture.”

Reyna stepped forward “I’ll take it.” She offered.

“Thanks” Annabeth replied. She pointed toward the curtained off changing area “My phone is in my bag.”

Reyna nodded with understanding before walking over to the curtained area and retrieving Annabeth’s bag. It took a couple minutes of rummaging but Reyna eventually found Annabeth’s cellphone. After a quick tutorial from Annabeth Reyna was able to snap a picture that wasn’t half-bad. The real problem arose when Reyna tried to attach the photo to a text message. The Roman demigod had very little experience with cell phones and it was showing so she handed it off to Annabeth.

As Annabeth typed quickly Hazel called out rather excitedly. “Oh send it to Will too” she suggested. “So he’s included.”

Annabeth showed her agreement with a nod. “Sure, I guess” Piper sighed “he _may_ have good taste. You know, deep in there, past the part of his brain that bought lime green flip flops.”

Annabeth looked up at her and smirked with amusement. “You need to let it go Pipes.”

“Lime green with orange” Piper remembered with a shutter. She really liked Will. She still sometimes suspected that the son of Apollo went out of his way to wear clashing colors. Maybe it was his way of defying stereotypes. Or maybe he was just making up for the fact that his boyfriend refused to wear color. “It was just a lot, visually.”

“I know” Annabeth stated dismissively as she weakly patted Piper on the shoulder. Piper knew her friend was just humoring her. Annabeth looked up from her phone to declare “Sent” She handed the phone off to Reyna, who pocketed it for later use.

As Aphrodite moved to refill glasses an excited look crossed Hazel’s face. “We should toast!” She suggested.

“Ow yes!” Aphrodite agreed excitedly before anyone had time to think about it. She held out her glass before declaring “To the brilliance and utter perfection of my work”

All the girls turned and looked at Aphrodite blankly. Honestly, what were they supposed to say to a comment like that. Piper couldn’t help but shake her head disapprovingly at the goddess for trying to make everything about her. “Yes mother” Eros stated flatly, rolling his eyes “Because that’s what your ego needs.”

“How about we toast to Annabeth and Percy?” Reyna suggested looking at Aphrodite with equal parts awe and shock.

“That’s what I said.” Aphrodite replied simply.

“Wow” Calypso declared looking at the goddess in disbelief. The moment passed and turned to Annabeth with a smile holding up her own glass. “To Annabeth and Percy for overcoming all the obstacles put in your way you have earned your happily ever after.”

“Cheers to that!” Piper called clinking her glass against first Annabeth’s and then Calypso’s before taking a sip.

There was more clinking of glasses and a bit of laughter. Eros broke the mood by turning on Aphrodite. “That’s another thing, mother” He began in a serious almost accusing tone. “What is your obsession with love triangles?”

There was a collective heavy sigh from all the girls. Annabeth passed her half-drunken glass of champagne to Calypso before looking over at Piper with desperation. “Please, get me out of this dress.”

Piper passed her own glass off to Reyna before grinning at Annabeth. “I thought you would never ask.” she commented suggestively. Apparently, when Annabeth had told Percy he had permission to go out and be with a guy his first comment (once he understood what she was saying) was about Annabeth being with a girl. When Annabeth had told Piper that the daughter of Aphrodite couldn’t help but jokingly volunteering. Ever since then it had been an ongoing thing between them.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and smiled before smacking Piper on the arm. “Dear gods you sound like Percy” The blonde declared as she walked toward the dressing room.

“Hey, you have sex with Percy on a regular basis.” Piper pointed out as she went to follow Annabeth. She paused to take the dress Eros indicated was next off the rack before passing through the curtain. “So apparently you’re into that” She pointed out teasingly. Annabeth largely ignored her as she was trying to reach behind herself to untie the dress. Piper shook her head at Annabeth’s rather uncoordinated attempt for a second before swatting the other girl’s hands away. Piper started the seemingly long process of unlacing the back of the dress.

Outside the dressing room Eros apparently wasn’t done talking about love triangles. “There was Percy, Annabeth and Luke. Then there was Percy, Annabeth, and Calypso. Followed by Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel. Let's not forget Percy, Annabeth, and Reyna or Jason, Piper, and Reyna. A _nd_ then there was Hazel, Frank, and Leo.” Eros listed. Piper had the desire to whistle impressed. She hadn’t realized the number of love triangles she and her friends had endured. It was impressive in a horrible slightly depressing way. “Am I forgetting any? Oh right, my least favorite Annabeth, Percy, and Nico.” The god noted with clear disapproval. “There are other ways to add conflict to a relationship mother.”

“Wow” Piper hear Reyna comment flatly. “hearing my romantic failures listed like that is depressing.”

Piper managed to loosen the bindings of the dress enough so Annabeth could step out of it. For the moment being Piper discarded the dress in a heap of white fabric in the corner of the room. She was too impatient to figure out how to hang it properly. As she turned to examine the second dress to see if something needed to be unlaced before Annabeth could get into it she heard the daughter of Athena grumble. “Tell me about it.”

“Your taking credit for Solangelo but the crush on Percy is my fault?” Piper heard her mother asked incredulously.

“Well, it certainly wasn’t mine.” Eros stated. Piper didn’t need to see the god’s face to tell he was on the defensive. “And I don’t know if Percy is really impressive enough to warrant so much attention.” he added dismissively “Ladies, thoughts?”

“He has his moments” Reyna replied flatly. Piper could just imagine the Praetor’s stony expression as she offered her opinion.

The second dress was far easier to deal with than the first. Nothing needed to be unlaced, instead there was a zipper. Still, Piper helped arrange the fabric so Annabeth could step into the dress without difficulty. As Piper helped pull the dress up Annabeth seemed to give the god’s question some thought. “Not for the reasons most people think.” She offered a very Annabeth type answer.

“Not really” Piper commented, offering a dissenting opinion before adding. “Now Jason is impressive.”

In the mirror she saw Annabeth roll her eyes at her. Outside the dressing room she heard Reyna repeat. “He has his moments” This time Piper figured she was talking about Jason and not Percy.

“When he is not being knocked unconscious.” Annabeth commented. Piper noticed the teasing grin her friend shot at her in the mirror and she zipped the dress.

“If you insist on using the love triangle bit at least add some unpredictability into it.” Eros continued as Piper made a few minor adjustments to the dress Annabeth was wearing. “Like Annabeth Percy, and Jason with Percy at the apex.” The god suggested and Piper almost fell over with contained laughter. When she managed to compose herself she caught Annabeth’s eyes and mouthed _I told you_. Annabeth rolled her eyes at her. “Jercy had some real potential.”

Piper picked up the train of the dress as she heard a loud noise from the outer room. Seconds later the distinct sound of someone coughing. When they stepped through the curtain Piper saw the coughing was coming from Hazel. The daughter of Pluto was staring at the god of Love with wide eyes as Reyna patted her back like she had been cocking.

“You okay?” Annabeth asked Hazel with concern. She walked toward the pedestal with Piper trailing her, train in hand.

“I think” Hazel managed to choke out. “I just hadn’t expected that.”

“Eros” Aphrodite sighed with exasperation as she stared at the other deity. “You’re doing it again.”

It was much easier for Annabeth to step up onto the pedestal in the new dress but Piper still helped. Once she was up Piper dropped the train and moved around to fix the bottom of the dress so they could get a good look. She heard Eros question Aphrodite innocently. “Doing what?”

“Trying to make everyone and everything gay.” The goddess replied with annoyance.

Piper snickered as she made the last adjustments to the dress. “Well Percy and Jason are bi so it’s not much of a stretch.” She pointed out stepping back so she wasn’t obscuring Annabeth’s reflection.

“Still” Aphrodite declared moving over to assess Annabeth. The daughter of Athena watched the goddess warily. Aphrodite stared at her like Annabeth was an especially challenging puzzle. After a moment the goddess snapped her fingers and Annabeth’s magical hair and make-up changed slightly. Her blonde hair shifted and twisted until it ran in on long braid down her hair. Her make-up took on more natural tones, the eyeshadow shifting from pink to copper.

Annabeth groaned and turned to openly glare at the goddess. “Could you please stop doing that?”

“I just want you to get the full effect” Aphrodite defended innocently.

Annabeth’s expression hardened and she brought a hand to rest on her hip. “And I just want to look like myself.” She informed firmly.

Aphrodite just blinked at Annabeth in confusion which in all fairness wasn’t surprising. Piper doubted her mother could understand. Annabeth sighed with resignation and Piper made a mental note to remind her that the magical make-up wore off quickly.

“You look really pretty” Hazel pointed out reassuringly. She wasn’t wrong, Annabeth actually looked stunning. This dress was much more simple than the first one had been. It seemed more in line with Annabeth’s personal style. The white dress draped over one shoulder and held snug to Annabeth’s body until it came to her hips and then it fell free.

“I like this one” Calypso commented as she handed Annabeth her glass of champagne.

“Annabeth, you look stunning” Reyna declared taking the words right out of Piper’s mouth.

Annabeth stared at herself in the mirror critically. She didn’t reply to the compliments not that Eros gave her a real opportunity to before he started talking. “Well how about that” he declared waving his hand as if to indicate Piper, Annabeth, and Reyna. “You could keep the Annabeth, Reyna, and Percy triangle or the Piper, Reyna, Jason triangle but have Piper or Annabeth at the apex.” he offered then eyed them thoughtfully. “Or you could get rid of the boys all together.” Piper felt her face burn. Annabeth looked to be having a similar reaction to that comment. Reyna was staring at the god wide-eyed and slack jawed.

Aphrodite crossed her arms over her chest and groaned. “Stop trying to make everything gay.”

There was a stretch of silence that felt like it was getting more awkward by the second. “So,” Calypso broke the silence bringing the attention back to Annabeth. “What do you think of the dress?”

Annabeth made a face as she continued to examine herself in the mirror. “It’s too Roman” She replied.

“What’s wrong with Roman?” Reyna questioned only a little defensively.

“Nothing” Annabeth assured before adding. “but I’m not.”

“Alright,” Piper declared with finality because this was clearly not the dress. “let’s take a picture and then on to dress number three.”

They snapped a quick picture of Annabeth in dress number two before Piper and Annabeth moved back to the curtained off dressing room. The third dress that Aphrodite just insisted Annabeth try on was similar to the first one in that the bottom had lots of layers. Piper was helping Annabeth step into the dress when they got a text message back, but not from Nico or Will.

Reyna read the message which was sent from Will’s phone but according to the text was actually his friends Ruby and Nora. In their collective opinion the first dress was too fro-fro-y and the second one looked like a toga. That had made Annabeth laugh harder than Piper would have thought. They decided to keep sending pictures to Will’s phone for Ruby and Nora’s opinion.

The third dress was a no. There was nothing wrong with it but it just didn’t seem like Annabeth, although she did admit she liked the lace. Annabeth despised the fourth dress so much she didn’t want to step out from behind the curtain. It took some convincing on Piper’s part to get her to show the others. The dress looked really nice on her but Annabeth would hear none of it. Whenever anyone tried to compliment her Annabeth would reply she was not “a fairytale princess”.

It was around then they finally hear from Nico. His text message was simple and to the point: _Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I care. Stop sending me pictures_.

The fourth dress was interesting, Annabeth stared at it for a long time repeating “I don’t know.” In the end she decided it wasn’t the dress for her, but she really liked the color. Eros grinned when he heard that and handed Annabeth the last dress on the rack.

As soon as Annabeth stepped out from behind the curtain it was obvious that something was different. Eros looked so proud of himself. Piper thought his ego would crush them. Aphrodite squealed and clapped her hands excitedly. Hazel gasped and Piper could have sworn she saw Calypso whip a tear from her eye. It was all at the sight of Annabeth.

The dress was a muted peach in color. The top was made entirely of lace with cap sleeves and a plunging neckline. The lace faded into flowing layers of sheer fabric past the waistline. Everyone seemed to stare at Annabeth in awe too afraid to speak. Eros was the one to break the silence. “Anytime you want to say it.”

Annabeth took a deep breath like she was trying to steely herself “I think I found my wedding dress.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated.


	35. Will's Night Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally Sunday!
> 
> So small warning: There are some references to sex, and a homophobic slur or two.
> 
> Enjoy!

Will dropped himself into the passenger seat of Dean’s tiny car. He had to carefully arranged his knees so they didn’t hit the glove compartment. He felt like he was trying to cram himself into a clown car but kept the thought to himself. Dean loved his car, even though it was a piece of crap, and took any negative comment about her personally.

He pulled the door shut and placed his iPhone on his lap. He arranged it carefully so he could see if the screen lit up because of a call or text. Dean climbed behind the steering wheel and put the keys in the ignition. The engine of the ancient Honda turned over with a rattling noise that was disconcerting. Will wasn’t a mechanic or a child of Hephaestus but he was pretty sure a car wasn’t supposed to sound like that.

Normally Will would have pointed that out. He may not have wanted to offend his cousin but he also didn’t want the car to explode with them in it. Tonight wasn’t the norm, Will’s attention was too focused on his phone to comment that Dean’s car sounded like a dying harpy.

He was honestly so distracted it took him a minute for him to notice the car wasn’t moving. He glanced up to look at his cousin questioningly. Dean was staring at him “I thought you and Nico talked this through and things were good.” he stated flatly.

“What?” Will questioned. Dean looked down at the phone in Will’s lap pointedly before looking back up at Will. With a sigh, Will tried to slump down in his seat a bit but he hit his knees on the dash prompting him to sit up again. He didn’t want to take about this. He could add that to the list of things he didn’t want tonight like the stupid party Dean was dragging him to. “We did.” He muttered, “Why?”

“You’re staring at your phone like you’re trying to will it to ring” Dean informed gravely. “Is something going on?”

“No” Will replied which was true enough. Nothing was going on he was just having an internal crisis even though he shouldn’t be. “Not really” He stated insistently. Will wasn’t even sure who he was trying to convince, himself or Dean. “It’s fine,” he muttered weakly. Will was sure he wasn’t doing a very good job of convincing anyone the way he said that. He needed to change the topic, that was the only way he was going to get through the night. He needed distractions, not reminders. “Why are we going to this thing again?” Will questioned. It seemed legitimate, the party was being thrown by one member of the football team or another. The football team currently hated them, especially Will, for ruining their season. In all fairness, their school’s football team wasn’t all that good to begin with. Putting the blame for their horrible season solely on Eric’s broken nose seemed like a stretch. That didn’t seem to stop them, though.

Dean let out a heavy sigh and put the car in reverse. He spoke as he looked over his shoulder to back out of Will’s driveway. “Because it’s New Year’s Eve and there is nothing else to do,” Dean explained as he missed the mailbox by mere inches. He gave Will a sideways glance as they drove down the side street toward the main road. “And seriously is something going on?” he questioned sounding concerned. 

Will figured that was fair considering how he had acted recently but he still didn’t like it. “Nothing is going on” He stated with a little more force. Now he just sounded like he was in denial. Will wanted to throw up his hands in defeat. He just couldn’t say those words and make them sound believable. But they were the truth. He dared a quick glance down at his phone, the screen was black and it reminded silent. “Nico is just hanging out with some of his friends” He explained unnecessarily. His displeasure at that came out more in his voice than he would have liked. He glanced at Dean and found him looking back inquisitively. Will needed to change the subject again. He leaned back as much as he could in the tiny seat and grinned at his cousin. In his mind, he was patting himself on the back for producing what felt like a natural expression of amusement. “Why? If something was going on you would kick Nico’s ass?”

Dean laughed and stopped hard at the stop sign at the end of Will’s block. It was a jarring motion but at least Dean didn’t actually run the stop sign, which had happened before. “Yes,” he replied. “I would wrangle Wash and Watts to help. The three of us would probably still lose because you’re dating the world’s tiniest ninja but I would at least try because we are family and that is what you do,” Dean explained. Will caught him glancing at him from the corner of his eye. Will knew what he was going to ask before he even started talking. “So when you say Nico is hanging out with friends, is Percy one of those friends?”

“Yeah but it’s fine I know Nico isn’t interested in Percy anymore.” Will replied quickly. That was the truth, and Will knew it so he didn’t understand why he sounded so unsure. “It’s fine.”

“Wow!” Dean exclaimed shooting Will an amused expression. “Want to try that again but this time say it like you mean it?”

“Shut up” Will groaned, it sucked sometimes that Dean could see through him sometimes. “I trust Nico,” he explained happily that part at least sounded like he believed it. “That doesn’t mean I’m completely comfortable with everything.”

“Obviously,” Dean commented. He came to yet another unexpected stop at the town’s only traffic light. The car sputtered and shuttered slightly as it idled which was more concerning than the weird noises it made when Dean started her up. Will looked over at his cousin ready to tell him he seriously needed to take his car to a professional before it completely gave out. Dean spoke before he could say a word. “You know if you wanted I would totally help you kick this Percy guy’s ass.” He offered sincerely before grinning “You could tell him to stay away from your man.”

“That would go about as well as you trying to beat up Nico.” Will replied plainly knowing that was the world’s biggest understatement. Percy hadn’t saved the world twice through is generally sassy attitude, he was a skilled fighter. Even Nico, who tended to act like everyone else were inexperienced children compared to him when it came to a sword, had admitted (when they were very alone) that it really came down to an actual fight between him and Percy he wasn’t sure who would win. For Nico to even admit that much said a lot. Percy and Jason didn’t think Nico felt that son of the big three competitiveness they did but they were wrong. Nico felt it he just wasn’t as loud about it. Will figured that was pretty reflective of their godly parents: Zeus and Poseidon were most often bickering about who was better up on Mount Olympus while Hades was in the underworld working to prove he was better than his brothers.

The light turned green and Dean took a left jarring Will from his thoughts. “I thought the party was on 1st Street?” Will asked looking around confused. 1st Street was definitely back the other way.

“It is,” Dean replied with a shrug. Will got the distinct impression that his cousin was working hard not to look at him.

When it became clear that Dean wasn’t going to explain himself further Will asked a follow-up question. Although, if he cousin’s behavior was any real indication Will knew the answer. “So where are we going?”

Dean’s eyes stayed fixed on the road. There was a long stretch of silence before he finally spoke. “I told Felix I would give him a ride,” He stated in a carefully neutral tone.

Will couldn’t help but groan and roll his eyes at that. “Why is it you are willing to get your ass kicked for me but you won’t avoid one asshole?” He questioned not bothering to hide his annoyance. Will had enough stuff going on right now, he didn’t have the patience to deal with Felix on top of everything.

“He’s not that bad” Dean insisted in his own defense.

“Yes, he is.” Will disagreed firmly. It actually took a bit of effort to not laugh at his cousin’s assertion. Will didn’t think Dean would actually think to defend Felix’ personality. Even he had admitted on several occasions that the guy was abrasive.

“Well maybe with you” Dean admitted with a sigh. Will slouched in his seat as he tried to think of a retort and failed. The fact was Felix seemed to go out of his way to be an ass toward Will, that didn’t mean he was nice to everyone else. He was, however, at least a bit more bearable.

Dean started drumming his fingers on the steering wheel which Will knew was a nervous habit. Will couldn’t really help looking at his cousin curiously, not much made Dean nervous. His eyes stayed glued to the road even as he spoke. “So Nico said something the other day on the phone…..”

Will waited and when Dean didn’t finish his thought he questioned. “Yeah?”

“About Felix” Dean stated. He said it with such finality like that was supposed to explain everything.

Will could only think of one thing Nico would have to say on the subject of Felix to Dean. He couldn’t imagine Nico actually saying it. “Yeah?” he probed nervously.

Dean sighed with clear exasperation and finally took his eyes off the road long enough to give Will a frustrated look. “He said that Felix had a crush on me.”

Will groaned audibly. He couldn’t believe Nico had actually told Dean that, the two had talked for all of a minute. On top of that, he couldn’t believe Nico didn’t at least warn Will that he had dropped that particular bomb. And for that matter, he was shocked it had taken Dean so long to question Will about it. Will shot his cousin a nervous look “He did?”

“So you know about that?” Dean questioned and Will noticed that carefully neutral tone was back.

Based on how Dean was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel at a frantic pace and his neutral tone Will figured this situation needed to be handled delicately. “I know Nico has a theory.”

“And what are your thoughts on this theory?” Dean questioned and the neutral tone had slipped some, Will could detect an edge of emotion under it.

“At first I thought it was crazy” Will admitted. He looked down at his phone because it felt like the safest place to look at the moment. “but well….. now I don’t really know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Dean asked. The neutral tone was completely gone although Will could tell Dean was still trying.

“I just don’t know” Will repeated.

“Dude there is nothing not to know,” Dean stated firmly. “you either think he has a crush on me or not.”

Will sighed heavily. There was no way he was getting out of this without giving his opinion. “I don’t know it’s just….you guys touch a lot.”

“We touch a lot!” Dean exclaimed far louder than seemed necessary gesturing between himself and Will.

“We’re related, that’s different.” Will stated before adding “And he listens to you when you tell him to stop being an ass. He doesn’t do that with anybody else.” Unfortunately, this was a topic Will had given plenty of thought. He had just hoped he would never actually have to explain any of his reasoning to Dean.

Dean was quiet so long it made Will nervous. When he finally spoke his tone was surprisingly calm and thoughtful. “So what I’m hearing is you think he has a thing for me.”

“I think….well, it’s a possibility,” Will stated carefully. It was more or less the truth if you treated the word possibility as a synonym for the word fact.

“Dude!” Dean shouted, his hand shooting out and smacking Will in the chest. “Were you going to tell me?”

“I don’t know!” Will shouted in response as he rubbed at the sore spot on his chest. “Probably, eventually” he offered rather unconvincingly. The truth was Will had had no intentions of telling Dean about this. It wasn’t his crush, it wasn’t his place but that wasn’t the only reason. While Dean would freak out over the bit of information (and he clearly was) he wouldn’t just drop Felix as a friend because of it. Dean wasn’t that kind of guy. So all Will telling Dean about it would do was lead to some serious awkwardness.

“What am I supposed to do?” Dean growled but there was an underlying sincerity to the question. Will peeked at his cousin out of the corner of his eye and saw Dean looking back at him questioningly.

“I don’t know” Will shrugged “I guess that depends on what you want.” He offered and he knew it wasn’t really helpful advice. He was pretty sure that Dean wasn’t into guys but whenever he had made that point with Nico the son of Hades just shrugged. Worse, he looked at Will like he thought his obliviousness was cute. Sure, Nico could have been playing with him but it didn’t stop him from wondering. If Dean was questioning Will didn’t want to offer some advice that would make his confusion worse.

“You are absolutely no help” Dean declared slumping back in his seat. He turned left on a side street toward the edge of town. He was still drumming his fingers on the steering wheel nervously. Will watched curiously wondering what had Dean nervous. Dean caught him watching from the corner of this eye and groaned. “And stop looking at me like that I’m straight!”

Will held up his hands in surrender “I obviously wouldn’t judge you if you weren’t.” He pointed out.

“Seriously not helping!” Dean declared pulling into a driveway and shifting into park. He shot Will an annoyed look. “And if I were gay I would have told you, keeping a huge secret like that is more your thing,” he stated. The words felt like a slap in the face, Will realized that he deserved it but Dean usually wasn’t the type to hold a grudge. Dean slammed the meat of his hand down on the steering wheel far harder than was necessary to cause the horn to beep aggressively. After a long honk of the horn, Dean sighed and slumped back in his seat, the tension visibly slipping from his body. “Fuck sorry that came out a lot more passive aggressive then I meant dude.” He offered sincerely.

“It’s fine” Will mumbled and looked down at his phone for a safe place to look. He still felt guilty for the secrets he had to keep from his cousin. He could only imagine what Dean’s reaction would be if he found out about all the other secrets Will had to keep.

He felt Dean’s eyes on him and heard him sigh. Will was sure his cousin was about to launch into a long apology for that comment before the back door of the car pulled open. Felix dropped himself onto the back seat with an over dramatic huff. “Jesus! What took you so fucking long?” Felix questioned aggressively.

Will rolled his eyes and looked at Felix in the rearview mirror. “Felix” He greeted in a muffled tone. That was about as nice as Will could manage when it came to Felix.

Dean resituated himself in the driver seat so that he was looking back at Felix. “Dude, say it with me now” he suggested “Thanks for picking me up.”

“Whatever dude” Felix replied pulling the car door shut “just drive already”

“Fine” Dean turned back with a bit of a huff. Will couldn’t really help the smirk that spread across his face. He and Dean had grown up together. Since Will’s uncle was pretty much a giant man-child Dean spent a lot of time at Will’s house. Will’s mom had some strong beliefs regarding manners. If either of them ever acted like Felix she would have whipped their hides. He did his best to hide his smirk by looking down at his phone and checking the screen. Nothing had changed, there were no messages from Nico, but Dean must have caught his grin. “Will whip that smirk off your face and I swear to god if I catch you looking at your phone one more time I’m taking it.” He declared.

Will’s head snapped up and he found himself clutching his phone protectively. “I didn’t say anything” he reasoned. Why this had suddenly become about Will’s phone instead of Felix’ complete lack of manners was beyond him. More importantly, he didn't like it.

“I know, that’s why I said whip the smirk off your face and not shut up” Dean explained. He fixed Will with a warning look from the corner of his eye. “And I’m serious about taking your phone, so don’t test me.”

Will could tell when Dean was being fake serious and when he was being real serious. Unfortunately, he was currently being real serious. That was kind of rare for Dean but when it did happen there was really no point of arguing. Will stayed silent and slipped his phone into the pocket of his jeans as a show of his understanding.

“Now that we got that out of the way will you fucking drive already?” Felix questioned with annoyance from the backseat.

“Yeah because we are in a rush to get to a party being thrown by people that hate us.” Will commented. He still wasn’t sure why he had let Dean talk him into going to this party. Actually, that wasn’t true, Will knew exactly why. For the last month or so Dean silently put up with Will being a moody pain in the ass while he was freaking out about the whole Percy thing; Will felt guilty. Hopefully, this would be his last act of contrition.

“It’s going to be awesome” Dean assured with a smile in the face of Will’s negative. He put the car in reverse and pulled out of the driveway. He looked toward Will with a teasing expression. “Stop being a pessimist you sound like Felix.”

“Dude name calling isn’t nice” Will retorted with fake outrage. Dean just snickered and Will heard Felix huff with annoyance in the backseat.

Since Felix lived on one side of town and the party was on the other it was about a ten-minute drive. It would have only been only two from Will’s house but he wasn’t going to point them out. Two minutes into the drive Dean and Felix started bickering over which radio station to listen to; Dean wanted classic rock and Felix wanted rap. Will stayed out of the argument but if he was going to give his vote he would have gone with classic rock. He didn’t tune out their bickering as much as he normally would out of curiosity. Dean, to his credit, largely acted like he always did with Felix although he ultimately conceded and put on a rap station. Normally Dean would have compromised and put on something like a top-forty station.

Will tried to sneak a few glances at his phone but Dean seemed to catch him each time. He didn’t follow through on his threat to actually take Will’s phone. However, Will suspected that had more to do with Dean driving than anything else.

The party was at one of the houses in the nicest parts of town. The house was so large Will was pretty sure that his mom’s house was probably the size of the house’s garage. The block was packed with cars, which wasn’t atypical for the New Year’s Eve party. It still always made Will wonder why the party never got broken up. It was probably because all the cops in town grew up around there and remembered doing the same thing when they were teenagers.

Dean parked up the block and the walked to the house. Outside of the large number of cars parked along the street the only real sign, there was a party going on was the sound of music and loud talking coming from inside. It was still pretty early, the New Year’s Eve party never stayed tame for long.

Will found himself dragging his feet as he approached the front door. He felt like he was knowingly walking into a monster’s den. “I don’t want to be here.” He declared coming to a full stop.

“Yes, you’ve made that abundantly clear” Dean stated flatly. He clapped a hand on Will’s shoulder and started urging him forward. Dean was athletic enough but Will was stronger, he had to be, he had lived through actual wars. Still Will reluctantly allowed Dean to push him forward. “But sitting at home staring at your phone all night isn’t an option so try and have fun.”

“Who’s throwing this thing anyway?” Felix questioned as they started moving toward the house again.

“Kyle something or another” Dean replied without a whole lot of interest. His hand was still on Will’s shoulder driving him forward. Will didn’t know if that was entirely necessary anymore. Although he was pretty sure that if he currently had Nico’s ability to shadow-travel he would have used it to get out of this by now. So maybe Dean had the right idea.

“The guy that took over as quarterback after Eric’s injury?” Felix asked curiously.

“Yeah that’s the one” Dean acknowledged as the started to climb the steps to the front door.

“Awesome” Will grumbled sarcastically under his breath.

A group of giggling and clearly drunk girls busted out of the front door and they had to step to the side to avoid getting completely mowed over by them as they stumbled down the stairs. “You know,” Felix stated as they waited for the girls to pass. “he’s probably the one guy on the football team that is at least partially grateful that Eric got benched so it could be worse.”

Will had the desperate desire to slap Felix for even talking. He really didn’t remember asking Felix for his opinion on the situation. Dean laughed and started all but pushing Will through the door the crowd of girls had left open. “I’ve got Felix looking on the bright side and you complaining about everything.” He commented, “It must be opposite day or something.”

If Will had been to one high school party he had been to them all. The interior of the house already looked like it was well on it’s way to being completely trashed. There were disposable cups covering every flat surface as far as the eye could see. A few even littered the floor. Will knew from experience that it would only get worse as the night went on. The lights were low, and there was nondescript techno music playing. If Will was in a better mood the music might have made him laugh. Nico had called him a few times from photo shoots when he got bored, or when Austin and Mitchell snuck off to fool around. Will could always hear similar techno music was always playing in the background. Unfortunately, in Will’s current state of mind, all it did was make him think of Nico. Thinking about Nico would just make him nervous and depressed.

They ended up running into Wash, Watts, and the girls almost as soon as they walked in the door. That really wasn’t a surprise since the four of them seemed to be hovering there.

“Hey!” Wash called over to them almost as soon as they walked in the door. “There you guys are!”

“We were starting to think you weren’t coming” Watts added as the moved to greet them.

Will shrugged. “I didn’t want to be here so that held us up.” Will didn’t feel like lying, he really didn’t want to be at this stupid part. If Will had his way he would be sitting in his bedroom staring at his phone longingly. Possibly while listening to overly romantic music. He already had a playlist prepared for it and everything.

“Sweetie,” Nora reached out and patted his arm reassuringly “it’s going to be fine.”

“We haven’t even seen Eric or Promise” Ruby added. Will realized the girls had inaccurately assumed Will didn’t want to be there because of concern that the football would try to retaliate for Eric’s nose. Will said nothing to correct the assumption, and neither did Dean. Sure, Will would avoid a confrontation if he could but he wasn’t all that worried about it. He had fought armies of monsters, compared to that some jocks really all that frightening. Will’s real worry was Nico in California with Percy. And it wasn’t that he didn’t trust Nico, it was just Percy always made the most inappropriate comments. Gods Will wished his only worry was some annoyed football players.

“Granted we’ve been sticking pretty close to the door” Wash offered like that wasn’t already obvious.

“Why?” Dean asked with genuinely. Will thought the reason was pretty clear but Dean had it in his mind that the night was going to be great. Whenever Dean got like that it was like he had blinders on to all the potential problems. It was like college after Dean had gotten over the fact Will was applying to a school out west he started to try to sell Will on New York City.

“We were waiting for you guys” Watts replied trying and failing to play it cool. It didn’t really help that as soon as he said the words Ruby and Nora exchanged a look and rolled their eyes.

“Also” Wash added, “we wanted to be able to make a quick escape if the football team decided to jump us.”

“Why would they do that?” Felix questioned “It was Will’s boyfriend who broke the quarterback’s nose. If anyone’s going to be their target, it’s Will”

“Felix!” Dean shot the other boy a seriously disapproving look.

“What?” Felix questioned with a shrug. “It’s the truth,” he declared before giving a look around the room like he was bored with the conversation and therefore them. “I need a beer.”

As much as Will hated even thinking it, Felix was right. The only problem the football team would have with any of the guys was due to their association with Will. Everyone’s night would probably go better if he wasn’t there, Will thought. “So I’m going to go home.” Will offered flatly with a little point in the direction of the door.

He had taken a half a step in the direction of the exit when Dean caught his arm. “No, you’re not.” He told Will firmly. Will held in a groan but just barely. His guilt over being moody that last month was fading fast. “Beer sounds good” he commented more toward Felix then Will but that was to be expected. Dean may not have known the Fourth of July story but he did know Will wasn’t much of a drinker. He turned toward Wash and Watts, both of whom had disposable cups in hand. “Where’s the beer at?”

“Kitchen” Watts replied while both he and Wash pointed deeper into the house.

“Alright then, catch you guys in a bit,” Dean stated. He started walking in the direction Wash and Watts had pointed. He still hadn’t released his grip on Will’s arm so Will was given little choice but to let Dean pull him along. Worse yet, they hadn’t even lost Felix. Will could sense the general aura of bad attitude following a few steps behind. “Come on let's get a drink” Dean stated. It was clear he didn’t actually plan on giving Will a choice in the matter “and you’ll see everything is fine.”

Will grumbled under his breath but didn’t actually say anything. There was really no point arguing with Dean when he got like this and Will knew that. He let himself get pulled along and only dragged his feet a little bit, as a sign of protest. With his free hand, he pulled his phone out of his pocket hoping to take advantage of Dean’s relative distraction. He just wanted to see if he had any missed calls or messages. He hadn’t heard his phone ring, or feel it vibrate but that didn’t mean anything really. He could have just not noticed, he told himself rather unconvincingly.

Dean was more perceptive than Will gave him credit for sometimes. He must have noticed the motion or saw the from the screen, Will couldn’t really be sure. It didn’t matter how he noticed, it mattered that he did. Dean didn’t pause in his efforts to drag Will through the absurdly large home. He did, however, shoot Will a seriously unamused look. “Dude seriously, I will take it, I swear,” he stated firmly. Will silently returned his phone to his pocket, figuring there was no point arguing. He didn’t have any missed calls or messages anyway, deep down he knew that.

The kitchen, like the house, was huge and overly modern. Based on the sheer amount of cups littering the floor and counter space the room also the focal point of the mess with the debris radiating outwards. There were a few kegs sitting on the floor toward one side of the room with a few people standing around them. When Dean pulled Will into the space there were a few other people milling around: some were coming, some were going, some were just standing around talk. Will recognized everyone, and if he tried he knew he could remember each and every person’s name.

They had taken maybe two steps toward the kegs and Will was ready to protest. He had absolutely no desire to drink warm, cheap beer. One of the people who had been standing around talking spotted them. He an average sized guy, probably a head shorter than Will. He had a more square in build with classic Midwestern features and dark hair. Even if he wasn’t wearing his team jersey Will would have recognized him as Kyle something or other from the football team. Will cursed under his breath as he started in their direction. “Hey, it’s the Solace duo” the guy greeted.

Dean stopped in his tracks and stared back at the guy with a look of true horror. “Oh god, do people call us that?”

“Only when you’re not around” Will heard Felix snicker behind them.

“I was like 95% sure you guys weren’t going to come” Kyle commented before adding “I’m glad you did”

Well, that sounded ominous, Will thought. He turned to glare at his cousin and didn’t really try to hide his contempt at the whole situation. Will hadn’t gotten in a fight (outside of the wars and that one time at camp) in years. How his streak was going to end because Dean didn’t think it was healthy for Will to sit at home on New Year’s Eve staring at his phone hoping Nico would call. Will would have been completely happy….well happy may not have been the best word but his point was still valid. “Oh yeah,” Will grumbled before echoing his cousin’s earlier words mockingly. “everything is totally cool.”

“No, I’m serious” Kyle offered with an amused chuckle and a bit of a laugh. “Although I get why you would be worried since Eric has been such a dick to you” he gestured slightly to Will as if there was really a question about who he was referring to. “But you know that just because Eric is a fucking asshole doesn’t mean the whole team are a bunch of bigots.” He may have had a point, Will had to admit. While he had always tried to keep his distance from the football team, it had always more to avoid Eric who was always an ass. Actually, a few of the guys on the team weren’t half-bad. And of all of them, Kyle was probably the most tolerable. Will had a few classes with him and he wasn’t one of the stupid jocks that didn’t care about academics. That may have been because he wasn’t all that great of a football player (from what Will was told). His dad had apparently been amazing and so had his older brother, so Will figured it was a family legacy sort of thing. “And for what it’s worth, I think it was really brave of you to, you know, come out about being gay or whatever.” He offered.

Alright, Will’s opinion of the guy dropped a little with that comment. He knew when people said things like that they were trying to be nice, or supportive or something but it always rubbed Will the wrong way. He didn’t try to hide his disdain for the comment as he grinned humorlessly and replied. “I am so glad not lying about my sexual orientation makes me brave."

“Dude” Dean groaned disapprovingly. When Will glanced at his cousin he found him staring back at him with annoyance. “I already have to monitor Felix’ social interactions don’t make me monitor yours too” Dean

“No it’s cool,” Kyle waved off the comment like it was nothing “that sounded kind of bad.” He admitted before adding. “Let me get you guys some of the good beers my brother brought back from college as an apology for that and, you know, Eric in general.”

“Ah” Will stated at the guy confused. Will hadn’t figured on getting offered a beer for being gay. He had heard of cancer perks, but never gay perks besides the obvious (like Nico’s tone backside in his really skinny skinny jeans). Dean jabbed him in the ribs lightly with his elbow prompting Will to speak again. “yeah that would be cool, I guess.”

“Awesome” Kyle nodded and took half a step back “I’ll be right back with three beers.” He declared before turning on his heels and walking out of the room.

The football player was gone when Dean nudged his shoulder “You thought things would go badly!” He mocked happily. When Will turned he could see his cousin grinning.

Will just rolled his eyes. One football player not acting like a homophobic asshole didn’t really negate Will’s protests about attending this stupid party. “I just don’t get why Felix gets a beer out of it,” he grumbled instead of pointing out the real problem.

“Fuck off Solace number two” Felix hissed from his station a half step behind Dean.

Will was happy to tell Felix he was the one that could fuck off but his phone buzzed in his pocket. The sound sent his mind in a million different directions, none of which involved Felix. His hand was in his pocket, his phone was half removed when he noticed Dean glaring at him with an overall firm expression. “Dude no”

“It could be …” Will began trying to sound reasonable but he heard his own voice and he recognized he sounded like a whining child. But in his defense, it could have been Nico and something could have happened, maybe he wanted to talk.

Dean’s expression softened a bit. He brought his hand to rest on Will’s shoulder like he was offering Will comfort. “Nico is doing his own thing tonight” he reminded softly. He gave Will's shoulder a squeeze like Coach giving one of his lame pre-game pep talks. “So do your own thing without obsessing.” He said it like a reminder. Will didn’t know if that was really necessary or even accurate. He just was hoping to talk to his boyfriend, that hardly counted as obsessing.

Will was staring at his cousin in a silent plea, and Dean was staring back at him with a firm expression. His hand remained frozen, his fingers locked around his cell phone. He took a moment to consider the seriousness of Dean’s earlier threat. Will didn’t actually doubt that Dean would make an attempt to take his phone. He had been pretty clear about the night was supposed to be about fun. Dean left the reasons behind his insistence unsaid. He didn't have to say it, Will knew. Dean was trying to distract him from wondering about Nico all night. Dean, as always, was just trying to have his back but the thought of leaving a message from Nico unanswered would drive Will crazy all night. He was taller than Dean, so Will could always hold the phone way up out of his cousin’s reach but that really wasn’t a long-term solution.

They probably could have stayed locked in their silent argument all night but then Wash, Watts and the girls entered the room. They broke eye contact and Will silently slipped his cell phone back in his pocket. “Hey, where’s your beers?” Watts asked gesturing at their empty hands.

Will’s reply was to silently point in the direction Kyle disappeared, like that answered anything. Felix shrugged before answering for them. “We’re apparently getting good beer because Will’s gay.”

Will glared even though he knew that Felix wouldn’t notice and wouldn’t care. Dean groaned and pinched his nose out of frustration. It was a gesture that he had seen his cousin engage in plenty but it was usually reserved for when an English paper was just not living up to his standard. The girls pushed past them clearly uninterested in the present conversation and walked over to the keg to refill their drinks. Watts and Wash took a minute to look between Will, Dean, and Felix for a minute to gauge the accuracy of Felix’ comment. Apparently, they figured there was truth behind it because the both looked toward Will with surprise. “Seriously?” Watts questioned doubtfully.

Will had no idea how to answer that question, he was sure the situation was more complicated. Actually, he was pretty sure they were getting beers because Eric was an ass. Still, it was so unexpected and had happened so fast Will didn’t really know what to say.

“Dude, that’s not how I saw tonight going,” Wash commented with a shrug. “Who would have figured?”

Dean slapped Will’s arm to get his attention. When Will turned he found his cousin grinning at him victoriously “I told you tonight would be fun.”

Will rolled his eyes. “While I’m not going to complain about not having to drink the watered down cheap beer it’s not my idea of fun either.”

“But it’s a good start” Dean pointed out. Gods, he was being especially persistent, Will thought. He really wasn't sure if he should find his cousin’s efforts annoying or endearing.

“Yeah dude” Watts nudged Will’s shoulder before making a show of shaking his empty red cup “Some of us aren’t so lucky.” He declared before moving passed them to the kegs. Will gave a non-committal huff noise in response.

Kyle returned from the dark hall he disappeared down earlier with a couple of beers in hand declaring “Hey so I only could find two.”

“That’s cool,” Dean assured reaching out to accept the two bottles. He immediately passed one over to Will. The son of Apollo really wasn’t much of a drinker but he still accepted the bottle. Thanks to his godly parent Will had a pretty fast metabolism. As long as he didn’t get sucked into a drinking game that had him tossing whole beers back in less than five minutes it would be a challenge to actually get drunk. If he paced himself he could maintain a bit of a buzz which would be worth it if it made Felix a bit more bearable.

Will popped the cap off his own beer as he commented “Felix doesn’t need one”

“Fuck you dude,” Felix hissed in protest.

“Relax,” Dean told Felix “we can share”

Felix rolled his eyes and Will was sure that he had some smart comment to say to that but he never got a chance. “Oh,” Kyle hummed with some kind of understanding. “I didn’t realize you two were….” he started pointing between Dean and Felix his implications clear.

Will bit his lip and ducked his head to hold in his immediate reaction, which was to laugh. Even if both Dean and Felix were confirmed to be into guys, the idea of them as a couple was laughable. Or, at least it was on the surface. If Will let himself really think about it, he would have had to admit that historically Dean’s dating choices had always been beyond bad. Will had difficulty getting along with his two serious girlfriends. Both had been a bit high maintain. Actually, they were both a bit like a female vision of Felix.

Felix’ eyes narrowed as he questioned “What?”

Dean’s reaction was far less subtle. “No!” He replied with nervous energy and too much force than was necessary. Until that moment Will really had been impressed with his cousin’s behavior. Knowing there was a chance that Felix had feelings for him, Dean really hadn’t been acting any different toward the guy. Will doubted the forceful response and the look of panic on Dean’s face was just a reaction to someone suggesting he wasn’t straight.

“Oh sorry, didn’t mean to assume” Kyle stated a bit uncertainly. Will understood that too, something about the air had changed. There was suddenly thick tension around them. Felix had picked a point on the floor to hate with a passion if his facial expression was a tell. Dean, on the other hand, didn’t seem to know where to look or what to do and the nervous energy fell off him in waves.

As the silence dragged on everything seemed to feel increasingly awkward. Will was thankful when Watts broke the silence. “Why are you two acting weird all of a sudden?” He asked looking between Dean and Felix questioningly.

“We’re not” Dean replied to defensively to be convincing. Will could actually see the moment his cousin decided to change the subject. His body language relaxed and he reached out to nudge Will’s shoulder with his hand. “Dude lets go play beer pong.”

Will would be happy to distract from the awkwardness that had overtaken the situation there was just one problem. “I don’t see……” Will began looking around the kitchen and taking in its lack of a beer pong table.

“It’s a party” Dean stated with an annoyed sigh like he couldn’t believe he had to actually explain this. “There is beer pong somewhere”

“Yup,” Kyle agreed. Will got the impression the guy was happy to have an out from the drama he had accidentally stepped in. “Down that way” He explained pointing toward a hallway on the other side of the room.

“Awesome” Dean declared. He started toward the hallway and waved at them as he went “Come on.”

Dean really didn’t leave much choice but to follow him. Will nodded in Kyle’s direction as a thanks for the beer before trudging after Dean. They found the beer pong table easy enough. It was in a large room which was probably a living room or den on a normal day. For the night, however, all the furniture was pushed to one side to make room for the large table.

They milled around talking and drinking as they waited for the table to clear. At some point, Will really wasn’t sure but Felix disappeared. Not only did that count as a serious win in Will’s book but Dean seemed to relax a bit in his absence. Will realized Dean wasn’t as cool, calm, and collected about finding out a friend may have feelings for him as he tried to act. Will felt a little guilty about it but he wondered if it would mean they didn’t have to hang out with Felix anymore.

When the table cleared they took over, Will and Dean verse Wash and Watts. Will wasn’t sure if it was the casual conversation, or the distraction of the game, or the absence of Felix, or a combination of all those things but he found himself pleasantly distracted. He lost track of time and even forgot that about the unread message on his phone. Will wasn’t going to admit it out loud but Dean might have been write about the party being a good idea. 

To spite losing miserably the first round Wash and Watts insisted on a second go. The girls provided commentary as the racked the table. “I don’t get why guys like this game” Ruby commented. “It seems so pointless.”

The guys more or less ignored the comment, not to be rude but Will doubted anyone had an answer. If Will was honest he didn’t actually really like the game, it was kind of boring. There was no real challenge in throwing a ping-pong ball into a cup but that may have been because he was a child of Apollo. Nora was happy to provide her view. “It gives them something to do with their hands so they don’t have to actually look at each other while they talk.”

“Babe,” Watts sighed as he placed the last cup on their end of the table. “drinking games are a time-honored tradition of the high school party, don’t over analysis it.” Nora just huffed in response.

“Losers go first” Dean pointed out with a victorious glee. They were all athletes so being competitive was just part of their nature. None of them liked losing and they were all happy to gloat a little when they won. Watts rolled his eyes and tossed the first ping pong ball and narrowly missed his targeted cup.

Watts hissed as the ping pong ball bounced off the side of the cup and flew off in a random direction. Wash groaned and Dean snickered happily before poking Will in the arm “Dude, show them how this is done.”

Will rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything. He took his shot and easily landing his ping pong ball in one of the cups. “Oh come on!” Watts complained loudly.

“You know what’s not a time-honored tradition of drinking games?” Wash pointed out in frustration “Will’s unnaturally good aim.” He looked toward Will with an exasperated expression “What the fuck dude?”

Will just shrugged as a non-answer. It was one of those topics Will tried to avoid with his school friends. He didn’t have a good lie for why he took the idea of being naturally athletic to a whole new level and he couldn’t exactly tell them the truth. Dean, while in the dark about the reasons why Will was such an athlete, he had no probably taking advantage of it. “Dude we do this every year” Dean pointed out with a satisfied grin. “I told you if you want to win at a drinking game against Will you should find a way to turn scrabble into a drinking game because Will can’t spell to save his life.” he explained, “Otherwise you're screwed.”

“Dude, I’m dyslexic” Will reminded before taking a sip of his drink. When the Romans stayed at camp he was told that some of the Roman demigods actually missed out on the double pleasure of dyslexia and ADHD. That was almost unheard of amongst the Greeks. At Camp Half-Blood is was more a matter of degrees of severity. Will didn’t have it nearly as bad as some, like Percy or Leo, and with a lot of things he found a way to use it to his advantage. Still, English was not Will’s best subject and he was well aware his spelling was awful.

“Your mom is an English teacher,” Dean reminded.

Will just shook his head. From an outside listeners point of view Dean probably sounded like an asshole but they had a back and forth when it came to academics. Dean made jokes about Will’s horrible spelling and Will teased him endlessly for failing biology twice. “Are you doing a Felix impression right now?” Will retorted teasingly. “Because if so color me impressed”

“Did you guys notice we lost Felix?” Wash pointed out. 

Will had noticed Felix’ absence a while ago but that didn’t stop him from making a show of looking around. “We did?” He exaggerated the question before giving Dean’s shoulder a playful shove. “You were right, tonight is really going well.”

“Yes, you don’t like Felix,” Dean stated flatly with a heavy eye roll. “That is another thing you have made abundantly clear.” Dean was careful not to meet Will’s eyes, and his expression looked uncomfortable. It was strange, everything about it was strange. Will wanted to ask what was going on because that was so unlike Dean but his phone buzzed loudly and Will got distracted.

Will didn’t even think before he moved to pull his cell phone out of his pocket. He had completely forgotten about Dean’s threat to take it until Dean actually snatched it out of Will’s hand. It took Will a minute to process what had actually happened as he stared at his empty. Once he fully figured out what had just happened and he looked up at Dean in shock and horror. “Dude!” He protested.

“You were warned” Dean replied firmly as he moved to slip his phone in his back pocket.

Will stared at his cousin in shock. He stuttered and stammered as he tried to find the words, some sort of reasonable argument for why he needed his phone back. He didn’t find one so instead, he just sort of whined. “But it could be Nico.”

Dean shook his head with clear disappointment and made a tsk sound at that, and made no motion to return Will’s phone.

The girls perked up at the mention which wasn’t a surprise considering Nico was one of their favorite topics. “Where is Nico?” Ruby asked with visible excitement.

Will didn’t take his eyes off Dean, silently pleading with him as he answered Ruby’s question simply. “Bachelor party”

“What!?!” Watts exclaimed with clear surprise. “Isn’t he like 16?”

“In January” Will corrected quietly.

“Dude seriously,” Wash exclaimed clearly nervous at the very thought. “Who gets married that young?”

Will had never really thought about it. However, to outsiders, it probably seemed weird how committed and intense some of the demigods’ relationships were. To Will after everything they had been through it just made sense. When you face your own mortality so frequently and at such a young age it’s natural to cling to the things, the people, that matter. That was another one of those things he couldn’t really explain to his school friends. Instead, he shrugged and stated. “His friends are a bit older.”

“And what are you worried about?” Dean questioned with a serious expression “Him getting picked up by a stripper?”

“You don’t know his friends” Will replied more forcefully than necessary. That was part of it, Percy, Jason, and Leo all had a way of getting into trouble without really trying. Nico did too but that wasn’t really Will’s concern at the moment. But this situation was even worse because he was sure Percy was looking for trouble, or well something. The not knowing anything about what was going on was driving Will crazy with worry. He held out his hand and stared back at his cousin expectantly. “If you’re not going to give me the phone back at least check the messages.”

Dean gave it a bit of thought before letting out a bit of a huff and pulled the phone back out of his pocket. “Fine” He declared as he swiped the screen and typed in the four digit unlock code. Dean furrowed his eyebrows at the screen with clear confusion. “Have you changed your passcode?” He questioned.

“Yeah” Will replied dropping his hand and averting his eyes out of embarrassment. “It’s 0128” he muttered the addition. Part of him was hoping it would go unheard. He realized too late that he should have never have asked Dean to read the messages.

Dean's fingers hovered above the screen for a second as he processed what Will had said. Will expected Dean to end up typing without question. Instead, he looked up at Will with a serious expression. “That’s Nico’s birthday, isn’t it?”

Will couldn’t help but squirm a little bit before he grumbled a reply “Maybe”

“Awwww” Nora and Ruby cooed rather unhelpfully in Will’s opinion

“Dude, you are killing me,” Dean grumbled without any real sincerity as he typed the provided password in.

“Not to mention making some of us look bad,” Wash added

“Yeah, I get that a lot” Will admitted.

“You’ve got two texts” Dean declared matter-of-factually looking up from the screen.

Will waited for his cousin to read the out loud. When Dean did nothing but stare back at him Will made a ‘get on with it’ gesture. “Anytime” he declared.

Dean made a face. “What if there is personal stuff in there” he protested “I don’t need to see a dick pic from your boy toy.”

Will first urge to smack his cousin for even suggesting something like that. Then again, the part of his brain that was painfully aware he hadn’t had sex in over a month (real sex, not phone sex, or dream-travel sex) couldn’t help but think some XXX photos would be more than welcome. He had to work harder than he would have liked to push that thought aside. Maybe he could talk Nico into sending him some more pictures. If he couldn’t he still had the ones he got for his birthday. But that was a thought for later when Will was alone, now he held out his hand expectantly. “If you're so worried give me my phone back.” He offered as a challenge.

They had a silent exchange before Dean once again caved. “Fine” He groaned as he opened Will’s messages. Dean took a minute to examine the first message before reading it out loud. “The first one is from Nico and it says ‘Percy dragged us to a gay bar, I hate that you’re not here.’”

“Awwww” The girls cooed again.

“God, your boyfriend is as bad as you.” Watts declared. Will only partially heard him because his brain started spiraling down the road of panic. They were at a gay bar. His boyfriend and his boyfriend’s ex-crush were together in a gay bar getting drunk!

As Will was trying to figure out how he could get to California in the next five minutes his panic read on his face. “Breath Will” Dean instructed before looking back down at Will’s phone again. “The second one is from Annabeth. It is just a picture of a cute blonde chick in what looks like a wedding dress” He looked up confused “Dude why?”

Will’s mouth dropped open as he tried to find an explanation but he didn’t really have one. He figured the girl in the wedding dress was Annabeth but didn’t know why she would send him a picture. Will had never given any indication that he cared about such things because he really didn’t. Nora and Ruby squealed with excitement at the mention of wedding dresses and Will found he didn’t have to answer Dean’s curiosity. “We want to see!” They both declared holding out their hands toward Dean expectantly.

Dean looked at Will with uncertainty. Will shrugged and looked toward the girls “Have at it.”

Dean gave Will last look and it was clear Dean thought Will was making a stupid decision but handed over the phone. Nora all but snatched it out of Dean’s hand and Ruby pushed in so they could both stare down at the screen. “Wow! That dress is cute!” Ruby exclaimed excitedly.

“And she’s super pretty” Nora added.

Curiosity flashed across both Watts and Wash faces. Will noticed how they both snuck a peek at the screen. Wash was smart enough to keep whatever opinion he had on Annabeth’s appearance to himself, Watts was not. “She is hot” He commented which was promptly followed by a hard smack on the back of the head from Nora. “Fuck” He hissed “Nora that hurt.”

Dean smirked and went to say something but Will cut him off before he could make a sound. “Dude no,” He told his cousin firmly.

Dean rolled his eyes. “Why? Her finance is a badass?” He questioned.

“Kind of” Will couldn’t deny that Percy was more than capable in a fight. “but I would be more concerned that she’s a badass.”

“Do you have any friends who aren’t complete badasses?” Dean questioned.

“Yeah” Will replied with a smirk “you guys.”

“Ha ha” Dean faked a laugh “Very funny”

“I thought so” Will replied with a bright smile.

“So if we aren’t going to actually play pong I’m going need another beer,” Wash stated holding up his long-ago empty cup.

“Dude even if we keep playing I’m going to need another drink” Watts declared shooting Will a pointed look.

“Hey you can blame me for losing all you want but you can’t blame me for your complete lack of aim” Will retorted with a bit of a laugh. “But since I’m assuming we are taking a bit of a pause, I’m going to go find a bathroom.” Will gave a look around the room even though he wasn’t really sure what he expected to find. Luckily Dean gestured toward a hallway off to the right. “Right, thanks”

Will started toward the hallway but after two steps realized he was making a huge mistake. He turned back and held out his hand to the girls “Give me my phone”

“Do not give him his phone” Dean instructed firmly

“Dean, I’m serious, this is not cute.” Will stated warningly. Until this point, Will had been willing to go along with Dean’s rules. He really did own his cousin for putting up with him and seeing him through what was probably an unnecessary nervous breakdown. This, however, was past the line. There was no way Will was leaving his phone with Ruby and Nora.

“First of all, I am always fuck cute” Dean retorted. “And second of all, you will thank me in the morning when you realized I prevented you from appearing creepy and stalker-ish.”

Normally Will would have fought but Dean seemed especially persistent. “Fine!” he conceded begrudgingly “Just don’t lose it, and don’t start texting Nico.”

The girls looked a bit deflated, they exchanged a look before Nora asked. “Can we give our opinion on the pretty dresses?”

Will wanted desperately to say no. In general, he liked to keep school things and camp things as separate as possible. That seemed to be becoming harder and harder. He sighed and figured he would probably regret this later. “Yes, but at least let them know you’re not me”

Ruby and Nora exchanged another look before Ruby spoke for both of them. “Deal!” She exclaimed excitedly.

Yeah, that was definitely going to end badly, Will thought but he couldn’t find the energy to speculate how. He walked off in the general direction Dean had indicated to find the bathroom. He got a bit turned about once or twice but he eventually found it. There was a handy sign with the word bathroom and a picture of a toilet taped on the door.

Of course, it was currently occupied. Based on the sounds coming from inside the current occupants weren’t exactly using the room for its intended purpose. That somehow seemed in line with Will’s luck. He could have wandered off and tried to find another bathroom but he wasn’t even sure there was one. In the end, he decided to lean against the wall little ways down the hall to wait.

A few minutes passed before he heard the bathroom door opening and a girl giggling nervously. He couldn’t help but thank the gods most high school guys seriously lacked stamina or fineness because he really hadn’t wanted to wait all night. The girl came out first, and Will only recognized her as an underclassman. She walked by Will quickly and avoided eye contact as she did. A few seconds after she disappeared around the corner the door open again and a guy stepped out. Will would have been happy to duck his head and let the guy walk by without a word. Then he noticed who it was and realized that probably wasn’t going to be an option. “Of course” Will hissed under her breath cursing his luck. Dean was wrong, tonight was a horrible idea and this was proof why.

“Solace,” The guy said Will’s name like it was an insult or a disease.

“Eric” Will replied without enthusiasm.

The football player grinned back at him humorlessly. “Where’s your little boyfriend?” He asked and Will noticed how his eyes wandered the dark like he expected Nico to step out of the shadows. Maybe Eric wasn’t as idiotic as Will had always thought.

“Elsewhere” Will replied casually he had to bite back the urge to ask him where Promise was, or if she knew what he was up to. It would have been a victory but likely a short-lived one.

“Well that’s unfortunate for you, isn’t it?” Eric stated as he took several steps closer to where Will was standing. He moved so that he was just on the edge of being too close for comfort. If it wasn’t for the fact that Will was taller Eric would have seemed like an imposing presence.

Will shrugged before responding matter-of-factly. “I don’t need Nico to kick your ass I can do it all by myself.” Will had hoped sounding confident would be enough to deter Eric, it was a lot of the time with bullies. It didn’t work on Eric if anything Eric looked more eager. Sighing that the situation had come to this, Will pushed off the wall so he was standing tall. He was prepared for whatever would come next. He wasn’t going to take the first swing but he was more than prepared to defend himself.

“Dude” Someone declared from behind Will in the hall. Will peeked over his shoulder to see who it was. He was very surprised to see Felix walking up to stand shoulder to shoulder with himself. He seemed to ignore that Eric existed, instead of talking to Will. “if you hit him in the face stick to left side impacts” Felix stated. He pointing at his own nose “Maybe you could straighten out his nose a bit.”

Will felt himself smile in spite of himself, which was an almost surreal experience because Felix just made him smile sincerely. He turned to Eric “You really should have seen a doctor” Will informed. “Your nose definitely healed crooked.”

Fury flashed across Eric’s face as Will apparently struck a nerve. Who would have figured that he would be vain? “Listen here you fag” Eric hissed. He jutted his finger at Will and took another large step forward so he was very much in Will’s space.

Felix huffed dismissively. That was probably a pretty easy thing to do when you weren’t the one being threatened. He shifted so he could lean his back against the wall. “Dude your batting average against the gays is already bad” Felix reminded Eric in an almost mocking tone. “And Will's boyfriend is a tiny thing. I sure that’s not how you tell it but still” Felix shrugged. “Do you really want to explain how you got your ass beat by another “fag”?” Felix used Eric’s word with air quotes and this time his tone couldn’t be called anything but mocking. “I doubt your reputation could take that.”

Eric seemed to think about Felix’ words for a minute, his eyes furrowed together with frustration. He clearly came to a realization when he huffed “Whatever”. He declared dismissively before pushing between Will and Felix. 

Felix watched Eric go with an especially satisfied smirk. When Eric was surely out of earshot Will eyed Felix warily “Didn’t need your help” he stated.

A smile spread across Felix’ face, like a genuine smile, which Will wasn’t sure he had ever seen on him before. Then he laughed like he found Will genuinely funny which was also new. “Are you seriously complaining about having back up?”

“I …..I don’t know” Will squirmed uncomfortably. He realized he was being rude and like any good southern boy he was raised to have manners, but this was Felix. He wasn’t sure the same rules applied. There was something wrong about the whole situation. “It’s you and you’re…..” Will gestured toward Felix because he couldn’t find a polite word for what Felix was.

“Dude, I’m drunk” He declared pushing off the wall on which he had been leaning. Still smiling he took a step forward and reflexively Will took a step back. The hall wasn’t that wide, and Will ended up with his back against the wall. Felix put his hand on the wall by Will’s head and sort of half leaned into Will’s space. “It’s got me in a friendly mood.”

Will felt mildly panicked because he recognized what Felix was doing. The friendly gesture, the smile, the lean, Will recognized all of it. It was practically Austin’s signature move back at camp. Will had been subjected to more than a few lectures about how is was the ultimate deal closer.  “Right,” Will replied ducking his head. He just wanted to get out of this situation as quickly as possible. Felix had admitted he was drunk, in the morning when he sobered up he would regret this. And while Felix being so embarrassed he avoided them until the end of time pleased Will, Dean considered him a friend. They had to face each other after this at some point. Will would prefer if those interactions were no more awkward than they already were. “well thanks for the assist as unnecessary as it was.” He stated weakly.

Will pushed off the wall and half turned ready to walk away. Felix caught him lightly by the arm right above the elbow. “Wait a minute” he requested softly.

Will was positive he and Felix had never made intention physical contact before. The fact that it was happening now was making Will’s skin crawl. He pulled his arm out of Felix’s grasp as gently as he could even though he suddenly wanted to bath in hand sanitizer. “Don’t touch me, dude.” He replied carefully keeping any heat or disgust out of his voice.

Clear annoyance flashed behind Felix’ eyes and he tossed his hands up in exasperation. “Why do you have to be a dick?” He growled. Well, at least he had dropped the nice guy act that was creeping Will out.

Will couldn’t help but smirk at the question, it was like the pot calling the cattle black but worse. “You’re seriously asking me that?”

“Well, I’m trying to be nice right now!” Felix shouted back his reply.

“No, you’re not!” Will laughed with genuine amusement. Did Felix think he was an idiot, or that he couldn’t tell the difference between someone being nice and someone flirting? The whole situation was just so strange it was truly laughable. “I’m pretty sure I know what you’re trying to do and it isn’t being nice.”

“What can I say?” Felix crossed his arms over his chest. He shifted so his shoulder was pressed against the wall and he was leaning. “I don’t want to spend New Years’ Eve alone.” He shrugged like that was a simple enough thing. He didn’t even make an attempt to hide how he eyed Will with interest. “Can you really hold that against me?”

Will swallowed hard to try to ride his mouth of the taste of bile. “This is going to sound harsh” Will admitted although he doubted anything he said would come as news to Felix. “but I don’t like you on a very basic level as a person and I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual.”

Felix rolled his eyes like he found Will especially naïve. “We don’t have to like each other to fuck.” He stated plainly.

Will brought his hand to his mouth as he suddenly very much regretted drinking tonight. He swallowed hard a few times before he felt like the risk of being sick had past. “I think I just throw up a little in my mouth.” He admitted not trying to hide his disgust anymore. This conversation had passed the point where Will cared about trying to save Felix’ ego.

Felix stared back at him clearly undeterred by the fact that the mere suggestion made Will physically ill. “Give me one good reason why we shouldn’t?” He asked with apparent sincerity.

Will blinked at him a few times. He was hoping that Felix would do something so Will could pretend like it was all a joke. Felix stared back at him expectantly “Besides hating each other?” Will questioned, for him that was more than enough. Felix nodded in the affirmative. Will groaned before deciding he was officially done with the whole conversation. “I can give you two. You’re not Nico and I’m not Dean.”

Anger flashed in Felix’ eyes. “Whatever” He hissed as he pushed off the wall and took on a more combative posture. Will figured that was the closest thing to a confirmation of Felix’ crush on Dean. “It’s your fucking lose.”

“Glade you’re over trying to be nice.” Will commented as he turned his back and started to walk away.

He made it a step, and not even a large one before Felix called after him. His voice was sharp with anger as he spoke. “Honest is better than nice” he declared. Will couldn’t say he was surprised, that sound like a philosophy Felix would have. “And honestly you’re going to regret it”

Felix had just been rejected, emotions he had been trying to hide had just been thrown his face, he was angry and hurt. Will knew that. Will should have just walked away but he didn’t. He turned and faced Felix as he commented dismissively “Doubt that”

A grin spread across Felix’ face and this one wasn’t friendly. It was cold and dark, and victorious. “Sure you will.” he insisted so surely it was like he was reading prophecy. “When you find out your boyfriend was grabbing ankle for that Percy guy while you were here being fucking pathetic you’ll-”

However, that sentence was going to end Will would never know and he couldn’t care less as his fist made contact with Felix’ face. There was a satisfying crunch sound, and Will was pretty sure he may have fractured Felix’s eye socket. Felix cried out at the contact and brought his hand up to his newly injured eye.

Unlike during the summer with Jordon Will had clinched his fist more tightly so outside of the typical soreness Will’s hand felt fine. “Gods, I’ve wanted to do that for months” Will admitted. He shook out his hand a bit “And it actually felt better than I imagined.”

The part of him that was battle trained medic wanted to treat Felix’ eye but the rest of him couldn’t care less. He walked away without a word leaving Felix holding his face and whimpering in pain.

It didn’t take him nearly as long to find his way back to the beer pong room as it had taken him to find the bathroom. The girls were still on the couch huddled over Will’s phone but Dean, Wash, and Watts were nowhere in sight.

As he approached Ruby and Nora he announced his presence by asking. “Hey, where’s Dean?”

Both girls looked up and blinked at him. “No idea” Nora admitted.

“Where’s my phone?” Will questioned holding his hand out. He could clearly see the golden iPhone in Ruby’s hands.

“Here” Ruby replied as she handed it over.

Will accepted it and slipped it in his pocket. He gave a look around the room not really sure what he was expecting to find. As much as he hated himself for it Felix’ words rang in his ears, the idea of Nico with Percy. He thought he was past this but still, he felt panicked. He realized as he scanned the room for a second time that he was looking for Dean to talk him off a ledge. That really wasn’t Dean’s problem, and he deserved to have a fun night without Will ruining it. Sighing Will looked back at the girls “Tell Dean I went home when you see him.” He instructed a little deflated.

The girls'' expressions turned to ones of concern. “What? But it’s barely past midnight?” Ruby questioned.

Nora shifted her position on the couch so she appeared poised to stand. “Do you want a ride?” she questioned and Will saw her search his features uncertainly.

“No” Will replied, “it’s not far, I’ll walk.” Will could use a nice walk to clear his head. It really wasn’t all that long of a walk either. It would have been longer if Will stuck to the main roads. Luckily for him, Will had grown up in this town he knew every back road and short cut there was.

As he left Will half expected to run into Dean and the other guys and get convinced to stay but he didn’t. The air outside had a bit of a chill and the walk was long enough to help Will sober up some. He had thought that would help but it didn’t, he just felt more uncertain. He tried to call Nico once but it went straight to voicemail. That didn’t help either.

When he got home it was dark and empty which was what he had been expecting. His mom was in Nashville at some New Year’s Eve charity benefit with Leonard. She wouldn’t be back until later the next day. That was fine, Will wasn’t really in the headspace to deal with people at the moment anyways. He shed his shoes and his jacket and went upstairs to his room. He switched on his light ready to throw himself on his bed and be miserable. The light, however, revealed the most beautiful thing.

Curled up on Will’s bed looking like some sort of gothic angel was Nico di Angelo in all his glory. He sat up slowly and blinked at the light. Once his eyes cleared, Nico smiled at him sweetly. “I was starting to think you were never coming home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, that's a bit of a cliffhanger. Next chapter is from Nico's POV, and I think we all knew Nico was going to end up in Will's bed at some point during this night.
> 
> Look, I created another OC who in all likelihood you will never see again.
> 
> Dean has a few sort of dick-ish moments in this chapter- but he still deserves our love, so please forgive him
> 
> For those of you who were really excited to find out how Ruby and Nora got Will's phone, sorry it wasn't more interesting.
> 
> It's really been only a matter of time before Will punched Felix in the face.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated.


	36. Unexpected Travel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday!
> 
> The last of the bro's night chapters is finally here. Don't worry there is going to be a few chapters handling the aftermath.
> 
> SMUT WARNING: This chapter contains smut, it's like all of the second half but the first half has some seriously sexually explicit language. Consider yourself warned.

Nico had come to a very serious realization. Actually, he had come to several but the most pressing was the fact that he despised bars. They were loud and full of strange people with poor understanding of personal space. The air was thick with the smell of stale alcohol and sweat. The lights were low and the shadows were so thick. He felt like he was going to step into one and slip away to who knows where without even thinking.

That was a lie, if Nico was going to shadow travel anywhere he knew exactly where he would go: Tennessee. He would go to Will, which he doubted would really surprise anyone. The thought of Will sent his mind reeling toward another one of those realizations. He was drunk, and being drunk led to lower inhibitions (again this would surprise no one). While Nico would deny out loud that being in such a state had any effect on him. On the inside he found himself hungry and craving. He missed Will in a very real and physical way.

Nico was carefully not thinking about what he wanted and focused his mind on the present. Which brought him back to how much he hated bars. Still, it wasn't all bad, Nico found ways to stay amused. At the moment that amusement came from offering the large white rabbit sitting on the table carrot sticks. Before Grover got talked into dancing with a group of guys that were children of some lesser known woods god he had said that it was a Florida White Rabbit. For all Nico knew it could have been the Easter Bunny. Nico was just enjoying watching his nose twitch with dissatisfaction as he offered it a carrot.

Nico heard them coming before he noticed them out of the corner of his eye even over the loud music. Nico spared them a quick glance before groaning and turning his attention back to his rabbit. Jason was notorious for being obvious after hooking up. A fact that Percy was usually quick to point out, although Nico doubted Percy was going to say anything now.

They came up to the side of the table grinning like fools and occasional glancing at each other and then looking away like bashful 12-year-olds. They had no shame, Nico thought as he held out another carrot. He and Will at least tried to be modest in public……Okay, Nico at least tried to be modest in public and Will on a good day tried to try.

"So, what did we miss?" Percy questioned sounding far too happy. Nico wondered if jamming a carrot stick down his throat would take a little pip out of his step. Ultimately, he decided it wasn't worth the effort. Percy paused, noticing the large white woodland critter sitting on the center of the table and adding. "And where did the bunny come from?"

Nico smirked at the question, he really couldn't help it. Before he could think up some witty retort for Percy's question Jason asked: "Have you seen Frank?" Nico really wanted to be mad at him, at both of them. Percy for not inviting Will, and Jason for hooking up with Percy because if Nico wasn't getting any neither should Percy. And he was ignoring the irony because he knew that was at least part of the reason Percy hadn't invited Will. They were making it such a challenge to say mad with these questions. "I want my shirt," Jason explained.

"Dude, just stay shirtless," Percy told Jason casually "It's a good look for you"

"Shut up dude!" Jason replied bashfully

Nico groaned at their suspicious exchange. He still refused to actually look at them. He knew when he did it would either intensify his anger or make him incapable of actually being mad at the pair of fools. "You answered each other's questions," He replied to their previous questions. When his declaration was met with nothing but stunned silence he explained grinning a little because it was just so much fun to say. "The rabbit is Frank."

"Why is Frank a rabbit?" Percy questioned with clear confusion.

Nico huffed, dropped the carrot he was offering and turned so he could answer properly. As soon as he really saw Percy and Jason, really took in the details, he regretted it. They bother were still grinning and they were both a mess! Percy's hair was tossed this way and that which wasn't all that strange but so was Jason's. Percy's shirt looked pulled and wrinkled which was a sure sign it had been tugged off in a hurry. Jason was still shirtless, and a bit sweaty, and there was a splash of ….something low on his stomach. Nico wanted to drop his head to the table and admit defeat. No, that wasn't right, he wanted to get up, walk out, and go back to his hotel. He wanted to curl up in his big bed, too big for just one person, and maybe call Will. Will was at a party, Will was having fun, Nico wasn't going to ruin that.

With one hand he grabbed Jason's shirt off Frank's chair and with the other he grabs a napkin off the table. Wordlessly, he passed them both to Jason.

Jason accepted them both although he looked at the napkin with confusion. "What's this for?" he asked holding up the napkin.

Nico decided to ignore Jason for the time being in hopes that he would figure it out on his own. Instead, he turned to Percy and explained. "A guy asked Frank if he was as commanding in the bedroom as he was on the battlefield and he turned into a bunny. I guess in a way that answered the guy's question." That may have been the only good thing to come out of the night. After seeing how Frank stammered and stuttered at the mention of sex, Nico was officially no longer worried about Hazel's sex life. Unfortunately, Jason was still holding up the napkin and staring at him in confusion. Nico sighed loudly and wondered how Percy or Jason had ever survived before they met him. He looked at Jason with pity "And you have fluids" He ex

plained gesturing vaguely toward the splotch low on the son of Jupiter's stomach.

The confusion remained on Jason's face as he dropped his eyes to see what Nico was referring to. There was a split second of realization before Jason turned the same bright red as the average tomato. "Oh, my gods!" The blonde exclaimed in complete horror as he frantically began blotting at his stomach with the napkin.

"Calm down bro," Percy told Jason dismissively. "it's yours."

Jason glared up at Percy heatedly as he whipped away the last of the offending fluids. "Not the issue, Percy." He hissed before discarding the napkin on the table which was extremely unsanitary. Hands now free, Jason fumbled to pull on his t-shirt.

Percy just rolled his eyes and declared in the same dismissive tone. "Whatever you say, Jay." The son of Poseidon turned his attentions on Nico with an expression of curious Nico could have done without. "You stopped drinking." The way Percy said it, it sounded more like a statement than a question.

Frank the rabbit hopped toward the edge of the table and Nico moved him back toward the center of the table. He met Percy's gaze with one of critical disinterest. "What makes you think that?"

Percy grinned back at him like it was so obvious. "Drunk Nico would have told Jason he had cum on his stomach, not fluids." He pointed out with clear amusement.

Nico let out a long sigh, Percy wasn't wrong about that. He still couldn't believe he had actually told Percy about him and Will's first night as a couple. If Will ever found out he would probably never hear the end of it, considering how much trouble Nico had given him about oversharing. "I've slowed down." He admitted with a little nod toward the two drinks in front of him, one water and one rum and coke.

Percy dropped himself in the chair next to Nico. He took a second to examine Nico critically which caused the son of Hades to squirm. If Nico had a choice he would always take absent minded, scattered Percy over clear and focused. "So, I guess you're not going to tell us what you have to dress up as." Percy declared with a bit of a pout.

Jason moved Grover's jacket and took a seat in the chair next to Percy as he grumbled under his breath. "Thank gods."

Nico resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. That was another thing he couldn't believe he had come so close to actually saying out loud. Actually, he couldn't even believe he had agreed to the stupid bet with Will in the first place. Unfortunate that lapse of judgment couldn't be blamed on booze so he would prefer not to dwell. "Yeah, I think I'll keep that between me and Will," Nico replied simply. He wasn't foolish enough to think that Percy would actually let the topic go. He hoped that maybe he would let it drop for the moment.

"Thank gods," Jason stated. Again, this time with a little more conviction.

Percy continued to look at him with the same intense and focused look for a second before asking with all seriousness. "Naughty nurse?"

I have the worst luck, Nico thought before amending, I have the worst taste in friends. "No" He groaned and grabbed his drink, the alcoholic one. Alcohol may have been to blame for Percy know what he knew but he was choosing not to focus on that fact currently.

"Damn" Percy hissed. A grin quickly spread across his lips and Nico was sure that wasn't a good sign. Percy then nudged Jason's shoulder playfully to gain the other demigod's attention before asking. "Jay, what do you think the gay guy equivalent to naughty school girls?"

Jason didn't look particularly pleased with the question and Nico was sure he wasn't actually going to answer. Jason always seemed to work hard to think of Nico as virginal which was laughably inaccurate. Nico was sure he would refuse to participate in a conversation about Nico having sex or doing something sexually. Jason furrowed his eyebrows thoughtfully for a moment before replying with uncertainty. "Naughty school boy?"

Oh, Nico did not like this at all. It appears as they Jason and Percy making out was going to complicate his life a bit more than he had expected. And how did Jason know that anyway? If Will had told him Nico was going to be so mad. No sex for a month kind of mad…..Nico didn't even find that thought believable. If Will was around and sex was an option he probably wouldn't be able to hold off ten minutes. He certainly wouldn't make it a month. That was completely Will's fault, he was just so pretty, and he smelled good, and gods the way his skin felt……. _Dear gods, don't even start thinking about that_ , Nico warned himself. Nico did his best to look bored and unaffected as he requested. "Can we talk about something else?"

Percy grinned triumphantly "Well I guess that answers that." He declared.

"That answers nothing" Nico denied firmly. He reached for his drink, this time the water, and took a large sip before adding with increased weight behind his words this time. "Seriously any other topic." It was a challenge not letting his brain think about sex when that was all they seemed to be talking about.

"Dude maybe you should speed back up a little with the drinking," Percy suggested teasingly. "Loosen you up a bit and put you in a better mood."

Percy was clearly joking but still, the comment sparked a bit of annoyance within the son of Hades. Nico's mood was fine considering the situation, or at least that's how he saw it. After all, he was in a strange place surrounded by people he didn't know. Both were things Nico normally avoided at all costs. To make matters worse, the one person that would make him feel comfortable wasn't there. And it wasn't even for a good reason, just because Percy needed to be the center of attention or something. "You know what would improve my mood? Will" Nico retorted flatly. If Will had been there they would have probably been standing close to each other. Will's arms would have probably been wrapped around him and maybe his chin resting on Nico's head. Nico always told Will he hated when he did that but it was a complete lie. It was stupid that Percy felt threatened by that, so what if Nico and Will kissed a little. And they probably would have snuck off for a little alone time of their own which would have been really nice. Nico carefully reminded himself that he wasn't supposed to be thinking like that when his thoughts went from kissing Will to slipping away to some dark corner so he could touch and be touched. He let out a heavy sigh of disappointed and spoke without much thought. "Preferably naked and moaning." He glared pointedly at Percy "But thanks to you he is half a country away."

"Right, sorry about that" Percy muttered. Nico wasn't sure if he actually sounded sorry. He certainly sounded guilty which he figured was at least a step in the right direction. The emotion faded from Percy's expression quickly and he gestured toward the bag of carrot sticks in Nico's hands. "Where did you get the carrots?"

"Child of Demeter," Nico replied matter-of-factly before quickly correcting "Or Ceres." Nico offered the bag to Percy and Jason if they wanted to take a turn feeding Frank the bunny. Both demigods passed on the opportunity which was really their loss Nico thought as he offered Frank another carrot.

"So," Jason dragged out the word so Nico got the feeling he wouldn't like what the blonde would say next. Jason looked from Nico to Frank and back again before commenting "This is payback for Hazel?"

"No, not really" Nico shrugged but he could feel the grin tugging at the corner of his lips. He knew Hazel was more than capable of making her own decisions but she was still his little sister. "but it does make it a bit more fun."

Percy's eyes scanned the bar quickly and apparently didn't find what he was looking for. "Where is everybody else?" He asked settling his attention back square back on Nico "They didn't leave, did they?" He sounded almost offended at the thought.

Nico placed his bag of carrot sticks back on the table and shifted in his seat enough that he was staring straight back at Percy. He arched a sardonic eyebrow at the son of Poseidon as he asked with mock sincerity. "What? They were supposed to hang out and twiddle their thumbs while you and Jason exchanged handjobs in a dark corner?"

Once again Jason turned the color of ripe produce. His electric blue eyes went wide as he began to stutter and stammer embarrassingly. "We….I….We didn't" He denied which was so ridiculous Nico had to dig deep to hold back a laugh. Had just forgotten he had shown back up at the table with cum on his stomach? Did he think he and Percy were subtle as they left the bar making out as they went? Nico wasn't foolish enough to think he and Will were always subtle. Sometimes they got caught up in each other and just forgot other people existed. Still, at their worst, they weren't nearly as obvious as Percy and Jason had been.

Unlike Jason, Percy was completely unfazed by the comment. If anything, he looked a little proud of himself. "It was a storage closet," Percy corrected plainly "and there were more than hands involved." Percy actually wiggled his eyebrows suggestively with that last bit. Nico didn't even try not to roll his eyes at the son of Poseidon's absurdity.

"Percy!" Jason hissed and looked torn between averting his eyes and glaring at Percy. In the end, he seemed to awkwardly bounce between the two. "Stop talking," he stated, his embarrassment spilling into his words.

Nico stared at Jason curiously for a moment trying to discern the exact cause of his embarrassment. Then he remembered that Will had mentioned, much to Nico's displeasure, that Jason had been especially curious about the proper technique for oral. Based on Jason's current behaviors, the son of Jupiter had gotten some firsthand experience.

"Gross" he declared flatly. It was less out of actual disgust and more because it needed to be said and he was currently the only one around to say it.

If it were possible Jason actually turned a darker shade of red. He suddenly took an intense interest in the surface of the worn bar table. Nico was sure he was just trying to avoid eye contact. Percy was still unaffected, which wasn't at all a surprise. It actually might have been the only thing Percy and Will had in common personality-wise. Neither of them had any real shame when it came to sex. The son of Poseidon ignored Jason's sudden bashfulness and grinned at Nico like he was the one who had done something especially lewd. "You and Will did it in the infirmary storage closet so you really can't judge." He pointed out with self-satisfaction.

Nico groaned but stopped himself but actually dropping his head to the table. "We did not have sex in the infirmary storage closet" He stated insistently. Will kept joking about the fact that they both said that so often that they should have it printed on t-shirts. If it got people to stop mentioning it, Nico was willing to get it written in the sky.

Percy shrugged. "That's not what Kayla says" he stated clearly unconvinced.

"It was one blowjob for gods' sakes!" Nico exclaimed not really thinking before he spoke. Once the words were out he knew he would regret saying it based on the shocked but excited expression Percy was wearing. Unfortunately, there was no taking it back so he slumped in his chair. He focused on glaring at a particularly prominent gouge in the table. "I wish people could stop talking about it." Nico certainly wasn't pouting but he crossed his arms over his chest. "It wasn't even my best work." He grumbled. After all, it had been his first time doing that, he had gotten much better at it since then. Nico was actually pretty proud of how good he had gotten at getting Will to come undone just with his mouth. Luckily, Nico was sober enough to keep that thought to himself.

"You slut!" Percy declared teasingly. Nico just rolled his eyes before grabbing his drink and taking a sip. Percy took another look around the bar before letting the topic of Nico's sex life go (at least for the moment) and asking for a second time. "But seriously where is everybody?"

Nico gestured toward the large dance floor. "Grover is on the dance floor and Leo is at the bar." As if Nico planned it, there was a large, visible burst of flames from the bar area. He glanced over his shoulder and watched the flames subside before he gestured in that direction and explained. "I swear I didn't plan that but as you can see he's putting on a bit of a fire show"

"That's cool" Percy declared his eyes still cast in the direction of the bar. "I need a drink so I'll go check out what Leo's doing." He stated. Percy was drumming his hands on the table as he spoke. After a second of thought, Percy turned to Jason. "Want a drink, Jay?"

With that Jason finally got over whatever embarrassment he was feeling. His eyes darted up from the table to stare at Percy uncertainly for a moment. Uncertainty gave way to a harder emotion and the son of Jupiter stated firmly "You're making it weird."

"How am I making it weird?" Percy questioned sounding a bit defensive. "I'm going to the bar" He declared gesturing toward the bar just in time with another burst of flames. He continued to explain with a slight edge of annoyance creeping into his voice. "and since I'm already going to be up there I figured I'd grab you a drink."

Jason stared at Percy critically for a couple of seconds before his expression hardened further. "I'm not your girlfriend, bro" He reminded seriously. As soon as the words were out Nico turned his head back toward Percy. He hadn't realized it until just that moment but he was watched Jason and Percy go back and forth like the world's most captivating tennis match. As awkward as this conversation was getting it wasn't nearly as bad as Nico would have expected. Honestly, it had been more awkward between him and Will after their first kiss then it was between Percy and Jason now. Still, it had to be strange, their situation, and Nico was strangely curious to see how they actually figured it out.

"I'm aware, bro" Percy replied. The annoyance was completely gone for Percy's voice and now he was all teasing. Nico wondered if Percy was doing it on purpose to be reassuring or if it was coincidental. Either way, it seemed to be easing some of Jason's stress, the tension in his shoulder eased visibly. Nico understood it, a good sign everything was going to okay was Percy joking around. "Remember, it's only weird if you make it weird which you're currently doing." He pointed out with a shrug before hopping off his seat. "Go thirsty for all I care"

Percy hadn't even completely turned away from the table before Jason called after him. "No wait," Percy stopped and barely contained a grin of satisfaction. "I want a drink," Jason admitted begrudgingly.

Percy didn't actually say anything, instead, he simply nodded as an acknowledgment. Nico had to give Percy credit, it was smart to say nothing. Jason looked more at ease but he didn't doubt the son of Jupiter would punch Percy in the face for one smartass comment.

Once Percy was out of sight Jason pointed at one of the cups in front of Nico. "Is that water?"

"Yeah" Nico replied with a little nod. Jason was wearing such a serious expression he was wondering if he was going to launch into some sort of lecture about drinking and bad decision making. It wasn't like Jason was really in the position to talk but he got so weirdly overprotective at times, that was why people joked about him acting like Nico's mom after all. Nico was prepared to shut him down if that was where this was leading.

"Can I?" Jason asked reaching for the glass.

Now Nico had no idea what was going on. With confusion, he pushed the glass toward Jason and replied. "Sure"

Jason accepted the drink and drained the glass in two large gulps. The son of Jupiter deposited the glass back on the table before commenting off-handedly, "Gods, I needed to get that taste out of my mouth."

Reflexively Nico laughed and realized he should probably slow down on the drinking even more. He should have been horrified by Jason pretty much confirming Nico's suspicions about what he and Percy had been up to while they were away. He wasn't horrified, he actually found Jason's slightly puckered expression funny. "Sounds like Percy should eat more grapefruit," Nico commented matter-of-factly. He reached for his rum and coke and took a small sip. He would have gladly drunk water but Jason had drunk all of his.

Jason pushed the empty glass back toward Nico. He gave Nico a curious look before questioning. "Huh?"

"It's something Will told me" Nico admitted as he started to roll his half-full glass in his hands. The part of him that felt bashful about the topic of sex protested the topic in his head but not as loudly as normal. Still, Nico kept his gaze on his glass, watching the half-melted ice cubes shift in his glass as he twisted it one way and then the other. "Apparently, what you eat affects the taste of …certain things" He explained. He kept his tone as matter-of-fact as he could considering the topic was sex and he was talking to Jason. "Grapefruit is one of the foods that are supposed to make you taste better."

Jason blinked at him for a second like he was struggling to process the information, or may he was just struggling with the source. "Doesn't Will eat a grapefruit for breakfast almost every day?" He questioned curiously.

Nico increased his focus on the cup in his hand as he felt the wide grin that spread across his face. "He does, yes"

Nico peeked up at Jason. The son of Jupiter's mouth hung open as if he was going to say something. Then he seemed to read something in Nico's expression and his mouth snapped shut. He shook his head like he was trying to actually trying to shake the thought from his mind. "Never mind, don't tell me any more."

Nico snickered into his cup as he brought it to his lips. As he took a sip from his own glass Percy appeared at the side of the table with Leo in tow. He deposited at a drink in front of Jason declaring "I got you another blue Hawaiian, which is really good."

Jason eyed the glass in front of himself for a moment before looking back up at Percy with a bit of confusion. "Did you drink some of my drink?"

Percy just shrugged as a reply and Jason looked genuinely horrified. Leo reclaimed his old seat and laughed. "What? Are you worried about germs?" He questioned sarcastically. Jason didn't say anything in reply. Instead he choose to pull his drink closer and stare down at it coddled in his hand. Nico really wasn't surprised Jason was the one having trouble with the random hook up thing. It was why when Will had suggested that if anything happened between Percy and Jason it would be Jason that started it, Nico had been so sure he was wrong he had been willing to bet on it. Jason was the type that tended to see things in black and white, and hooking up with a friend was definitely gray. Nico figured Jason was now struggling to reestablish some sort of boundary. With Percy, he could have fun with that, Nico thought sympathetically.

Percy seemed to ignore how Jason was currently pouting, which was probably the smartest thing he could have done. "You guys should have seen Leo at the bar," he declared changing the topic. He focused more of his attention on Leo before adding, "Dude, it's a shame your straight and in a relationship, cause otherwise you could have gotten some serious action."

"I know" Leo agreed with a proud grin. If there was one positive to this how weird night, it was that it had given Nico a whole new kind of respect for Leo. The guy was about as straight as you could get but he had taken the whole night in stride. He didn't even have one of the horrible "no, no I'm straight" moments (unlike certain people who were currently a rabbit) when their waiter was hitting on him. He acted flattered and slightly apologetic for being straight and not single.

Percy and Leo high-fived over Leo's theoretical ability to pick up guys. Nico just had to roll his eyes because they looked ridiculous. Neither of them seemed to have noticed before Percy turned his attention back to Jason and Nico. "So what did we miss?" Percy inquired looking between the two of them. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing" Jason replied quickly before taking a large sip of his drink.

As Jason awkwardly sipped his drink (seriously Jason must have been the world's worst liar), Nico's phone issued a demanding noise. As he dug the device out of his back pocket he spoke matter-of-factly. "You should eat more grapefruit," He explained. He took a moment to examine the message he had received. It was yet another picture of Annabeth in a wedding dress and yet another disappointment. As stupid and maybe selfish as it was, every time his phone buzzed Nico hoped it was Will. He knew Will was at a party, and he was having fun, so he probably wouldn't hear anything from him tonight but…..he still hoped. Nico let out a heavy sigh and began to type a reply to the girls as he spoke. "It will make your fluids taste better."

Nico was only half paying attention because he really hadn't mastered texting yet so typing took a bit. Still, he heard Jason groan and Percy turn to the blonde. The expression he was somewhere between shock and offense. "Was it really that bad?" Percy asked. Jason didn't say anything as a reply although he appeared to take a rather intense interest in his drink, which could be interrupted as an answer of sorts.

"Wait," Leo exclaimed. "Is that really a thing?" Nico noticed the son of Hephaestus directed the question at him. "The grapefruit thing I mean."

Nico just gave a nod as a reply before turning back to his phone. He quickly deleted what he had typed and started over. He needed to think of just the right thing to say to get Annabeth (or he suspected Piper) to stop sending him pictures of wedding dresses. He took a second or two to think before figuring out the perfect phrasing and began typing again.

"Wait" Percy called with a bit of a laugh so Nico figured the next thing out of his mouth wouldn't be great. "Doesn't Will always have a grapefruit for breakfast?" He questioned. Nico wanted to point out how weird it was that everyone seemed to know what Will had for breakfast. However, considering Will spent most mornings at camp complaining about Nico's breakfast and trying to push healthy items onto his plate. Nico really couldn't be that surprised.

"Yes," Nico confirmed as he struck the last few keys. Message completed, Nico pressed the send button and discarded the phone on the table before looking back up at the others. "and Will tastes delicious," he declared without thought.

Jason coughed painfully and Percy had that excited glint in his eye that made Nico's stomach churn unpleasantly. Frank hopped toward the edge of the table like he was making some sort of escape. Nico caught the fluffy rabbit with one hand and placed him back in the center of the table. With his other hand, he pushed the button to silence his cell phone. While he hoped Piper and Annabeth would stop with the wedding dress pictures he wasn't holding out much hope. "I shouldn't have said that" Nico admitted with a sigh as he sat back in his chair. Surprisingly, he wasn't all that embarrassed by what he had said but for some, unknown reason, saying it out loud made him miss Will even more than he already had.

"You just figured that out!" Jason growled.

Nico brought his hands up to rub at his temples slowly. He worked hard to push away the thought of running his tongue over Will's bare skin. The thought refused to be silenced and only seemed to get more vivid in face of his efforts. "Now all I'm going to be able to think about is the way Will tastes," he declared mournfully. He brought his head down to the table to rest on the back of his hands, "Fanculo!"

"Things I did not need to hear" Jason stated with emphasis. Nico didn't have to lift his head to feel the heat of Jason's glare. If he hadn't so focused on trying to think of anything besides sex in that moment, he would have happily reminded Jason that he and Will had had plenty of sex and it was about time Jason accepted that fact but it just wasn't the right moment. "Leo, do you have your tool belt? I need ear plugs." Jason stated.

"Forget ear plugs!" Percy stated with an annoying level of glee. "What we really need is an audio recorder."

Nico lifted his head off the table just enough to appropriately glare at the son of Poseidon, "Jackson, I hate you more than a little for not inviting Will." He stated in all seriousness. Sure it was Percy's bachelor party, so it was his decision who he invited. Nico knew as Percy's friend he was expected to attend and at least try to have a good time but he just wasn't good at things like that. He was getting better but he just always felt more at ease with Will around.

"I get that" Percy stated with a bit of shrug. "and in hindsight that was a bit of a dick move."

Nico pushed his head further off the table and arched an eyebrow at Percy skeptically. "A bit?" He questioned. It was a bit of a dick move to run off in the middle of his party, that he just insisted he had to have, to hook up with Jason. It was far more than that to not invite Will because he was threatened or just had to be the center of attention or whatever his motivating factor really was.

Percy shrugged again, his normally lopsided grin faltered slightly signally a guilty conscious. "But in all fairness, it's not like the distance would actually matter for you guys if Will didn't have his weird shadow-travel ban," He reasoned in his own defense.

Nico recognized Percy was trying to shift a little of his displeasure off himself but his words had a different effect. Nico jolted up straight and stared at Percy in complete astonishment. "You're right" He admitted as a dangerous thought seemed to take over his mind.

"I know" Percy agreed, his lopsided grin returning in full force. "Don't look so surprised."

Nico reached for his rum and coke and took a large gulp for courage before pushing out of his chair. Once on his feet, he stated: "I got to go."

"Wow, dude" Percy declared holding up his hands in the universal signal for 'hold up'. "Bro's weekend" He reminded gravely.

"I know" Nico admitted. He quickly grabbed Frank who had once again wandered toward the edge of the table. As he lifted him off the table Frank thumped his back legs in protest but in bunny form, he really wasn't capable of putting up much of a fight. Nico passed Frank off to Leo before grinning at Percy's hand. "I'm going to spend it with another bro"

"Doesn't Will still have his shadow-travel ban?" Jason questioned.

Nico grabbed his coat off the back of his chair and started pulling it on. "I'm pretty sure I can help him get over it." He assured confidently.

Both Jason and Percy went to protect but Leo actually shushed them. While both demigods were too busy staring at the son of Hephaestus in shock to form words Leo turned toward Nico and shushed him. "Go get him tiger" He encouraged.

Nico really didn't need to be told twice, he headed toward the exit. Technically anywhere in the bar had been dark enough for Nico to shadow travel but he preferred not to have an audience. Even amongst demigods that ability to shadow travel wasn't common, and seeing it could frighten people. Once outside Nico slipped into a dark alley between the bar and the building next door. When he was sure he was alone he stepped forward into a pool of particularly thick shadows and let them pull and twist him in the direction he wanted to go.

When he stepped back out of the shadows he was still in darkness. Even in the dim lighting, Nico recognized where he was. Enough moonlight poured into the room from the undraped window for Nico to make out Will's brightly colored comforter and the guitar propped in the corner. While the eclectic feel and warm colors didn't fit Nico's personal style it fit Will perfectly so Nico loved it.

The whole house was filled with silence, it was obvious no one was home. That was fine, Nico told himself although Will's absence was disappointing. Carefully, he kicked off his boots before crossing the room and crawling into Will's bed. The blankets, the pillows, they all smelled liked Will and in the dark, the scent only seemed more enhanced.

It was so comforting that over time Nico felt his eyelids grow heavy. He could feel himself about to doze off when he heard noise in the distance. Even in the comfortable haze of pre-sleep Nico recognized the sound as the front door closing as someone entered the house. It could have been Ms. Solace, Nico reminded himself so he wouldn't get his hopes up.

The sounds of footfalls ascending the stairs peeked Nico's interest but he stayed where he was and just listen. A smile spread across his face as Will's bedroom door opened and the lights came on. Blinking against the sudden, bright light he stretched lazily before sitting up. Will stared at him in complete shock. "I was starting to think you were never coming home." Nico declared with a lazy smile.

"Nic?" Will questioned in clear disbelief as he stepped further into the room.

Nico shifted closer to the end of the bed. "Before you say it I know" he stated hoping to cut off the shadow travel argument before it started. "You don't like when I shadow travel but I missed you" Nico explained. "I needed to see you" He shifted on the bed again so that he was sitting up on his knees and didn't feel so small. He averted his gaze downward before admitting in a much softer voice. "I needed you."

"Why didn't you call?" Will questioned. Nico was a little surprised that he didn't detect even a hint of anger in Will's tone. He had figured Will would have been at least a little upset about the shadow travel at first. As he searched Will's features, his voice, he didn't find angry if anything he seemed relieved.

Still, the questioned was surprising. After all, he thought the answer would have been obvious. "I didn't want to interrupt you when you were at the party." Nico admitted feeling slightly embarrassed. He had thought about calling Will about a hundred times during the night, but Will had the right to have a fun night with his friends without Nico interrupting. He had actually felt pretty guilty after he had texted him earlier in the night.

"I called you" Will replied in almost a whisper.

Nico felt his eyebrows knot together in a sign of confusion. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to stare at it in confusion but as soon as he saw the black screen he remembered. "I shut off my phone to stop from getting more pictures of Annabeth in wedding dresses." He explained. "Sorry" He apologized slipping the useless device into his back pocket once again.

Will took a few steps toward him before stopping dead in his tracks. The small smile he had been wearing since he had first seen Nico on the bed slipped and a nervous sort of concern filled his eyes. "Did something happen?" He asked.

Nico felt himself tilt to one side in confusion. He didn't quite understand what Will was asking, really. What could have possibly happened that would have warranted so much concern on Will's part. "Besides too much rum making me really horny?" Nico questioned with a playful smile. He hoped the admission would ease whatever anxiety Will was feeling.

Will swallowed visibly, his Adam's apple bobbing from the effort. "So, nothing happened" Will started and Nico watched him curiously. Will struggled to meet Nico's gaze and ultimately looked down at his hands "with Percy?"

Nico sat back on his knees. His shoulders slumped with disappointment. He rolled eyes his eyes with contempt for the question. "Will" he groaned. They had already talked about this, to death. Nico really couldn't think of another way to assure Will he was in no way interested in Percy.

"I know it's ridiculous" Will admitted throwing up his hands and letting out a frustrated sigh. "And I know it makes me seem like I don't trust you but that isn't it at all." He stated insistently. Everything about his words and his mannerisms were telling Nico he had thought this over a lot. Will let out another sigh, although this one was more of a sad sound than a frustrated one. His shoulders slumped and he looked defeated. "It's just an irrational fear"

"Nothing happened with Percy, nothing will ever happen with Percy." Nico reminded putting as much weight in his words as he could. As much as seeing Will struggle made Nico sad, the thought of Percy and Jason pawing at each other like a bunch of idiots had a smile tugging at his lips. "Jason can't say that honestly but I can." He informed.

Will lifted his head and met Nico's eyes. For a moment he seemed questioning but he must have read sincerity in Nico's gaze because he cracked a smile. "Seriously?" he questioned with amusement.

"Yes," Nico admitted with a nodded. Will's grin widened and he went to speak but Nico silenced him by holding up a hand. "and before you ask Jason started it, you win." Nico admitted.

"Wow" Will laughed. The sound was soft and musical and it warmed Nico's very soul to hear. "I've really been worrying all night for nothing." He admitted.

"Yes!" Nico exclaimed throwing up his hands. If he had known all it would take to calm Will down on the Percy front was for Percy and Jason to make out he would have locked the two idiots in a closet together months ago.

Will let out a laugh and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "You know how you've been talking about getting another tattoo?" He commented uncertainly. "Maybe you should get my name or something then maybe I'll stop being stupidly insecure."

Will said it like he was hoping to pass the statement as a joke although Nico got the feeling there was some sincerity in the words. He couldn't help but smile at the whole thing. To himself, he decided it was time Will know a certain truth. Wordlessly, he stepped off the bed and closed the distance between himself and Will. Once they were close he shucked his shirt and tossed it aside leaving himself bare-chested standing in front of Will.

"Nico?" Will questioned giving him a very confused look.

Nico continued to remain silent. Gently he took Will's hand in his own and brought it up to his chest so it rested over his stylized sun tattoo. He gave Will a meaningful look as he stated softly, "I already have one."

Nico kept his eyes on Will as his expression went from one of confusion, to surprise, to shear awe. Gingerly, Will's fingers began tracing the outline of the tattoo as he eyed it like it was the first time he had truly seen it. "You really got this for me?"

"Uh-hu" Nico confirmed with a nod.

Will stopped tracing the tattoo to rest his hand on it. He glanced up to meet Nico's eyes with his own. "Why didn't you say something before now?"

Nico wondered if he was blushing. The truth was he had kept that fact to himself because he didn't know if Will would find it creepy. Will just meant so much to him, had had such an effect on him, that no matter what happened between he always wanted a reminder of that, of Will. "I didn't know what you would think," Nico admitted with a nervous shrug.

Will's finger running softly along his cheekbone caught his attention and Nico looked up to meet Will's eyes. Bright blue eyes focused on Nico like he was the only thing that really mattered. Still, after how long they had been together, Nico didn't know how to handle when Will looked at him with such intensity. He tried to look away but Will caught him and held his face firm before leaning in. He pressed his lips against Nico's. It started as the softest of kisses, their lips just barely touching. Then Will moved his hand from Nico's check to the back of his neck and pulled him in more tightly.

As the kiss deepened Nico realized Will's lips were far more intoxicating than alcohol could ever be. The hand that wasn't pressed against the back of his neck moved to rest on the small of his back bringing their bodies flush. Nico could get lost in Will's lips, in their kiss, or he wanted to if only there wasn't…… Frustrated he pulled away from Will's lips. "What are you wearing?" Nico questioned with distaste.

"Clothes" Will replied in a bit of a daze. His grip was still tight on Nico's frame, and their bodies still close. He grinned suggestively. "But I would happily change that if you'd like."

Nico wasn't opposed to the idea of Will getting naked. On the contrary, he was a huge fan of the idea in general but that wasn't what he currently referring to. "Are you wearing cologne?" He specified.

Will blinked at him in confusion for a moment before replying. "No"

Nico sighed and pressed his hands against Will's chest. He pushed Will back a bit, which might have been a first for him, he was usually pulling Will close. "Will, you reek." He stated in a bit of an exaggeration. Still, Will noticeable did not smell like himself, or not just like himself. Will usually smelled like the sun and summertime- coconuts and citrus fruits. That was still there but there was also a distinct smell of chemicals.

"Um" Will hummed with confusion which was followed by a flash of understanding. "Oh," he declared before lifting the shoulder of his shirt. He sniffed the fabric experimentally and immediately made a face of displeasure. "Gross" He groaned.

Will wasn't the only one capable of irrational fear. Will smelled like cologne, and Will never wore cologne. Nico felt panicked and trapped and it was all too much. He detangled himself from Will's grip and took several steps back "Why do you smell like cologne?"

Will scrubbed at his forehead with his palm as he replied. "Because Felix is a jackass."

That wasn't the name Nico was expected to hear. Then again there wasn't another name he would have expected to hear in its place. Will always talked about his school friends with affection but Nico never felt threatened by any of them. Well not in an intimate way, although sometimes he was intimidated by how well Dean must have known Will. Physically, however, Nico had always felt safe, and he certainly hadn't considered Felix a threat. As Mitchell would put it, Felix was a rose bush- Sure he was physically attractive but interacting him was all thorns. "Was that supposed to make sense?" He questioned doubtfully

"It's been such a strange night" Will explained which in Nico's opinion wasn't much of an explanation. "And it's kind of a long story"

"I've got all night," Nico assured. He stared back at Will in confusion, it wasn't like him to resist giving a straight answer. Usually, it was Nico who avoided the uncomfortable truths.

Will shifted uncomfortably before taking a half step forward. In response, Nico took a half step backward. He just couldn't let Will actually touch him until he got a straight answer. Will looked genuinely hurt, and he let out a heavy sigh "It's not like I would ever do anything with Felix"

"Why do you smell like his cologne?" Nico questioned. The panic was getting to be too much, he didn't want to be here anymore. He didn't want to face this; he doubted he was strong enough.

Will groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose fiercely. "Because he hit on me which may have been the most disturbing things that has ever happened to me." Will admitted.

There was something about the way Will spoke the words, he was uncomfortable. Normally that would have killed Nico, he wouldn't have pushed. Unfortunately, he couldn't really pinpoint the source. He shook his head disappointedly, "That doesn't really answer the-"

Will raked his fingers through his hair in clear frustration. "He tried that close up lean thing" He explained and Nico could read his disgust.

As soon as Nico really processed what Will had said he tilted his head to one side as he tried to picture it. Only one image really came to mind and it didn't involve Will or Felix. "You mean Austin's move?" He questioned. Between the infirmary and modeling, Nico probably spent too much time with Will's brother. He had been subject to all of Austin's various theories and suggestions on the art of flirting. He had definitely seen The LeanTM in action before. It was actually kind of enduring how Austin still flirted shamelessly with Mitchell even though they were dating.

"Yes!" Will declared with a bit of excitement. Considering Austin was Will's brother and they had known each other for years he was probably far more familiar with Austin's move then Nico was. If he could think of it as anything but Austin's move Nico would have been surprised. "He must have bathed in his cologne, or you have an amazing nose."

Nico actually had never been particular to smells until Tartarus. Ever since that whole experience he had found he was hyper-aware of certain smells. Nico didn't think it was the time to explain that to Will so he just shrugged. "And what did you do?" He questioned quietly. He wasn't even fully sure what answer he was hoping for. He knew what he didn't want to hear which he was already sure hadn't happened but he didn't know how he expected Will to react to someone coming on to him.

Will looked away and shifted uncomfortably on his feet. When he replied, he spoke quickly like he just wanted the words out. "I pointed out that I wasn't interested and I'm a poor Dean substitute. Felix made an asshole comment and…..I punch him."

Nico realized why Will had been so reluctant to explain what had happened. He wasn't uncomfortable, he was ashamed. Will really wasn't a violent person and he believed strongly in resolving conflict through words not fists. Whatever Felix had said must have been pretty bad to drive Will to hit him. Felix would suffer for that, Nico resolved.

Will's eyes were downcast and his body language was tight with guilt and it was all so ridiculous. Nico laughed, a genuinely amused laugh. Will's eyes shot upwards to meet with Nico's in clear confusion. Nico just couldn't take it one second longer. He surged forward and pressed his lips against Will's hard. It took Will a second to overcome his confusion and actually kiss Nico back. When he did, Nico felt Will sigh against his lips. He felt the tension leave Will's body as he brought his hands to rest on Nico's hips.

Nico pulled back from the kiss to look at Will with pure admiration. He brought his hand up to Will's cheek and let his thumb run over his cheekbone softly. " Naturalmente, avete fatto bella uomo!" He declared. He took half a step back and let his hand fall from Will's face and down his body. He took his time moving down Will's body until he could grasp the hem of his shirt. Once there Nico wasted little time pulling it off and discarding it. The shirt and it's offensive smell gone Nico took a moment to enjoy the sight of Will's bare sculpted chest "E 'stato un pazzo a provare, sei mio. "

Will shivered as Nico begin to run his fingers along his chest, tracing lines from freckle to freckle. "I really need to learn Italian" He sighed.

Nico looked up meeting Will's eyes with a soft smile. "You're beautiful and your mine." He translated. He had noticed lately it was easier for him to remember English during times of high emotion. He really wasn't sure why that was, but he wondered if it had something to do with being more at ease with his own emotions. Of course, in that moment Nico wasn't really all that concerned. He pushed up on his toes and pressed his lips against Will's to punctuate his point.

Will was the one that pulled away from the kiss this time, and when his eyes met Nico's there was a fierceness in them. "I am yours" He stated firmly "and I always will be." Will moved swiftly, bringing his hands down and gripping the backs of Nico's thighs. As Will heaved him upwards Nico wrapped his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist. Will kissed him hungrily as he started to carry Nico toward the bed.

Normally Nico would have protested Will carrying him around but in that moment, all he could think to do was kiss him back. He met Will's lips with a hunger of his own. It only took a few steps for them to stop and Will to set Nico down on the bed. As soon as he did, he pulled away from their kiss in spite of Nico's efforts to keep it going by trying to follow Will's lips.

Will splayed one hand on Nico's chest and urged him to lay back. Nico did although he kept his eyes locked on his boyfriend as he did. Will kneeled on the bed. His hand drifted down Nico's chest and stomach to the waistband of Nico's jeans. He sat back and made a show of eyeing Nico as he laid under him. Part of Nico wondered what Will saw when he looked at him, but the lust that filled his startling blue eyes told him whatever Will saw he liked it and that was enough him.

The son of Hades watched his boyfriend make quick work of unfastening his belt and pants and resisted the urge to applaud. Will normally fumbled with Nico's clothes, but tonight his hands moved swiftly and confidently, it was impressive. What really stopped Nico from pointing it out was not wanting to ruin the mood. He had been thinking about being with Will most of the night, he wasn't going to get in his own way.

Nico pushed his hips off the bed as Will pulled his pants and briefs down in one go. Will had to climb off Nico and the bed to completely rid him of his pants. When he did Nico took advantage of the sudden range of motion he didn't have with Will on top of him. He pushed himself up into the sitting position and scooted to the edge of the bed so he was seated directly in front of Will. He looked up and met his boyfriend's eyes as he unbuttoned his pants.

Nico was actually exceedingly proud of himself. He was able to hold back his only maddening desire and undressed Will slowly keeping his eyes locked on Will's as he did. It was clearly turning Will on; his breathing was shallow, his pupils were blown wide with lust, and he was biting at his bottom lip. It felt like it took days before Nico hooked his fingers into the elastic of Will's boxers and pulled them down Will's thighs to the point where gravity could do the rest but watching Will made it worth.

Once Will was naked, and his manhood already half-hard was exposed Nico slide off the bed and onto his knees. He brought his hand up and wrapped his fingers around the base of Will erection. The contact earning him a small gasp. Nico stroked Will's length slowly feeling him grow firmer with Nico's motions. It only took a few strokes for Will to grow fully hard in Nico's hand. Nico kept his motions teasingly slow but picked up the pace just enough to get Will to whine and whimper above him.

When he noticed the first bead of pre-cum form on the tip of Will's swollen manhood Nico just couldn't deny himself any longer. He made a bit of a show of sticking out his tongue before leaning in and swirling it over the head of Will's erection. He hummed contently as he pulled away, the salty taste of Will's pre-cum still on his tongue.

"Nic" Will whined. He sounded so good Nico just had to peek up at him and he looked as good as he sounded. He was looking down at Nico before him, his eyes half-lidded but still pleading.

Nico grinned wickedly back up at Will for a moment before returning his attention to Will's manhood. This time when he leaned in he wrapped his lips around Will's girth. At first, Nico still used his hand to stroke most of Will's length as his mouth stayed at the head sucking and licking at the sensitive places there.

Nico felt Will's fingers threading through his hair as he started taking more of Will into his mouth. When he felt Will hit the back of his throat he moved his hand from the base of Will's erection to his hip for support as he swallowed taking Will deeper.

"Oh, gods Nic!" Will moaned desperately. Nico felt his fingers tighten around clumps of his hair at the crown of his head.

As he pulled back Nico hummed contently before pushing forward and taking Will all the way in again. It didn't take long for Nico to find a pace that allowed him to take Will's substantial length with each bob forward. Almost as soon as he had, however, he started to feel how Will's thighs quivering under his hands. Above him, Will moaned "Nic I……… I'm…… I'm……"

Nico popped off Will's length before he could finish, in any sense of the word. The action caused Will to whimper in protest which just made Nico smile as he climbed back on the bed. He gestured for Will to follow. It took Will a few more seconds then it normally would have but he eventually climbed on the bed until he was looming over Nico.

"That wasn't very nice" Will complained. Nico might have taken Will more seriously if he wasn't grinning ear to ear.

"Non stavo ….." Nico started. He paused and licked at his lips absently as he searched for the words. He could still taste Will on his lips which was beyond distracting but he eventually found them. "I'm not done with you yet."

Will actually managed to smile more brightly "Is that so?" He questioned teasingly. Nico just gave a small nod as a reply. "Well" Will declared shifting down Nico's body slightly to place a soft kiss on his chest. "I think I might have to do something to pay you back for that." he declared teasingly as he continued to move down Nico's body.

Will moved slow, taking his time to kiss and lick various spots on his way down. By the time he reached Nico's naval, the son of Hades could feel beads of pre-cum dripping down his painfully hard erection. "Will" he called as he squirmed under Will's touch. Will paused in his descent to blink up at him. Nico searched his brain for the right words to expression what he wanted but they weren't coming, at least not in English. "Lube" he finally managed. He could only hope that Will would somehow glean his full meaning from the one word.

Will stared up at him for a moment with a questioning expression. Nico squirmed and bit his lip to stop himself from whining. He didn't like that Will had stopped touching him. He wanted more of Will's touches, of Will's lips, just more. Will tilted his head to one side curiously. "You want to bottom?" he questioned sounding surprised.

This time when Nico squirmed it had little to do with desire. He felt his own face heat up and he turned his head to the side so he no longer had to meet the intensity of Will's gaze. Will never asked that question, it was like an unspoken rule. Will might ask Nico to top, or request Nico do certain things but he never asked if Nico wanted to bottom. Normally, Will just figured it out some other way Nico guessed.

Nico's sudden change in demeanor snapped Will out of his uncertainty. "Sorry" he declared before placing a rushed kiss low on Nico's stomach and climbing off the bed. Will went to the nightstand and started rummaging through the drawer. Normally Nico would have watched Will as he stood there naked but Nico could still feel himself blushing so he kept his head turned the other way. "I just wasn't expecting..." Will started to explain. Nico felt the bottle of lube hit the mattress and bounce beside him moments before Will climbed back on the bed. Nico dared the slightest glance toward his boyfriend. Will smiled up at him before placing a soft kiss high up on Nico's inner thigh. "I'm not complaining" Will assured before placing another kiss on the same spot on his other leg. Will's hands ran up and down Nico's legs rubbing gently and coaxing his knees further apart. "It's just normally when you're so….feisty you want to top or-" Will cut himself off, his hands stopped in their motions and his eyes went wide with some kind of understand that Nico wasn't privy to. "Oh" Will exclaimed with clear glee. He stretched upward and grabbed the bottle of lube from where he had discarded it before with new found enthusiasm. That was really saying something because Will had been pretty enthusiastic before his personal epiphany.

Nico could feel himself glaring. "Or?" He questioned hoping his tone conveyed while it was a question Will didn't have a choice about answering.

"Umm" Will hummed. He looked from Nico to the bottle of lube in his hand and back to Nico. He bit his lower lip as he wisely decided to answer. "Or you want to ride me." Will admitted. Nico opened his mouth to protest, it would have been a lie but still, he had his pride. Will spoke quickly not giving Nico a chance to make a sound. "Which I am all for, like seriously." Ginning Will dropped the bottle of lube back on the bed and crawled up Nico's body until they were face to face. He pressed his lips against Nico's. Try as he might, Nico found it impossible to maintain a scowl as he kissed his beautiful boyfriend. He had all but forgotten why he had been scowling in the first place when Will pulled away. He grinned down at him, his eyes filled with hope and excitement. "Oh, Pretty Boy, please tell me that's what you want ‘cause just thinking about it is doing things to me."

Nico's face felt hot again. This time he wasn't sure if it was from arousal or embarrassment or both but he wouldn't have been surprised if he spontaneously combusted. He bit his lower lip bashfully and gave a small nod as an answer. The smile Will gave him in return was as bright as the sun. When Will once again pressed his lips against Nico's it was a hungry sort of kiss the left Nico out of breath and whining for more when he pulled away.

Nico watched as Will moved back down his body grabbing the bottle of lube as he went. As hands worked to uncap the bottle Will placed kisses low on Nico's stomach and on his inner thighs. He didn't touch Nico where Nico really wanted him to but he would get so close Nico could feel the heat radiating off his skin and the warmth of his breath. Nico was finding it difficult to stay still, and it seemed to take Will forever to open the bottle.

Nico almost sighed with relief when Will tossed the lube aside. One hand came up, and strong fingers wrapped around his needful erection. While Will's grip on him was firm his motions were too slow. Nico had gone too long without Will's touch and now Will wasn't giving enough. He tried to press his hips up to better meet Will's motion. Will just made a tsk sound and slowed the motion of his hand even more.

"Will" Nico whined pleadingly. Teasing was one thing but this was more than that, this was torment. Just as Nico thought he couldn't take anymore he felt Will's other hand slip under him. He felt Will's calloused and slicked fingers probe at his crease before pushing in and running along the crevice until running over Nico's entrance.

Nico let his eyes flutter closed as he focused on the feeling of Will's fingers gently rubbing at his rim, urging the ring of muscle to relax. Will continued to stroke him slowly, almost absently but it didn't seem as torturous as it had moments earlier.

"Ahhh" Nico gasped at the first intrusion. Will had barely pushed a tip of a finger inside him. It didn't hurt but the sensation still required some getting used to. Will didn't pull back but he moved forward slowly, taking his time to work the first finger deeper inside as his other hand seemed to stroke Nico's length with more conviction.

Nico felt himself relax as the sensation of Will's finger sliding in and out of him with ease became increasingly pleasant. It didn't stop him from whining when Will pressed in a second finger deeper then Nico was fully prepared for. The first sting of being stretched was a bit much and Nico was always amazed how Will's two fingers could feel so big. Sure, Will had big hands and thick yet nimble fingers but compared to Will's hard manhood his fingers really weren't much.

Will pulled back a bit but the stretch still felt like a lot. Will seemed to sense it. He always seemed in tune with Nico in these moments, he always seemed to know exactly what Nico needed. Will released Nico's erection from his grip. Before Nico could even thing to complain he felt Will's hot, wet tongue run up his length.

Will wrapped his lips around Nico's girth and sucked and licked at the head of Nico's erection as he continued to move his fingers within him. The wet heat of Will's mouth and the playful flicks of his tongue served as the perfect distraction from any of the initial discomfort at being stretched.

Once Will could get two fingers fully inside Nico started to feel the pads of Will fingers running along his inner walls, searching. "Will!" Nico cried when Will found that spot that had Nico's body burning and shivering and desperate pressure building low in his core.

Will stopped sucking on his member and focused solely on fingering him after that. Things moved both too quickly and too slowly. Some part of Nico recognized that Will worked him open slowly, taking the time to gauge Nico's reaction. Any time Nico whined or whimpered in a way that indicated discomfort Will would focus his touches on that spot until Nico moaned wantonly. When Will removed his fingers from inside completely it left Nico feeling suddenly unpleasantly empty. It felt like no time had passed since Will had started.

Dazed and slightly annoyed at the unexpected loss of pleasure it took Nico an extra moment to open his eyes and push up on his elbows. Will was sitting on the bed stroking himself, his long, thick erection glistening from lube. Nico wouldn't lie, he took a minute to enjoy the show before moving. He sat up and placed a hand gently on Will's shoulder. As he urged the blond to lay back he spoke softly " Sdraiati bella "

Will released himself and laid back as Nico urged his blue eye fixed on him as he did. "There is that Italian I like to hear."

As he moved to straddle Will's waist he pressed their lips together. The kiss was short lived but deep and when Nico pulled away he fixed Will with a meaningful look. He cupped on of Will's cheeks gently in his hand. " io sono tuo e tu sei mio " Nico spoke the reassurance in a whisper.

Will searched his face questioningly but lost focus when Nico reached behind himself and found Will's slicked length. He used his grip to line Will up with his entrance and didn't release his hold until he felt Will's thick head push inside himself. There was nothing Nico could do to stop himself from gasping at the penetration. He could _feel_ it, he could feel _Will_ inside himself pushing deeper. Nico slowly sat back on his length, feeling it fill him far more than Will's fingers ever could.

When Will was fully inside Nico stilled. He brought his hands to rest on Will's chest and focused on adjusting to the sensation. Will felt amazing but he also felt thick and long and at first, that was a lot. Will's hands were gripping his hips hard like he was trying to hold Nico in place but maybe he was just trying to hold himself together. "What did you say?" Will managed to pant out, his voice strained.

Nico just stared at Will confused for a minute before he understood the question. At the realization, Nico let out a huff of frustration. Sure, he was getting better about English during certain situations but he could feel Will inside himself, there was no way he could English in that moment. He searched his brain and only managed to find one of the words he was looking for. He pressed his hand more firmly against Will's chest hoping to convey some sort of meaning as he spoke "Mine"

"Oh, I am" Will agreed with a bright smile "Pretty boy, I really am."

Nico grinned before carefully leaned in and brushed his lips against Will. As planned as the motion was it still caused Will to shift within him which had Nico quivering and Will moaning from the sensation. The kiss was brief before Nico sat up tall, his hands still splayed on Will's chest for support. Pushing up on his knees he came up, almost off, Will's length before sinking back down, gasping as he felt Will slide back inside.

It didn't take long for Nico to find a rhythm, pushing up on his knees then falling back on Will's length at a steady pace gasping with each new penetration. It was good, it all felt so very good but then Will released his grip on Nico's hips and pushed himself up on his elbows. The change in angles caused fireworks to explode on Nico's eyelids. Nico didn't have the words to describe how good it felt.

"Pretty Boy," Will panted "can I touch you?"

The question sounded so silly Nico might have laughed had he been capable of doing anything but moaning. He bit his lip and nodded frantically as a reply, or he tried. He could feel how Will moved in him and at the new angle as he slid down Will's length bringing the head dragging over that spot inside himself. It felt so good it was hard to remember anything else.

Nico mewed at the feeling of Will's fingers wrapping around the base of his manhood and started moving up and down. Unlike earlier, Will motions were anything but slow and teasing. While there wasn't really a rhythm to speak of the unpredictability somehow added to the pleasure.

It all felt so good, too good. The growing pressure deep in Nico's core screamed for release and he could feel it nearing, feeling his muscles growing tight in anticipation for it. The relative silence of the room was broken by a long, low moan. Nico didn't realize it wasn't his own until he felt Will pulse within him, releasing his warm seed and Nico could feel that too.

Between Will's desperate, erratic stroking and the feeling of Will finishing within him Nico was overcome with his own climax. "Will!" He cried as cold fire ran through his body and every nerve ending sang with ecstasy. He felt himself spasm, his body tight before relaxing as he spilling his own seed across Will's chest and stomach.

As the warm buzzing feeling of his orgasm passed Nico realized how completely bone tired he was. Far too tired to continue to hold himself upright. Still panting, he leaned down so his forehead rested against Will's chest and tried to focus on catching his breath.

"Wow" Will sighed as Nico felt him run his hand lazily down Nico's spine. Naked, covered in sweat, and still oversensitive from his recent climax Nico shivered at Will's touch. Will noticed, Nico could tell just by the way his body shifted under him "Lay down next to me and we can get under the covers."

Nico almost protested. Will was still inside him, going soft but Nico still liked the way it felt and didn't really want it to end. But he knew he couldn't explain that so he shifted, whimpering at the strange feeling of Will pulling out of his body, and dropped himself on his back on the bed.

Will swiftly covered them with a blanket, and even though Nico felt sweaty and sticky the warmth was nice. Will curled up against his side resting his chin on Nico's chest and smiling up at him.

"I couldn't have imagined tonight ending so well" Will stated happily. From the sounds of it, Will had had a strange night so Nico found the confession especially enduring.

Nico's eyelids were heavy and he really didn't understand how Will managed to sound so enthusiastic. Still, Nico reached out in an attempt to run his fingers through Will's hair but his arm felt so heavy it turned into an awkward rubbing of his cheek instead. The effort earned a small laugh from Will so Nico was counting it a win. Will turned his head so that he was resting on Nico's chest like a pillow "I'm really glad you're here."

Nico managed to lift an arm up so that it wrapped around Will's back and rested on his shoulder. "So you're not mad about the shadow travel?" he questioned sincerely. Nico knew he probably shouldn't even bring it up but he was just so surprised Will hadn't lectured him about it.

Will brought his hand to rest on Nico's chest, and Nico could feel him trace patterns against his skin as he seemed to give the question some thought. Nico was starting to worry when Will let out a heavy sigh before he answered. "It can't be an all the time thing."

"Right" Nico acknowledged thoughtlessly. He really had been prepared to agree with whatever Will said. He knew that shadow traveling scared Will and wasn't looking to argue about it. He had Will in that moment which was what really mattered anyways. When the full meaning of Will's words truly hit him, Nico perked up at bit at what he thought it meant. "Wait, does that mean the shadow travel ban is officially lifted?"

"No" Will stated firmly. Nico bit back his disappointment, he knew he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up in the first place. Will lifted his head enough to peek up at Nico as he spoke "it's just changed form from a shadow travel ban to shadow travel restrictions."

Nico suddenly felt very awake. "Really!?!" he exclaimed with excitement.

Will pushed up on his elbow so that he could truly meet Nico's gaze and fix him with a serious expression as he spoke. "Nico, there will be rules and you will follow them"

"Right, yeah of course" Nico nodded to show he understood. He could follow Will's rules if it meant he got to see Will on a regular basis. "Whatever you say [love]"

The serious expression faded from Will's face and he smiled contently before he laid back down. "We can talk about it in the morning" he stated shifting against Nico's side presumably to get more comfortable. "It's been a long stressful night and the only cure for that is cuddling with you."

Nico was painfully aware that they were a mess, covered in sweat and other things. Usually the awareness of the mess was enough to send him running from the room to clean up. He couldn't find the energy to do it this time, however. He was just too comfortable, a surely cuddling with Will for a few minutes couldn't hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Jason, although at least I think Percy is handling it well, or at least as well as can be expected from Percy.
> 
> This will probably be the last you see of Jealous Will, at least when it comes to Percy. Just an FYI
> 
> As someone who is really sensitive to smells I can honestly say I hate 99.9% of perfumes and colognes. Gross!
> 
> Italian translations:  
> Of course you did you beautiful man = Naturalmente, avete fatto bella uomo!  
> He was a fool to try, you’re mine = E 'stato un pazzo a provare, sei mio.  
> Lie down beautiful = Sdraiati bella  
> I am yours and you are mine = io sono tuo e tu sei mio
> 
> Comments and Kudos always appreciated.


	37. This is not how the morning was supposed to go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday Darlings!
> 
> This chapter contains references to SMUT- be prepared.
> 
> Also, this chapter and the next chapter were originally going to be 1 chapter but considering this one is 21 pgs and the next chapter is 21 pgs and growing I decided to split them up.
> 
> I apologize in advance for the cliffhanger.

As he awoke Will realized his sleep must have been especially heavy the night before because he found himself lying in much the same position he had fallen asleep in. He was laying naked on his side with a blanket haphazardly over him. His head was resting on Nico’s chest as a pillow and an arm was thrown over the other boy’s frame. Will could feel Nico’s arm wrapped around his back and his hand resting heavy on Will’s bicep.

As he blinked away the remaining fog of sleep he listened to the gentle rise and fall of Nico’s breath, the steady pumping of his heart. Nico’s breath sounds alone were enough to tell Will Nico was asleep.

The way the sun streamed through the open window casting long shadows along Will’s floor telling him it was early morning, although not as early as Will normally woke. Even with the blanket thrown over him, Will could feel the chill in the air, and he registered that it had been a bad idea to leave the window cracked open overnight. Tennessee was a lot warmer than New York on average but it was still January.

There was an easy way to beat the cold, Will recognized and snuggled more tightly into Nico’s side. Nico let out a soft sound and Will tilted his head upward to look up at his pretty face. His dark eyes were hidden under his lids and his expression was overall peaceful.

Nico would probably chastise Will for even thinking it but that never really stopped him. When Nico slept he looked like the definition of his name, he looked like an angel. It was nice to see as it was rare for Nico look truly at peace, even when happy the weight of Nico’s life experiences often haunted his soulful eyes.

Will had to tilt his head back down to avoid getting an uncomfortable kink in his neck. His eyes didn’t need to search for the tattoo on Nico’s chest, they seemed to find it naturally. With his head resting on Nico like it was Will couldn’t really make out the shape, it was more of a dark spot. That didn’t matter, he brought his hand up to rest and the stop with reverence. Nico had gotten that tattoo for him, Will couldn’t stop thinking and being in awe of that fact, and it was over his heart too.

Will felt so…..honored. He wondered if he should get a tattoo, something for Nico. He had never really thought of himself as a tattoo person but the idea of having something to show how much Nico meant to him felt right. Maybe he would ask Nico what he thought when he woke up.

Will felt warm lazy and content. While he was wide awake he had no drive to get out of bed or really move from that very spot. Thoughts of waking up that way every morning when he and Nico lived together only added to the perfection of the moment.

Under him, Nico shifted slightly in his sleep and let out a contented little hum. His arm seemed to tighten around Will, pulling him in closer. Turning his head to one side Nico’s lips grazed Will’s forehead in the lightest of kisses. “Così felice”

Nico spoke Italian in such a soft way Will doubted he was awake. It was more likely so simple declaration made in the lightest stages of sleep. Still hearing the words that had no meaning to him but a strong effect on him physically got him thinking. He remembered Nico speaking the night before, his words seemed so intense, and while Nico had given some translation he doubted it was everything. Will desperately wanted to know what Nico said, everything he said when they were together. When Nico topped he often would whisper so softly against Will’s skin as he moved. His voice would become like a purr and would often leave Will shaking as he imaged gentle words of endearment or praise. And when Nico bottomed he would often cling to Will and cry out long strings of Italian words, his voice pleading and desperate. Will wanted to understand the things he said in the moment, as much of a turn on the Italian was he imagined Nico’s actually words would be even sexier.

That thought brought Will around to another one: Lou Ellen’s potion, the one that would let him understand any language for 12 hours. The vial of purple liquid sat, unused, in the drawer of his bedside table. Nico was asleep, if he could retrieve it he could drink it and Nico would never know. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t tell Nico after, it was just he knew his boyfriend too well. If Nico knew he could understand the things he was saying he would try to edit what he said out of bashfulness. It was unnecessary, there really was nothing Nico could say that wouldn’t turn Will on.

Of course, Nico was currently asleep and there was a chance that they might not actually do something sexual. The thought seemed almost laughable but there was a chance and if for some reason they didn’t fool around the potion would have been wasted. He could always ask Lou Ellen to make more but for the way she had made it sound it had been difficult so she may not want to.

He went back and forth in his head for a moment weighing the pros and cons before ultimately deciding it was worth the risk. He peeked up at Nico to make sure he was still asleep before carefully pushing up on his elbows. Slowly, he leaned over his sleeping boyfriend to reach for the nightstand.

Will froze mid-reach when Nico made an unhappy noise beneath him. He glanced at Nico and found his eyes were still closed although he was now wearing the cutest pout. Will had to work hard to resist the urge to kiss that cute pout off his face. Otherwise, Nico gave no other outward signs of waking.

Will waited until the pout began to fade before once again stretching toward his nightstand. The bed shifted under his weight his moving weight and Nico groaned “Will,” the son of Apollo looked down at his boyfriend and found dark eyes blinking back up at him with a sleepy annoyance that Will was positive only Nico could manage. “What are you doing?”

“Sorry” Will apologized, not actually answering the question. He shifted his weight back so he was no longer reaching for the nightstand and instead was just propped up over Nico. He leaned down and place a soft kiss on Nico’s chest before looking back up at him “Didn’t mean to wake you.”

Nico let out a long sigh and let his eye fall closed. Blindly and rather lazily Nico brought one of his hands up and ran his fingers through Will’s hair. The sensation of Nico’s fingers grazing his scalp made his skin tingle. “Lay back down so we can cuddle. It’s too early to be awake.”

Will grinned, his boyfriend really wasn’t a morning person and was just too cute about it. “It’s 9 a.m.” He pointed out. Normally Will naturally was awake by seven so that was pretty late for him.

Nico groaned and scrunched up his face with displeasure. “It’s worse than I thought.”

Will laughed as he laid his head back down on Nico’s chest. He knew unlike Nico there was no way he was going to fall back asleep but he was content to lay next to him just the same. “It’s so nice to wake up like this.” Will stated. Nico replied with a happy sounding hum as he once again wrapped his arm around Will bringing his hand to rest on his shoulder. “I can’t wait to do it every day.” Will admitted with a smile. He still sometimes had a hard time believing it but in a little, over half a year he would be starting college and he and Nico would be living together. He would get to wake up with Nico next to him in bed every morning. Will was one-hundred present positive that was the happiest thought he had ever had.

“Me too” Nico agreed and although he did sound sleepy he sounded infinitely more awake then he had moments earlier. His nimble fingers began stroking Will’s arm softly. There was a long stretch of silence where Will was content to listen to the steady rhythm of his boyfriend’s heartbeat and enjoy the warm of his bare body against his own. “So, what are the rules?” Nico questioned after a time. The way Nico dragged out the words Will got the impression he had been thinking about it for quite some time.

Maybe Will wasn’t as awake as he thought, or maybe he was just too comfortable in the moment to follow but Nico’s question had him at a complete loss. “Rules for what?”

“Your shadow travel restrictions” Nico clarified and Will didn’t have to look up to see the smile tugging at the corners of Nico’s usually pouty lips. He hadn’t actually forgotten what he said the night before, although he had sincerely hoped Nico had. In all reality, Will didn’t think it was fair to hold him to anything he said within ten minutes of a mind-blowing orgasm, especially the night before. It had been such an insane night and then he got home to find Nico in his bed, and then they had ended up having really intense sex. The intense sex alone was enough to drive away rational thought, but when Nico rode like he did it took things to a whole new level. Will was lucky he remembered his own name afterward.

Will tilted his head upward to meet Nico’s eyes. “I was talking about when we life together.” He informed. When they lived together they would be able to wake up in bed together every day. Even if Will did loosen up a little on not wanting Nico to shadow travel he still wouldn’t go so far to say he could stay every night. He would have loved to curl up with Nico each night but he doubted that would have been healthy for Nico to shadow travel that far that often.

“I know” Nico replied with a shrug Will felt more than saw.

Nico’s facial expression was serious but otherwise unreadable which made Will a bit nervous. “How about we talk about that when you’re fully awake.” Will offered hoping to push the conversation away for a little bit longer. He knew he would have to give a little, and in all fairness, Nico was probably in the best shape of his life. He had shadow traveled to Tennessee the night before and had largely been unaffected. Will had to work hard to feel the lingering shadows on him the night before and they were gone as they lay together as far as Will could tell. But it was still hard for him not to think of how close he had been to death during the battle of Camp Half-Blood. “It’s a serious conversation and I prefer you fully awake for it.”

Nico nodded with understanding and Will felt his whole body relax, he hadn’t even been aware of how tense he had gotten until then. Nico stretched as much as he probably could without dislodging Will. “As you wish” He stated with a sly smile. It really wasn’t fair that he was quoting Will’s favorite movie wasn’t fair but he let it go when he saw the lustful way Nico was looking down at him. “What do you want to do until then?”

Will grinned back up at his beautiful boyfriend. He hummed thoughtfully before admitting, “I have some ideas.” Will let his eyes wider down over Nico’s bare chest. They had fallen asleep pretty quickly the night before, Nico hadn’t even rushed out of the room to clear up which was rare. They had both fallen asleep naked, which really was how Will thought it should always be. The feeling of Nico’s skin against his own was definitely giving him some ideas.

“Of course you do” Nico stated as he stifled a yawn.

Will pushed up a little so he could place a chaste kiss on Nico’s jaw before meeting his eyes and whispering, “We should make love.”

Will didn’t think it was humanly possible to turn as red as quickly as Nico did at his words. He whined and attempted to cover his face with his hands. “Will” Nico protested his word partially muffled from his hands.

“What?” Will questioned with an amused little laugh. He probably shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help but think how cute Nico looked when he got all embarrassed.

“Why do you have to say it like that?” Nico questioned.

“How else am I supposed to say it?” Will replied pushing up on his elbows so he could look down at his boyfriend.

Nico was still covering his face with his hands although he was peeking through his fingers. “I don’t know” he admitted.

Will shook his head with amusement. In action, Nico could be very sexual but when it came to talking about sex even the most modest statement could make him embarrassed. Carefully Will pulled Nico’s hands away from his face so he could really see him. “You love me, don’t you?” Will questioned softly. He already knew that answer but he wanted to prove his point.

Nico huffed like the questioned was completely idiotic. “Yes, of course”

“I love you and I’m yours” Will replied as he leaned in to kiss Nico softly on his cheek. The phrasing made Will think of the night before which just made him smile. “You can call me that whenever you like by the way.” He assured. He didn’t think he would ever feel such a rush to any other words as he did when Nico called him ‘mine’.

Nico looked up at Will seriously he reached out a hand and grazed it over Will’s cheek. “Il mio”

“And your mine” Will replied with a smile “So sex doesn’t seem like the right word”

Nico blushed slightly but still managed to roll his eyes. “I guess”

“So, what do you say?” Will grinned cockily down at Nico. He snaked his free hand down Nico’s bare chest and slipping under the sheets. “Think you can rise to the occasion?” He asked teasingly.

“Hmph” Was Nico’s only reply his eyes flicking between Will’s eyes and the path of Will’s hand moving downward.

Will’s hand sank between Nico’s legs and found his manhood resting hard and heavy against his stomach. Will grinned against Nico’s skin at the feeling of Nico already hard for him. “Never mind, I can feel you already have.”

“I’m a teenager, I wake up that way” Nico huffed indignantly. His tone was very believable but the way he squirmed under Will’s touch gave him away. “Don’t flatter yourself”

Will did his best to fake offense but knew he was only partially successful because he could feel that grin spreading across his face. “Oh really?” He questioned teasingly as he pushed the blankets aside before tossing his legs over Nico’s before rolling over so that he was straddling Nico’s thighs. “So, it has nothing to do with waking up in bed with me naked?”

“Nope” Nico replied looking up and to the right to avoid eye contact. His cheeks were pink and he was clearly straining to keep his lips held in a firm frown “Not at all”

Will felt his own grin widen, Nico really wasn’t very convincing. He leaned down so he could whisper in Nico’s ear “Are you sure?” he questioned.

Will heard Nico’s breath hitch, he felt him shiver and squirm under him. “Maybe a little,” Nico admitted with an unhappy little grumble that Will didn’t buy for one second.

Will pulled back and grinned down at Nico with satisfaction. “That’s what I thought.” He declared happily.

“Will” Nico huffed and looked at him like Will was just being beyond impossible. “Stop talking and kiss me.”

Will didn’t need to be told twice, he leaned down and pressed his lips against his boyfriend’s and was pleased with how eagerly Nico met him. Will had thought they would start slow, take their time but Nico wasn’t having any of that. He nipped at Will’s bottom lip and growled when Will seemed to pull away. His hands which were strong and calloused from sword fighting ran along Will’s back pulling down against his own body.

Will was happy to meet Nico’s eagerness with his own, kissing back passionately. He let Nico pull him in so he could feel Nico’s skin against his own. The feeling of Nico’s hardness resting against his own pressed between their stomachs adding to the sense of frenzy. As they continued to kiss the shifted so Will was no longer straddling Nico’s thighs but rather his legs were spread wide and Will was laying on top of him the feeling of thighs pressed against his hipbone.

“Will” Nico sighed his name when Will he moved from Nico’s pouty lips to kissing down his throat. Hearing Nico say his name like that was the most beautiful of music, it always was. Will was determined to get Nico to moan and cry for him, and he focused on that goal as he kissed and licked Nico’s slender throat.

He was so focused he didn’t really become fully aware of Nico gripping his arms tightly until he was using that grip to flip them. Will gasped at the sudden action as Nico situated himself on top of him before bending down to kiss and suck along Will’s jaw. This time it was Will that was the one to shiver at the sensation. “Well, this is a surprise” Will admitted with a grin. Nico pulled back and gave him an inquisitive look. “I’m not complaining,” Will assured as he let his hands roam up and down Nico’s back and sides slowly “it’s just you’re not usually into topping first thing in the morning.”

Nico grinned down at him mischievously “I’m feeling very motivated” he stated. First, one of Nico’s hands glided down Will’s arm starting at the shoulder and moving to his wrist, gripping there and gently pushing Will’s arm back until it was pinned above his head. Nico kept his grip on Will’s wrist as his other hand mimicked the first’s actions. Pinned to the bed, Nico’s grasp was firm but didn’t actually hurt. Will watched his boyfriend’s expression shift from playful to serious before he stated thoughtfully. “So, I’m thinking three times a week”

Will was at a complete loss, probably from lack of blood flow to the brain as the majority of it was flowing in a different direction. “Huh?” He questioned searching Nico’s expression for some clue.

“Shadow travel” Nico explained simply, “I think I could come visit three times a week”

Oh, Will realized and made his first real attempt to slip out of Nico’s grasp. Nico held fast, his grip still wasn’t painful but Will could tell he wasn’t slipping it while Nico was focused. Will was surprised, normally his boyfriend was too sleepy this early in the morning to be sneaky or at least that was what Will had thought. Well, Nico had said he was feeling motivated, he reminded himself. “We can talk about that after, over breakfast.” Will assured because it seemed like a more productive than telling Nico no or laughing. Those responses would have definitely killed the mood and that would have been a real tragedy. He squirmed slightly in Nico’s grip, not really trying to break Nico’s grip but wanting it to look like he was. He smiled suggestively up at his boyfriend. “Let’s work up an appetite first”

“Better yet we could talk about it now” Nico suggested simply but there was a firmness in his words. Nico leaned in and placed such a light kiss on Will’s lips Will wasn’t sure if it could actually be called a kiss. Will shamelessly tried to chase Nico’s kiss but with his wrists pinned to the bed, he didn’t have much wiggle room to move. When Nico pulled back his expression was gravely serious. “Or I can just go back to sleep”

“You wouldn’t” Will laughed and was proud that it sounded like something of confidence because he was more than a little nervous Nico was serious.

Nico arched his eyebrow and gave him a half smirk. Will’s stomach churned, he knew that look. It’s was Nico’s ‘try me’ look. He had seen it on Nico’s face in battle and sparing with Percy or Jason and it was always followed with Nico kicking ass. Nervously, Will strained against Nico’s grip, this time with more sincerity but had no luck. “So, three times a week?”

Will huffed as he mentally waved goodbye to the hot morning sex he had been imagining. “More like once a month.” He replied flatly. He really wished they didn’t have to talk about this right now, after all, they had all morning. His mother wasn’t going to be home from Nashville until much later in the day.

“Unacceptable” Nico huffed, his expression hardened. Often Nico could be unreadable, although Will prided himself on being able to see the subtleties that others missed. There were a few emotions Nico didn’t hide well, however, and frustration was one of them. That was the emotion clearly colored his features as he looked down at Will. Nico could actually look pretty cute when he was frustrated in Will’s opinion but only when it was directed at others. When it was directed at him, Will wasn’t as big of a fan. “Twice a week” Nico countered.

“Pretty boy please” Will pleaded as he strained against Nico’s grip. He knew how stubborn Nico could be, and he knew how nervous he was about Nico shadow traveling. As much as Will hated fighting, and struggled to tell Nico no when it came anything he knew they wouldn’t come to a resolution when it came to shadow travel without at least an hour of discussion, probably some shouting and possibly some throwing of items. Will didn’t want that now, he just wanted to enjoy Nico and if he had to beg he’d beg. “Can’t we talk about this later?”

Nico chewed at his bottom lip nervously…no thoughtfully for a moment. Will thought he saw Nico’s resolve slipping but it was too brief for Will to be sure. Nico’s features hardened and he shook his head dismissively. “I won’t have any leverage than”

Will bit back his own grin as he realized his boyfriend wasn’t as in control as he was trying to play at being. Nico wanted to enjoy their morning together as much as Will did but he wanted more mornings like this too (so did Will) and he knew how nervous Will got about shadow travel and he was trying to get an advantage, any advantage. Recognizing his boyfriend’s desires helped Will see a way out of the conversation that didn’t involve as screaming match. Once again, Will squirmed in Nico’s grasp but this time it wasn’t just his hands. He paid extra to wiggle his hips, making sure his own erection that had only grown more firm as he laid on the bed completely under Nico’s control rubbed against his boyfriend’s hardness. He knew he was successful when a half a moan escaped Nico’s lips before the brunet bit down on his lower lip to hold the rest in. Will knew he should have felt guilty but he didn’t. He grinned up at Nico with satisfaction. “Two can play at that game, pretty boy.”

Nico took a moment to compose himself. Will watched him take in several deep shuttering breaths before he spoke. “Twice a week” Nico reiterated although most of the force had drained from his voice, instead he sounded strained, almost pleading.

Will could feel his own satisfied grin grow wider. “It’s a bit sexy you having me pinned like this” he admitted wiggling in Nico’s grasp again. “Can you feel how much I like it?”

Nico blushed scarlet at his words, which Will took as an answer of sorts. He averted his eyes and loosened his grip until Will could slip free. Will pushed up and pressed his lips against Nico’s. The son of Hades sighed against his lips before sinking into the kiss for a moment. Nico was the one that pulled away like he suddenly remembered he was trying to do something else. He met Will’s eyes wearing a little frown (read: pout) “You cheated” he declared.

Will couldn’t help but smile because Nico was just the cutest thing when he pouted. “You did first.” he pointed out. Will was positive that Nico trying to us his incredible sexiness to get his way counted as cheating.

Nico sat back increasing the distance between them, not by much but it was still an increase. His pout intensified as he crossed his arms over his chest and downcasting his eyes. Will sat up completely and wrapped his arms around Nico’s back. Nico didn’t resist Will pulling him in exactly but he didn’t go with it either. Will started peppering Nico’s face with kisses: his cheeks, jaw, chin, the corners of his mouth. At first, Nico seemed as immovable as a mountain but Will continued.

When Nico’s face started to twitch into Will’s touches, it was the first sign that Will’s efforts were having any success. It was cute too because every time it happened Will could see annoyance flare up in Nico’s eyes. He couldn’t help but smile against Nico’s skin as he continued to peck here and there.

He placed a kiss close to Nico’s ear along his jaw line and got a soft sigh and Nico seemed to tilt his head offering Will more of his throat. Will’s pecks turned into lingering kisses as he moved toward Nico’s full lips. When Will placed a kiss at the corner of Nico’s mouth Nico turned into it, and just like that Will found they were kissing in earnest.

Will felt all the resistance drain from Nico’s form before the smaller boy gave in completely and threw his arms around Will’s neck. Will ran his hands down Nico’s muscular back before wrapping his arms around Nico’s waist and pulled him in so he was properly sitting in Will’s lap. Nico started letting the sweetest little noises escape him as they kissed with increasing heat. He felt Nico’s fingers begin to intertwine in his hair and was amazed by how hot he felt. He was sitting in bed naked in January and he felt too hot and the only cure seemed to be Nico and his touches. He gripped Nico’s back tightened and he deepened the kiss by pressing his tongue forward. Nico mewed as Will’s tongue teased at the seal of his lips, parting them enough to allow Will entry.

Will groaned as his tongue slipped into the warm recesses of Nico’s mouth. Nico’s tongue met his own and that just added to the sensation. Still, Will found himself amazed at how talented Nico was with his tongue. As they kissed and their tongues worked in tandem Will let his hands slip down Nico’s back and over his perfectly sculpted backside. Will allowed his hands to move slowly, hands gliding over the muscular cheeks, fingers teasing at the crease. He knew he couldn’t actually finger Nico without lube but there was no reason he couldn’t tease a little, he told himself.

He moved his hands inward to allow his fingertips to prod at Nico’s crease a bit more insistently. They must have been distracted by the heat and the need because there wasn’t any warning, at least not one Will could remember hearing before the door flew open. Will heard his cousin before he was able to pull away from Nico to actually see him. “Okay, so I-” Dean declared as he pushed the door open. He stopped when he actually took in the scene he paused. Will had managed to detangle himself from his boyfriend’s embrace just in time to see his cousin slap a hand over his eyes and turn so his back was to the bed. “Oh, what the fuck!” Dean exclaimed from the doorway his back still to them and a hand still over his eyes.

Nico let out a yelp at the unexpected intrusion before practically ripping Will’s hands off his body and diving to the side and under the comforter that was laying in a heap there. Within a matter of seconds, Nico managed to completely bury himself which Will supposed was actually impressive. The only thing that assured him that Nico hadn’t shadow traveled away was the bit of dark hair that remained exposed and the muffled sounds of discontent.

Will had far less shame than his boyfriend, he pulled enough of the comforter over so he was covered from the waist down. “Seriously!” He exclaimed in frustration as he glared at his cousin’s back. “Is there a light that goes off somewhere when I’m having sex that compels people to interrupt?”

“Yes” Dean replied, the sarcasm so thick in his voice Will could practically hear him roll his eyes. “it’s like the batman signal but instead of a bat it’s two guys playing leapfrog”

Will bit back the sarcastic comment about how Dean must have really worked hard to turn that to a reference from The Birdcage. “Why didn’t you knock?” He questioned instead between clutched teeth.

Dean huffed and looked over his shoulder at Will with a clear ‘are you serious’ expression. Gesturing toward the bed where Nico had successfully buried himself. “He’s supposed to be in California” he pointed out with annoyance that Will didn’t understand. What reason could Dean possibly have to be annoyed? It wasn’t like Will had just walked in him and interrupted his sex life. His posture changed slightly, he released some of the tension and sighed. “By the way, hey Nico”

Nico’s large eyes peeked out from under the blanket (Which was just so cute) and blinked in Dean’s direction “Hi?” he replied uncertainly “How did you …..?”

“Will’s already married you in his mind, he’d never cheat on you” Dean replied plainly which just gave Will a whole new list of reasons to glare at his cousin’s back. It didn’t matter if the statement was true [Read: it was completely true] Will was still working passed being the stupidly jealous boyfriend he didn’t need Nico thinking he was weird and had already mentally planned their wedding in his mind [He had only really thought about it once. Something some during the spring, possibly at sunset.] Dean was oblivious, he gestured back toward the bed vaguely. “Plus, your back tattoo is distinctive”

“Oh” Nico responded with understanding, what little of his face was exposed pinked.

Will felt bad that Nico was so embarrassed but Nico was so cute when he was embarrassed, especially when he blushed. Nico blushed with his whole body, every inch of pale skin flushed a rosy pink color. Will desperately wanted to kiss every inch of him until the blush subsided, but that wasn’t an option. He huffed before pointing out “I still could have been doing private stuff by myself.”

Dean made a dismissive noise before stating. “No one masturbates at 9 o’clock in the morning.”

Well, that seemed like a blanket statement which was always a risk when talking about personal preferences but Will wasn’t going to point that out. Instead, he chose to sidestep the entire conversation and move to the heart of the matter. “Dean, what do you want?” he asked flatly.

Dean sighed and Will thought he noticed him shift from foot to foot uncomfortably. “I hate to be a cock block” he stated with sincerity and regret “but I’m kind of in the mists of a series fucking identity crisis so I’m going to need to put on some pants so you can help talk me through it”

“Is it an actual crisis” Will questioned flatly. He knew he sounded callous but his cousin had a tendency of blowing the smallest thing out of proportion. “or is this like the time you interrupted me studying because you discovered they make white chocolate covered Oreos”

Nico’s head emerged from the blankets and he looked between Will and Dean for a moment before asking with awe. “They really make white chocolate covered Oreos?”

“Yes, but only around Christmas time,” Dean informed quickly and matter-of-factly. Will was pleasantly surprised that his cousin didn’t start going on about the damned Oreos. Unlike Will, Nico might have appreciated Dean’s twenty-minute soliloquy on the beauty and magnificence of the white chocolate covered Oreos. Dean looked over his shoulder, and Will recognized that his expression was serious. It wasn’t an expression Dean wore often but when he did it usually meant something. Will hoped it wasn’t something too serious but with his uncle, he never really could know. “And yes, it’s a real crisis”

“Fine” Will sighed with resignation. “Go downstairs. I’ll put on pants and be right there.”

Dean turned fully and fixed Will with a serious expression. “Promise you won’t leave me waiting down there for twenty minutes while you two get it on”

“Dean,” Will didn’t really feel like providing reassurances and he was sure that read in his voice. He wanted to talk Dean through whatever crisis he was having as quickly as possible so he could get back to enjoying his time with Nico. Will realized that was selfish but it was where he was at the moment. “you barging through the door effectively killed the mood, trust me”

“Yeah, somehow I doubt you two would have any trouble resurrecting the mood,” Dean stated dismissively.

Will couldn’t exactly tell him he was wrong. “I’ll be down in a minute, I promise” He reiterated hoping he sounded sincere.

“You better because I will come back up here if you’re not.” Dean declared firmly before turning back around and walking out the door. Will was a little surprised when Dean shut the door behind him, affording Nico and Will the privacy he had expressed concern over.

Will waited until he heard Dean’s footfall’s faded into silence before groaning and moving to climb out of bed. He really knew he was being selfish but he just didn’t want to get out of bed.  “Alright, here the plan.” Will declared as his eyes scanned the floor of his room. Clothes seemed to be scattered everywhere, some of it was Will’s personal mess but a lot of it was the result of Nico and Will’s frantic undressing the night before. The first thing he really spotted was his t-shirt from the night before, and he reached out to grab it before remembered it smelled of Felix and thought better of it. He settled for a sweater that was half wedged under his bed that he was reasonably sure was clean-ish. It was a happy accident when he discovered a pair of sweatpants hidden underneath it, and he grabbed those too. When he stood, he found that Nico had come out of the blankets enough so Will could see his face and bare chest. Nico looked so good stretched out on Will’s bed, he was the picture of temptation. He spoke as he pulled on his sweatpants. “I’m going to go downstairs and deal with Dean and what better be an actual crisis as quickly as possible.” Will paused so he could quickly pull on his sweater before continuing “Once I’ve gotten rid of him, we are both getting back in bed and I’m going to make this whole thing up to you every way I can think of.” Will couldn’t help but smile a little bit at the end because he truly meant it as a promise.

Nico stretched a bit on the bed and grinned back at Will playfully. “You know it’s very arousing when you’re so decisive.”

“Um” Will hummed with approval as he leaned in a bit so he was half on the bed. He and Nico were so close they were practically kissing. “Is that so?” he questioned playfully, his voice coming out more husky than he intended.

Nico’s face flushed and he bit his lip as he gave a little nod. Will noticed how Nico’s eyes flicked down to his lips as he nodded and it made Will’s grin widen. He couldn’t help but lean in and press his lips against Nico’s lips.

The kissed turned into something hungry almost as soon as their lips met. Will felt Nico’s hand run over the back of his neck before his fingers tangled in his hair. Nico’s lips parted and Will slid his tongue inside, licking at the roof of his mouth. Nico moaned and Will greedily swallowed the sound. Gods, all Will could think about was how badly he wanted to kiss, lick, and taste every inch of his beautiful boyfriend. It took more strength than Will thought he had to actually pull away from Nico’s embarrass. “I wonder” Will mused out loud as he licked his lips and looked Nico over hungrily. “If I were to rim you right now you think I would be able to taste myself in you from last night?”

“Will!” Nico exclaimed as he averted his eyes and blushed a deep red. He carefully pulled his hand, the one that had still been tangled in Will’s hair, back.

“Yeah that though is going to have me completely distracted” Will admitted pulling back from Nico on the bed before he lost all will power and crawled back under the covers. “I’ll just have to use it as motivation” He declared as he raked his fingers through his hair trying to find some focus. He started toward the door “I’ll get rid of him as quick as I can” he promised. His hand was on the door when he stopped and looked back at Nico who had sat up on the bed and was still blushing and looking way bashfully. “You don’t have to get dressed it you don’t want.” He offered, hoping Nico would take him up on it before walking out the door.

Walking out the door Will wondered if he should have kept some of his more explicit thoughts to himself. Nico could get overly embarrassed hearing those sorts of things and get himself in a weird headspace that could be difficult talking him out of. As soon as the door closed with a soft click Will heard Nico get out of bed and start moving around the room at a frantic pace. He guessed that answered that question. He sighed and started down the stairs, he would deal with Nico’s hang-ups after he got rid of Dean. It was one problem at a time.

Will found Dean pacing back and forth in the kitchen which was one of the most frightening things Will had seen in his entire life, and he had fought monsters. Dean was typically cool in the face of a crisis. Maybe it was because his dad was a walking disaster most of the time, Will couldn’t be sure. Will remembered the first time he faced a serious emergency in the infirmary at camp and Lee had told him to stay calm. When Will responded that he wasn’t sure he could, Lee had told him to think of someone who could and to be that person. Will had immediately thought of Dean.

So, whatever was going on it was definitely bigger than Oreos, Will realized. “Alright” Will declared walking into the room carefully keeping any signs of concern from his face and his voice. If anything, he tried to come of causal in hopes of relaxing Dean’s mood a bit. “I recognize it is my duty to be there for you in your time of crisis but I’m not particularly happy about it right now so I suggest you get to the point quickly”

“Yeah” Dean stopped pacing. His shoulders were pushed forward and his hands were crammed in his pockets. He opened his mouth once to say something but shut it before a sound came out and shook his head dismissively. He looked at Will for a minute and Will wasn’t sure what he was trying to figure out but he was definitely trying to figure out something out. “First I need you to promise not to freak”

Will was 100 percent paying attention to Dean as he talked, he really was but just as Dean finally started talking he made out the sound of his bedroom door opening and Nico moving around. When he heard another door open and close he figured Nico moved to the bathroom. “Yeah, of course,” Will assured, his voice coming out far more distant than he intended.

Dean groaned “Dude this requires your full attention” He stated with clear impatience “Nico fine”

Will hadn’t even realized he had turned his head away from Dean to listen to Nico’s movements upstairs until he had to turn it back to attend to Dean. “Huh?” He questioned although he knew what Dean was saying, it was just easier to act confused then admit guilt for being a crappy cousin.

“Nico isn’t made of glass. He won’t break to spite how you act most of the time” Dean stated sharply. He pushed his shoulders back and the general air of nervousness was gone as he glared back at Will. “I thought he was supposed to be in California anyways.”

“He was” Will replied with a shrug. He moved to lean against the counter directly across from where Dean was standing. More importantly, it put the entrance to the kitchen and the stairs out of his line of sight. He hoped that the gesture would help convey non-verbally that Dean now had Will’s undivided attention.

Dean stared back at him expectedly for a long moment. When Will reminded silent he huffed and rolled his eyes. “Then what is he doing here?” He questioned.

“What?” Will questioned rather dumbly. He didn’t really understand the question. Nico was his boyfriend after all, why wouldn’t he be there.

Dean stared at him for a second before shaking his head. Will was becoming more confused by the second so he kept quiet and hoped Dean would explain whatever was going on in his head. He pinched his nose for a moment before releasing it and throwing his hands up in resignation. “If he was in California last night it seems kind of impossible he’s here now,” Dean explained.

“Oh….um….” Will mind had been on a million other things and he had completely forgotten that he had told Dean that Nico was in California. Not that it would have made a whole lot more sense that Nico was here from New York but he had been able to lie that away once before. “Well…” Nervously, Will tried to stall as he racked his brain for a lie that at least made a little sense. “Okay so actually-” He started trying to at least sound what he knew what he was talking about as he planned to make things up as he went.

Will stopped mid-sentence when Dean held up a hand in a ‘stop’ gesture. “You know what? If you’re just going to give me one of your ridiculous lies, I withdrawal the question” He instructed dismissively. “I’ve got my own shit going on and I don’t feel like humoring you right now”.

Dean was clearly annoyed, or worse, which wasn’t something Will saw from his cousin often. Dean might have been the most tolerate, patient person on the planet, he put up with Felix for gods’ sake. He had never commented about Will lying before and the way he said it made Will’s stomach drop. “Lies? What are you talking about?” he questioned hoping his nerves didn’t read in his voice. He had no idea what Dean was talking about because he just couldn’t be talking about the lies Will had to tell to hide being a demigod, he just couldn’t. Will pushed his mind to a safer explanation and asked. “Is this about me not coming out to you sooner?”

“Actually no” Dean replied leaning against the counter opposite Will and mimicked his posture. “To spite the fact that you were keeping that huge secret you were always honest.” That was one of the more confusing statements Will had heard in his life which was saying something. His confusion must have read on his face because Dean continued. “You never pretended to be straight, you didn’t talk about girls or anything.” He explained. Dean paused and let out a heavy sigh. “And I’ve actually given it a lot of thought and I think if you had been interested in someone at school you would have told me but since you were pinning for someone out of sight that never came up.”

Dean really had given it some thought, Will thought, and he knew him better then Will gave him credit for. In the last few years, Will had almost told Dean he was gay several times just to have someone to talk to about it. What had always stopped him was he knew his cousin would ask if he liked anyone. Will had desperately wanted to talk about Nico but didn’t really know how to explain some of the situation to a mortal with no knowledge of gods and magic. He didn’t want to get into that, it was too close to dangerous topics which he was trying to avoid. He shifted slightly, rolling his shoulders a bit to show his discomfort. “Can we not say pinning?” He requested. “It makes me sound pathetic”

“Sorry” Dean shrugged and Will felt a bit more at ease because Dean seemed a bit more like himself. He even grinned at him teasingly. “But the way you tell it there was definitely pinning, maybe even longing.” Will rolled his eyes, longing definitely made him sound pathetic. Dean’s shoulders slumped before he started speaking again. “The fact that you didn’t feel the need to actively lie to cover up being gay makes me want to know what secret is so huge you feel you have to lie” Dean stated, “Because in the grand scheme of things being gay is a pretty big one.”

Will started at his cousin unsure of what to say or do. For most people being gay was probably the biggest secret they could keep but not for Will because he was a demigod. The was the only other secret he kept from Dean, and he did that for his safety. “Dean, what lies are you talking about?” Will asked numbly. This couldn’t be happening, it just couldn’t.

“You want a list?” Dean questioned with a bit of a laugh like the question was so absurd it was funny. “That could take all morning”

“Dean” Will pleaded. This just couldn’t be happening, Dean couldn’t have a suspicion because Will had no good answers. And if Will’s mom found out that Dean suspected something, Will didn’t even know what would happen. It wasn’t like he could promise that the knowledge wouldn’t put Dean in danger. Will could practically hear his life crashing down around his ears. This couldn’t be happening.

Dean ignored his plea. Will got the sense that now that Dean had something about whatever he suspected it was like the floodgates had opened and there was no stopping him. “By the way, you may be the world’s worst liar which makes the whole thing that much more insulting.”

Will tightened his grip on the counter he was leaning against and tried to keep his features a picture of serenity. “I really have no idea what you’re talking about.” He stated his voice coming out more shaken and less confused than he would have liked.

Dean’s expression hardened “Nico” he spoke the name with such weight it felt like a bullet.

“What about him?” Will questioned and he knew he came off a bit defensive but it was Nico.

“His first little visit, when he stayed over without Aunt Naomi knowing?” Dean questioned although he didn’t actually wait for Will to answer. “Your story he flew all the way from New York to see you for a couple hours just to fly back makes no god damned sense.”

“Oh” Will couldn’t stop himself from squirming uncomfortable. He had known the story was pretty thin when he originally came up with it but it was a sort of on the fly thing. Normally Will gave his cover stories more thought. “Um” Will searched his brain for a plausible explanation but his mind was frustratingly blank.

Dean completely ignored Will’s stammering instead rolling his eyes in both a dismissive and annoyed fashion. Will couldn’t help but think even Nico would be impressed with the skill involved in that. “And I’m sure whatever story you were going to try to feed me about why he is here now would have been just as bad.”

Dean stared at Will expectantly and Will seriously considered just telling him even though he knew that wasn’t an option. Will wasn’t even sure how it happened but somehow he and Dean got locked in some sort of nonverbal argument. Even if it was unspoken he still didn’t hear Nico come down stairs until he entered the kitchen. Nico’s presence somehow helped snap Will back to reality. He sighed and dropped his head “It’s complicated.”

“Sorry,” Nico seemed to read the tension in the air or maybe he just knew that Will and Dean were supposed to be talking about something private and felt guilty for interrupting. Either way, he squirmed and looked down at his bare feet “I just wanted to grab a water then I’ll go.”

Will’s immediate reaction was to assure Nico that everything was fine even though everything was far from fine. It didn’t matter what Will wanted to say because Dean didn’t give him a chance to say a word. “Actually, you have perfect timing” Dean declared with a slightly less than friendly smile shot in Nico’s direction. Will remembered when Dean first said he wanted to be a journalist, he immediately realized Dean would be exceptional at it. While Dean often seemed easy going, when he wanted to be he could be very perceptive. Once of Will’s earliest memories was of young Dean interrogating his mom about Santa Clause. That thought just made Will realize he should have seen Dean figuring things out coming. Unfortunately, his cousin’s attention stayed fully focused on his poor, unsuspecting boyfriend. “And feel free to stay I might actually get some truth out of you”

“Um,” Nico hummed nervously as he shot Will a confused and concerned look.

Will opened his mouth to say something, although he had no idea what, just something that would at least start to explain what was going on. Dean didn’t give him a chance to say a word. Turning to him Dean pointed toward Nico “I assume he knows this big secret” Dean’s tone was bordering on bitter and while Will realized in some ways he had been a really crappy cousin and friend in some ways but that wasn’t Nico’s fault. He wanted to step in but again Dean again didn’t give him a chance. “I get the feeling you’re not the type to tolerate lies” He stated and the tone had eased. To Nico, Dean sounded like he was just talking facts. His cousin turned back to him “And the way you are with him I don’t think you could keep a secret.” The tone was back, Will realized. Well, at least Dean was containing his anger at the person who deserved it.

“Dean” Will spoke and was proud at how calm he sounded because on the inside he was panicking. “I don’t have any secrets.”

Dean groaned and looked up toward the ceiling like he was praying for patience. Will thought for sure Dean would bounce back with some other example of a time Will had lied but he didn’t. Instead, he turned to Nico and calmly asked the most nightmarish question Will could have imagined. “Has he ever told you the story about our last camping trip?”

Will had to swallow hard to stop himself from being physically ill and still he could taste bile. “Dean” He pleaded. Why bring up that memory, there was nothing good to be had there.

Dean ignored him and continued talking to Nico like he was just sharing some silly childhood memory. when it was anything but. “We were attacked by a monster.”

Will didn’t really know what he had expected Dean to say when he first brought it up but that wasn’t it. He felt like he had been literally slapped across the face. “It was a homeless man” He stated numbly because that was the story, and Will had told it so many times it was almost the truth to him.

That statement at least got Dean’s attention, at least for a second. He turned to glare at Will and give him a look that clearly said ‘how stupid do you think I am’. Dean turned back to Nico and smiled like he had just won something. “He had one eye” He informed Nico matter-of-factly. “And when I say one eye I don’t mean he was missing an eye or that he had an eye patch. He just had the one right here” He explained pressing two fingers between and just above his eyes.

Nico was probably the most skilled at hiding his reactions which made dating the son of Hades complicated at times. Will had gotten good at reading the minor changes in Nico’s face to gauge his emotions so he saw how Nico’s eyes widened minutely and flick in his direct for a moment. Will tried to project the same level of calm Nico was as he went to deny the truth Dean was speaking. “Dean that’s not-”

“Oh, I’m not done” Dean declared cutting Will off before turning back to Nico “So we got away because Will was a complete badass but we were both pretty freaked out and my arm was broken” he held up his arm like he was displaying the old injury. Of course, there was nothing to display, not even the faintest of scars Will had made sure of that. “I’m talking seriously broken, protruding bone, blood, the whole nine yards. Then Will like just kind of touched my arm and I felt a little warm for a second and then it was better.” Dean shrugged which might have been the most relaxed gesture he had made in a while but it didn’t put Will at ease. He suddenly realized that his cousin remembered everything from that horrible day and had clearly thought about it a lot. No wonder he had seen through the necessary lies Will told, he had probably been looking for them. Will was definitely going to be sick. “I’m mean my arm was still broken and I had a really nasty gash but the bone wasn’t sticking out anymore.”

“Dean, that’s not what happened” Will stated and at this point the lie felt like a mantra and he would repeat it as many times as he had to to make Dean believe it.

“I’m not crazy” Dean stated insistently and clearly that was a sensitive area. That just made Will feel worse, he couldn’t imagine what it had been like for his cousin remembering that day and not having anyone to talk to about it. Will had left for camp not long after that had happened, and bringing it up to Naomi would have ended badly.

“I’m not saying that you are” Will assured glad he could actually be honest about something in the whole mess of a conversation. “It was a traumatic event that’s bound to affect your memory”

Dean growled, “I remember it clear as day!”

Will could feel the whole conversation getting pulled into an endless loop and the only way to get out was for either he or Dean to back down. He needed it to be Dean to back down. He shook his head dismissively as he spoke. “Dean I’m sorry but-“

“Will!” Nico shouted cutting him off. The son of Hades had been so quiet for so long Will had almost forgotten he was he standing there. He had both Will’s and Dean’s attention now but Nico seemed to focus solely on Will. “He can see through the mist, I think we’re past the denial phase.” he stated firmly “You need to tell him the truth.”

“Thank you!” Dean exclaimed throwing up his hands “Yes, the truth would be nice.” he turned to look squarely at Will expectantly. “Listen to your boyfriend.”

There was a long moment where Will felt frozen he looked between a sympathetic Nico and an expectant Dean and felt petrified. It wasn’t what he wanted but Nico was right. He sighed and thanked the gods that at least Nico was there to support him through this. “Fine” he declared “But you’re going to want to sit down for this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I apologize for the cliffhanger- the next chapter will pick up where this one left off, I promise.
> 
> Also, I suck and didn't translate the Italian but if I remember correctly the only things that were said was: "So Happy" and "Mine"
> 
> No Outtakes this week (I know but these long chapters take a lot of time to write and I do have a life)
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


	38. Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday All,
> 
> So first I should tell you how this chapter almost didn't happen. It's frickin' huge and I literally finished writing it yesterday morning.
> 
> As chapters have been generally longer lately I really haven't been able to get ahead on writing (or even look at Outtakes). So I'm going to take two weeks off from posting to get ahead. I will be back posting Normal Lives on 4/16 and Outtakes on 4/19. I thank you all for your patience and understanding. :)
> 
> Like I said this chapter is gigantic, so enjoy (if I remember correctly there is some cursing).
> 
> Oh yeah, It's from Dean's POV
> 
> Enjoy.

Dean kept his mouth shut and took a seat at the kitchen table like Will had asked. Will took a seat across from him like a man taking a seat in an electric chair. He looked practically green, and wouldn’t actually meet Dean’s eyes, which Dean refused to avert. He wasn’t the one who had been lying and keeping secrets for years, he had no reason to look away.

Nico turned out to be surprisingly domestic. He made tea for Will and put on a pot of coffee which Dean was actually pretty excited about. After what had happened the night before he had been up in a complete existential crisis for most of the night. He had only managed about an hour sleep on and off before he had just completely given up trying.

The sleep deprivation was probably why he had snapped and called Will out on the lying. Normally, he was just go with it but he just didn’t have the patience with everything else on his mind. Maybe this would be the good thing to come from the mess he found himself in, he thought, he would finally get the truth out of his best friend.

As Nico moved about the kitchen Will would occasionally let out a heavy breath like he was preparing to speak but each time he seemed to lose his resolve almost as soon as he found it. Dean remained silent which may have been the hardest thing he had ever done. Whatever Will wasn’t saying was clearly something he was struggling with, and it would be best to let him tell him at his own pace. Dean, however, had been the understanding and patient so much lately he was past his breaking point. He wanted to grab Will by the shoulders and shake him until the truth came pouring out of him, so they could move past it and one to Dean’s crisis. In all fairness, it really was Dean’s turn to have a crisis, Will had more than his fair share. 

Nico deposited three mugs on the table and Dean just nodded as a sign of thanks. Nico dropped himself in a chair next to Will’s and pulled it closer to him before pushing Will’s tea toward him and taking his own mug in hand. Will immediately reached out and interlaced his fingers with Nico’s like he was looking for an anchor. Dean had to bite at the inside of his cheek to hold in a comment on his cousin’s need to work on his co-dependence. They were a good couple and everything but Will really could seem needy at times.

Will finally met his eyes and he looked sad, like really sad. Shit, Dean thought to himself, what if he was focusing Will to relieve some sort of trauma? That would probably be considered a pretty dick move. Somehow he felt like he was past the point where he could back down so he stayed quiet and looked at him expectantly. Will let out a heavy sigh. “I have no idea where to begin”

“The beginning would probably work” Dean offered only half-sarcastically. Apparently, sarcasm wasn’t the best way to approach this conversation, or at least that seemed to be Nico’s thoughts. The brunet glared heatedly as he squeezed Will’s hand reassuringly. Dean was suddenly reminded that Nico had broken the school’s quarterback’s noise without much effort. Even in his tired state, he figured for his own personal safety it might be best to sound a bit more patient as Will tried to explain.

Will seemed oblivious to his boyfriend threatening to murder him with his eyes. He took a deep breath like he was stealing himself for something before he spoke. “You remember that card game you used to be into when we were younger?” He questioned.

Dean winced involuntarily, not only was the question not what he expected but it wasn’t something he wanted to talk about either. “Dude, we’ve agreed to not discuss my nerd phase in front of people.” he reminded firmly with a meaningful idea pointed at Nico. If Will thought he was going to avoid the actual question by bringing up embarrassing things from their childhood he was dead wrong. And it wasn’t like Will was the only one that could play that game. Dean knew plenty of embarrassing things about Will that he was sure his cousin wouldn’t want his boyfriend knowing, like his obsession with The Princess Bride. Still, Nico was so obviously that guy who was just born cool in a mysterious way Dean would prefer Nico not think he was a mouth-breathing dork. He turned to the brunet and assured, “It was very brief.”

“Sorry but it’s relevant” Will stated sounding genuinely apologetic. His lips twitched like Will was fighting back a bit of a smile which made Dean question the sincerity of his apology a bit. “and Nico really isn’t going to judge.”

“Fine” Dean agreed begrudging. “Mythomagic is more than a card game” Dean corrected which probably didn’t help his whole ‘non-nerd’ imagine but it was an important distinction. At least Will had referred to the game as something he used to be into. That was mostly true unless he came across a rare card or figure because well those sorts of things should really go to people who appreciate their value. “but yeah I remember.”

Nico openly grinned but made quick work of hiding it behind his coffee cup as he sipped at his own drink. Will didn’t seem as amused as his boyfriend which was appreciated although the nervous shift in his chair made Dean more nervous than he would have liked. “So you remember some of the Greek myths?” Will asked in that voice people used when they were trying to lead someone somewhere using questions and bits of information like breadcrumbs.

“Yeah, a few” Dean replied with a shrug. It was true enough, although if he was being honest that may have made him sound more knowledgeable than he was. He could probably name the major gods given time to think about it and maybe the fuzzy details of one myth. And there was a chance he might recite the plot to a bad movie instead of an actual myth but since Greek mythology had absolutely zero to do with anything he didn’t feel the need to explain all that. “Not really seeing what that has to do with anything”

Will gave a bit of a nod like he was saying that would have to do before asking, “Well, you know how in some of the stories the gods would have children with mortals?”

The question seemed so bizarre and Will’s expression was so serious Dean almost laughed but caught himself. Luckily, in this case, all the exposure to historically inaccurate movies helped him a bit because he actually knew what Will was talking about. “You mean demigods?” He replied thinking that was the word used in the Greek myths. “Like Hercules”

Nico visibly rolled his eyes and Will flinched. Dean felt a bit at a loss but that pretty much summed up how he felt about this whole conversation. The way Nico and Will reacted to the mention of Hercules, if Dean were in a better mood he might have asked what the Disney movie ever did to them but now wasn’t the time and he wasn’t in the mood. “That would be one example, yeah,” Will replied, his tone made it clear that it wasn’t a preferred example.

Dean was normally a patient person but he was just too tired and his mind was racing in a million directions. The truth was he needed Will to get his shit together for once and be there as a friend. Instead, they were sitting there talking Greek mythology like it was something that affected their day to day lives while Dean felt like he was being held together by duct tape and hope. His patience was a thing of the past. He drummed his fingers on the table as a show of annoyance as he spoke. “While the history lesson is interesting, and at a different time I would be happy to discuss ancient mythology with you can we get to a point of relevance.”

Nico’s eyebrows knotted together in frustration and Dean could practically see the brunet imagining slapping him but he reminded silent and still. Will let out a heavy sigh and downcasted his eyes to the table. He wrapped his hands around his mug of tea and started rolling it between his hands. “So you know how my dad hasn’t really ever been around?”

Oh thank god, he thought they were finally off Greek mythology. “Kinda hard to miss.” He replied flatly. It was really no secret that Dean didn’t really think highly of Will’s dad. Maybe it was his own abandonment issues over his mom up and leaving or maybe it was something else, Dean never really thought on it much. He still gave his mom more credit than Will’s dad, she had at least been around the first few years, while Will’s dad bailed as soon as Aunt Naomi got pregnant. Will would get annoyed at Dean’s open dislike of the man which in turn annoyed Dean. His cousin was too smart to waste his time defending a man who clearly gave two fucks about him. Normally, Dean made an attempt to hide his contempt but not now.

Will normally would jump down Dean’s throat for his attitude on the subject but he didn’t. Instead, his face contorted in an expression Dean couldn’t quite read. “Well,” he started nervously dragging out the word “there is a reason for that.”

Dean waited for Will to keep talking although he didn’t know what he expected him to say. They had argued about Will’s dad over the years and he figured if the man (if he could be called that) had a legitimate excuse for bailing on Will and Aunt Naomi he would have heard it by now.

Will said nothing, instead, he just watched him nervously. The longer they remained silent the more it seemed like Will, and to a lesser extent, Nico expected him to have some sort of reply or reaction. Dean had no idea what he was supposed to be reacting to because they hadn’t actually told him anything. All Will had talked about so far was Greek mythology and then randomly brought up his deadbeat dad...Wait, Will had talked specifically about Greek gods having children with mortals…..“Wow!” Dean exclaimed as it dawned on him what Will was actually suggesting. “Are you really trying to say what I think you are?” Dean laughed at the absurdity of the thought.

There was no way Will was actually trying to suggest what it sounded like he was suggesting. “I thought you were going to tell me the truth!” Dean wasn’t trying to sound angry but it was hard considering the complete load of crap his cousin was trying to feed him. Dean slumped back in his chair and let out a bit of a laugh, and he realized it was kind of manic sounding but it was either that or scream. “I’ll give you credit, you are doing much better selling this one but what? I’m just supposed to believe the Greek gods are real and you’re a demigod?” He had hoped saying it out loud would make it seem less ridiculous or more humorous but it didn’t.

Nico seemed to lose interest in his coffee entirely, turning so Will was in the center of his view. He still had one hand wrapped around Will’s and he brought the other to rub against his back. It was clearly meant as a supportive gesture toward Will but they looked so much like a couple, Dean suddenly felt like an intruder. The way Nico went to comfort Will seemed intimate like it wasn’t for others to see. The only thing that stopped Dean for leaving and giving them their privacy was Will.

Will didn’t look particularly comforted, in fact, he looked like he was on the verge of tears. “When we were attacked it wasn’t a homeless man” Will confessed in a near sob. Nico dropped his head so his forehead was pressed against the meat of Will’s shoulder. Will’s free hand went up almost as a reflex and his fingertips ran across Nico’s cheek. That seemed to calm Will slightly as he took a deep breath, although Dean felt like he was intruding again. It was becoming really challenging to be annoyed when they were acting so couple-y, it made him feel weird and after what had happened the night before, even more confused. “It was a cyclops and it was after me.” Will spoke with such raw emotion, such guilt, it kept Dean from laughing out loud at the insanity of his cousin’s actual words. “Monsters can sense demigods. It was after me and you got hurt and I am so sorry.”

Will was shaking, actually shaking and Nico was stroking his back like he was trying to comfort him through some serious trauma. All Dean could do was marvel at how committed they seemed to selling this demigod line. “You’re serious?” Dean questioned with a grin because they honestly couldn’t take the whole thing any further. They would have to admit they were trying to fuck with him at this point and they could all have a good laugh about it before they got to the truth.

Will said nothing but seemed to try to turn in on himself, or more accurately he turned into Nico like he was trying to hide against Nico’s chest. Nico shifted his position to better accommodate Will, the hand that had been petting Will’s back wrapped around his shoulders to hold him. Dean was ready to chalk the whole display up to serious commitment and overacting until he caught Nico’s eye. It was only for a second as the brunet shifted to wrap his arm around Will’s shoulders but it was telling all the same. It was a serious look, but Dean was pretty sure that was the only expression the guy had so that wasn’t what really caught him. Nico didn’t really seem like the practical joke type, and Will definitely wasn’t so when Dean caught Nico’s eyes and found his cousin’s boyfriend looking back at him pleadingly he was pretty sure his whole world shattered.

“Oh, my god, you’re serious! Holy fuck!” Dean was on his feet, and he was only partially aware of the sound of his chair scratching in protest at his rapid movement. “So, all that Greek mythology, you’re telling me it’s real?”

Will lifted his head and blinked at him. His eyes were definitely watery looking like he was crying or about to. Nico’s eyes were on Dean too, but his gaze was more threatening than saddening. Will’s boyfriend was eyeing him like a, particularly curious threat. “Yes,” Will replied plainly with a bit of a nod as if the words weren’t enough.

Dean was pretty sure his brain short circuited for a moment. He pushed his chair further away from the table and he started to pace. Maybe he was still drunk from the night before? Dean couldn’t help but think that would be a relieving thought, or it was until the everything that had happened the night before came rushing back making that no longer a safe place. Maybe he was going crazy? His dad had never seemed particularly balanced, and around the time he had been trying to find out what was going on with Will he had read a lot about Bipolar Disorder and a lot of the symptoms lined up with his dad’s behavior. _Great_ , Dean thought bitterly, he was either going crazy or his cousin was the Greek version of Jesus or something.

Dean took a deep breath and looked down at his hands clutching the brim of the sink. He couldn’t even remember walking to the sink. He seriously considered heaving up his breakfast. Of course, he hadn’t actually eaten breakfast so the only thing he had to lose was the three sips of coffee he had this morning. Crazy or, well crazier, as the thought was he was not going to vomit, Dean all but promised himself. He turned his back on the sink and the temptation and looked back at the table.

Will and Nico were still sitting there, both of them were staring back at him. Will was clearly concerned, it read on his face, in the way he gripped at Nico’s arm. Nico was still staring at Dean like he was a curious threat, but now he appeared prepared to deal with that threat if necessary. The first thought that came to Dean’s mind was Hercules or maybe just a wildly inaccurate movie, but Hercules had undergone trials as a demigod. Will demonstrated all the classic signs of PTSD for years and Nico had clearly been through some serious shit. “And you both are demigods?” He asked gesturing between the two of them.

Will nodded and clung to Nico’s arm like he was asking for consent before replying simply. “Yes.”

“What the actual fuck!” Dean exclaimed much louder than necessary, although that just might have been the sound of his brain literally exploding.

“Dean, I’ve wanted to tell you!” Will insisted as he got to his feet. Nico didn’t look particularly happy about Will’s decision to move. Dean could practically see his threat status increase in the guy’s dark eyes as Will took several steps toward him closing much of the distance between them. Well, the physical distance anyways. “I thought about it so many times, especially after Manhattan. With Michael gone and everyone looking to me to lead I really wanted someone to talk to but I didn’t want to be selfish and put you in danger”

People talked about statements being loaded, Dean couldn’t help but think that statement had been loaded. Not with emotion or hidden meaning like people normally meant but instead information. The sentence itself had made sense, but understanding it clearly required a wealth of information Dean didn’t have. What happened in Manhattan? Who was Michael? What was Will expected to lead? Why would knowing this stuff put Dean in danger? All of these questions seemed to run around Dean’s mind screaming for attention while the big question of ‘ _Was he actually believing any of this_?’ still loomed. Dean went with the question that seemed the most personally relevant. “Who’s Michael?” The way Will said the name, he was clearly someone important to him but Dean didn’t think boyfriend. Will had never straight out said it but it was obvious that Nico was his first boyfriend.

Will was silent for a long time as he seemed to process the question. The longer he was quiet the more uncomfortable he appeared. When he did finally answer he wouldn’t meet Dean’s eyes, instead choosing to look down at his feet. He spoke softly, and Dean couldn’t tell if it was an attempt to hide the answer or because saying it out loud hurt. “He was one of my half-brothers”

If Dean flinched at hearing those words he wouldn’t have been at all surprised. After all, he felt like he had been slapped. Actually, Dean was pretty sure he would have preferred getting slapped across the face than actually hear those words. “You have a brother?” He questioned with uncontained outrage. He was being jealous and petty, which were the same behaviors that drove him nuts with Will and Felix…..DO NOT THINK ABOUT FELIX!...........

The way they had grown up, Dean always thought of Will as his brother in every way but by name. That probably seemed so stupid to Will if he had an actual brother…. It hurt more than Dean could have prepared for and if he didn’t respond with outrage he was sure he would sob.

“I have a lot of siblings” Will informed with a bit of a huff, which was a little relieving in that he was actually sounding like Will. But there was something in the way he said it that was just weird. He didn’t talk like the way people do about their siblings, it was more casually than that. He could have been talking about socks from the sounds of it. As quickly as the dismissive and annoying tone came it was gone and Will looked sort of sad. “Michael died in the Battle of Manhattan,” he mumbled looking down at his hands.

The dead person in that sentence really should have been the thing to catch Dean’s attention. Will had not only admitted to having a brother but also to losing one. There was genuine sadness there too, in the way Will spoke about this Michael. Dean knew that should have been the thing to hold his attention but it wasn’t. “Battle of Manhattan?” He questioned numbly. The part of Dean’s brain that was awake, functioning, and not stuck in a panic loop about the night before realized Will had said battle and there was really only one meaning to that word.

“Long story,” Will assured rather dismissively “and not the point right now.” He was trying to sound casual about it but it was clear that Will was trying to push past the subject.

“Were you there?” Dean asked not letting the subject drop. Sure the idea that the Greek gods were a thing, and that his cousin was half-god was crazy but this was the first thing Will had said that started to answer questions. When Dean had first noticed symptoms of PTSD in his cousin he had tried to think of what had caused it and ironically living through an actual battle hadn’t seriously made the list. “In the battle, I mean.”

Will looked up at him and actually met Dean’s eyes “Yeah, why?” Will replied uncertainly.

Dean closed the distance between them in two large strides, grabbed Will by the arm, and pulled him into a hug. The sound of Nico’s chair screeching across the kitchen floor, and a quick glance told Dean the guy was poised to strike if necessary. Honestly, he and Will were going to have to have a conversation about his boyfriend, he was like a predator at the zoo, sudden movements were not recommended.

It took Will a long second to respond to the gesture before Dean felt his cousin pat his back uncertainly. Dean found it difficult to imagine his cousin, the kid that would cry after getting in a fight, not because he lost which did happen sometimes but because he had hurt someone else, being in battle at all let alone surviving one.

That was the thought that killed Dean’s sentimentality. He ended the hug as abruptly as he had started it by placing his hands on his cousin’s shoulders and pushing him away. It wasn’t a hard shove, just enough to put some distance between them, but it was apparently enough to have Nico at Will’s side. Dean ignored the brunet’s heated glare because just as he had the right to be the overprotective boyfriend Dean had the right to be seriously pissed. “You could have died and I wouldn’t even know why! What the actual hell Will?”

“Sorry” Will stated with sincerity “I never really thought about it that way.”

Apologies, in general, were not supposed to make a person feel angrier but that one just pushed Dean to a whole new level of fury. How could Will not think about it that way? How could he not think about how risking his own life affected the people who loved him? What would have happened if Will had died? Would Dean have ever known, or would there have been some sort of lie about why Will doesn’t come around anymore? The thought was nauseating. But it wasn’t the only thing make Dean all but see red. Dean had spent years silently worrying about his cousin’s mental health feeling helpless and in the dark. “Do you get how worried I was when you started having panic attacks and shit!” He shouted and only found himself more frustrated when Will’s eyes widened in surprise like he didn’t think Dean had noticed. Seriously, his cousin’s constant underestimation of his intelligence was getting on his nerves. “You could have talked to me!”

Guilt washed over Will’s features, which probably made Dean feel more vindicated than it should have. He opened his mouth to say something but Nico cut him off. “You had panic attacks?” the brunet questioned his attention solely focused on Will and his expression serious.

Having been on the receiving end of Nico’s “scary” face since the whole conversation started Dean was happy to have the attention off him for a moment. Although he did feel a pang of sympathy as he cousin squirmed. “Some, after the battle of the Labyrinth.” Will admitted speaking solely to Nico like Dean had magically disappeared. He hadn’t disappeared though, he was still standing right there and he couldn’t help but note that Will mentioned a different battle this time. “I had been right there with Lee when……” There was another name Dean hadn’t heard before but it obviously had significance to Will. Dean wished he had some paper to write on because he already had so many questions and he was getting the feeling that every answer he got was going to lead to about twenty new questions and he didn’t want to forget anything.

“Why have you never told me?” Nico questioned sounding both hurt and frustrated, which in the grand scheme of things was a little funny. Apparently, Nico and Dean had complimentary knowledge when it came to Will. Maybe they would have to sit down sometime and compare notes.

“Because I got help, talked to Chiron a lot for a while, and I haven’t had one in next to forever.” Will listed his reasons not sounding very convincing and Dean made a mental note to ask about who Chiron was. The name sounded vaguely familiar, like something he had read before but he couldn’t actually place it. “Plus, compared to what you’ve been through-”

“That’s not how trauma works Will!” Nico interrupted with a growl “and if I said something like that to you would be beyond angry.”

Will opened his mouth like he was going to argue and Dean just had to step in before he said something stupid. He didn’t even know what Nico and Will were talking about completely but he knew his cousin well enough to know Nico was one hundred percent right. He whistled to catch both guys attention “Sorry, hate to interrupt the domestics but I’ve still got questions.” He pointed out as he walked back to his chair and dropped himself in it. The information he was getting was just too heavy to stay standing. He gestured for Will and Nico to take a seat too. Will moved readily but Nico seemed a bit more wary and was scowling at Will like he still had a few more things to say about his secret keeping. He was going to have to take a number on that one. “You’ll just have to scold him later.” He told Nico. That got a smirk from Will and Nico turned a deep shade of red as he dropped in his seat and stared down at the table.

They both needed to get their minds out of the gutter (or more accurately the bedroom) because Dean hadn’t meant it as a euphemism for sex. Dean was completely prepared to tell them that too when Will spoke. “Ask me anything” He offered seriously.

That was a serious offer that Dean would be happy to make Will regret because he already had a couple dozen questions floating around in his head. One stood out among the rest as being more pressing “Dude, I think the first one should be pretty obvious” He pointed out. “Who’s your dad?”

Will blinked at him for a second like he was surprised. Dean guessed that wasn’t the question his cousin expected it to ask, what he would consider more pressing Dean had no idea. “Apollo” Will replied.

“The son chariot guy?” Dean questioned and Will gave a nod to acknowledge his accuracy. Dean had to think about it, his memory of Greek mythology really was on the fuzzy side although after this conversation was over he planned to remedy that. “I guess that makes sense, he’s the god of medicine too, right?”

“Yeah, that’s in his sphere of influence” Will replied with a shrug that was so casual they could have been talking about the weather.

The thought brought back a rather unpleasant memory. While Dean could talk about their disastrous camping trip when they were younger easily it was still a scary memory. But worse than the memory itself was the fear that carrying it around caused. He remembered trying to bring it up to Aunt Naomi once and her dismissing the subject completely, and there was a time he really thought he might have hallucinated the whole thing. “So, that day in the woods,” He questioned nervously. He had wanted to ask Will about that day for years, he wanted to be told he wasn’t crazy but Will always reacted so badly when he even started to mention it he always let it go. “the thing with my leg, I didn’t imagine that?”

Will shifted a bit in his chair with clear discomfort at the topic. “No, you didn’t imagine it.” He muttered.

“Will can heal people” Nico informed proudly. He turned and looked at Will like he was in awe of Will’s very existence. It was really cute actually, and very couple-y which was something Dean was decidedly trying not to think about. Will noticed the way Nico looked at him too and blushed but smiled a little under the attention. “He’s saved a lot of demigod’s lives.”

“So not every demigod can do that?” Dean asked curiously. Honestly, once he had accepted the whole demigod thing (which had apparently done and wasn’t even aware) he just figured what he remembered Will doing in the woods was pretty standard issue.

“No, demigods’ abilities come from their godly parent and even then, it varies” Will explained seemingly more comfortable talking about the facts in a broad sense rather than how all of this particularly related to him. Again, Dean found himself wishing for something to write on because when Will was more comfortable he definitely had some follow-up questions about his healing abilities. “Not every child of Apollo is a healer”

“Right” Dean nodded. He guessed that made sense, and he made yet another mental note to ask Will about his siblings and what other abilities children of Apollo had. It was an interesting idea though that each demigod could end up with different abilities depending on their parent and it did make Dean wonder about how much variety there actually was. He turned to Nico because he was the only other demigod he had access to. “So, who’s your godly parent?” he questioned before thinking better of it and holding up a hand. “Wait, let me guess.”

“Shouldn’t be hard” Nico scoffed confidently.

Dean gave it some genuine thought, putting together the pieces he knew about his cousin’s boyfriend to come up with the most likely Greek god or goddess that could be the guy's parent. He really could only remember the major gods but he didn’t think it mattered too much because one seemed to fit pretty well. “Aphrodite?” He questioned.

Will busted out laughing so hard Dean couldn’t help but think that it had to hurt. Nico, on the other hand, did not seem at all amused, he looked shocked. His face went slack, his jaw dropped, and his eyes went wide. “No” He replied flatly.

Dean took a moment and looked between Will, who was laughing so hard he was red faced and pausing only to heave in breaths, and Nico, who was glaring at Will with increasing annoyance. “I take it I was way off” Dean commented.

“Yeah” Will just barely managed as gasped, the fit of laughter apparently subsiding. “but I get it.” he assured whipping a tear from his eye.

Judging by the look of complete outrage that spread across Nico’s face that was the wrong thing for Will to say. “Excuse me!” Nico exclaimed.

“Well yeah” Will replied with a large smile. It was a little amusing in the sense that his cousin had been so bothered by Dean disrupting his sex life but was completely oblivious to his own mouth and its ability to completely kill his chances. Dean’s last few girlfriends had been notorious pains in the ass, so he was well-practiced in the art of shutting in hopes of having sex in the near future, Will clearly hadn’t learned that skill.

“Do I seem like some fickle child of Aphrodite to you?” Nico questioned heatedly. The correct answer to that question was clearly no, even Will would be able to see that Dean hoped.

“Does Piper?” Will retorted, still grinning like the conversation was amusing. Dean was ready to drop his head to the table out of frustration at his cousin’s obliviousness. Not only was he sure that Nico was Will’s first boyfriend he was also pretty sure all the time they had spent together over the summer had involved being naked because these were really skills Will should have had by now. Of course, dating a guy might be fundamentally different…..Dean was NOT letting his mind go down that road of thought right now.

Nico looked completely done with Will and his amusement. He said nothing but turned in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest, and frowned. “Oh, come on Pretty Boy don’t pout!” Will pleaded playfully. “She’s the goddess of beauty and you’re a model it’s a logical guess” he explained which Dean nodded to as a show of agreement. That had definitely been a factor when he had made his guess, although maybe not a large one. For Dean, the idea had come more from how keyed into Will’s emotional state Nico seemed to be. Will tended to pretend everything was okay and put on a brave face for people and Nico just seemed to naturally see through it, and Dean figured that could be a love goddess thing or, well, it could just be love in general. Nico seemed to accept the explanation, at least a little if the way the tension eased from his shoulders. The guy still let out a rather dramatic breath but it seemed more like he was playing at being angry rather than actually being angry. Will seemed to be able to tell the difference or he had just decided to let Nico sulk for a bit. Either way, he turned back to Dean and informed. “Nico’s dad is Hades.”

Of all of the Greek gods, Dean probably remembered the most about Hades. Not to sound weird but he had always been Dean’s favor god. Dean swallowed down about a hundred overly excited questions in order to play it cool. “Like the god of the underworld?” He questioned casually like he really wasn’t sure. Nico didn’t respond but Will gave a brief nod as a confirmation. “That’s fucking awesome.” He stated. Again, he spoke casually, like it wasn’t a big deal, much to the screaming 12-year-old self in his head’s dismay.

“I guess” Nico shrugged, he was still pouting a bit from before so it was hard for Dean to truly gauge his response. “A lot of demigods feel very differently”

Will groaned “Don’t even start with that” he all but ordered with a distinct and dismissive eye roll.

Nico turned his head to meet Will’s gaze and they clearly became locked in an unspoken argument and the general feeling of familiarity gave Dean the impression that this wasn’t the first time they had this argument spoken or unspoken. “Hi,” Dean declared with a bit of a wave to get their attention. The both actually turned toward him and Dean chose not to be offended that the both looked like they were just remembering he was there. “I’m new to all of this remember? I feel like I’m missing something here.” he gestured between the two of them to indicate whatever they were arguing about.

Nico turned his head and glared at a distant corner of the room and Will huffed. “Demigods tend to get associated with their godly parent” Will stated matter-of-factly “and …well, Hades doesn’t have the greatest reputation so some people may have felt a bit uncomfortable having a child of the underworld around at first.”

“That just sounds dumb.” Dean declared dismissively. “Can you like raise zombies and ghosts and stuff?” he asked Nico, and this time some of his excitement slipped into his voice. Right around the time Will developed a minor obsession with old mobster movies Dean had developed a bit of a thing about zombies. Yes, he was one of those people with an ‘Ask me about my zombie plan’ t-shirt or two so it was a challenge not to geek out over the idea at least a little.

Nico stared at him like he was the most confusing person he had ever met. “Yeah” He answered uncertainly.

“See?” Dean looked toward Will. They were going to have a serious discussion about how Will knew zombies were Dean’s thing and he hide the fact that his boyfriend could summon them. “That’s fucking cool!”

Will’s mouth twitched like he was trying to contain a smile, and Nico stared at him in complete confusion. “I guess?” Nico said.

Will nudged Nico’s shoulder and grinned like he had one something. Nico just rolled his eyes at the display but his posture seemed to relax substantially. The little display was reminded Dean of something that had always bothered him about Greek mythology. “So slightly awkward question but aren’t all the gods supposed to be related?” He questioned. He had always found it really weird because they all seemed to be either married to one another or screwing but it never was relevant until now. “Like isn’t Hades Apollo’s uncle or something?” He was pretty sure that was it. “So, you guys are like second cousins so…. um….. how are you two ya know a couple?” Yeah, Dean realized he had pretty easily accepted the existence of the Greek gods but was getting squeamish on this seemed silly but…..

Will chuckled “Gods don’t really have DNA or anything like that so demigods don’t date their half-siblings if they have any but beyond that it’s fine.” He explained in a well-practiced voice. Dean got the impression that Will ended up explaining that a lot. Maybe not about him and Nico specifically but Dean guessed if you were a demigod with those types of questions the nice southern boy medic was probably a good person to ask.

When Will had mentioned siblings before he had said he had a lot like it was something common but that didn’t really line up with the ‘if they have siblings’ statement. “Not every demigod has siblings?” He questioned.

“No,” Will answered looking a bit uncomfortable “some gods are more….active than others.”

“Like Apollo” Nico offered with an amused grin. Will cringed, it was subtle but Dean definitely saw it. That explained the general air of ‘I don’t want to talk about this’ that was currently hanging around Will, Dean thought. Will was always pretty opinionated when it came to those guys that bed hopped and acted like it was a good thing, he was seriously not a fan. Will was a total Commitment Guy, and Nico was proof of that, so Dean imagined it had to bother Will that his dad was a slut (god or no).

“Or Aphrodite” Will supplied before quickly changing the topic “And then maiden goddesses, like Artemis, don’t have any demigod children for obvious reasons.”

“And Hera as the goddess of marriage doesn’t have any demigod children either” Nico pointed out. “Not that being married stops Zeus”

“Also, there was this whole thing after World War 2 where the big three made a pact to stop having demigod children because their kids are always so powerful they tend to have a major effect on the mortal world” Will explained.

Dean felt a little like he was watching a tennis match as Will and Nico went back and forth on the topic. The fact that they talked about it so casually just made the whole thing seem so surreal. There had been a lot of information in the exchange that he only partially understood and at this point, he was ready to sell his soul for a pen and piece of paper so he could write down all the questions that were running in his head. “Big three?” He questioned as it was the only thing he didn’t have at least an inkling of a clue as to what they meant.

“Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades” Will offered matter-of-factly.

Well, Dean guessed that made sense as they were the three sons of the Titan dude that ruled before the gods (he was 85% sure of that anyway). Still, he caught a pretty big inconsistency there but from what little he did remember of Greek Mythology, none of the gods were particularly good at keeping it in their pants so he guessed it probably not a big deal. Turning to Nico he commented jokingly. “Guess Hades slipped up a bit.”

It really had been met as a joke but it clearly was the wrong thing to say no matter what the intent. Nico’s expression went stony, and when Will tried to lay his own hand over his Nico pulled away. “No” Will sighed heavily “Actually, he is the only one who hasn’t.”

“Um….?” Dean hummed confused looking between Nico and Will.

“It’s complicated” Will stated heavily.

Will didn’t actually say it but it read all of his face and in his tone, Dean needed to drop this topic, now. “Yeah, of course,” Dean nodded and filed away his curiosity on the subject away in his mind to be discussed at a later time, probably when Nico wasn’t around to be upset by it. “We are talking about Greek gods here, how could it be anything but” Tension still hung in the air. Considering his tendency to put his foot in his mouth during this conversation Dean figured it was probably best to let Will take the lead in the conversation for a while, lead them away from dangerous waters so to speak. Dean didn’t do that because he just never could sit in silence. “So, taking a step back for a minute, and by no means does this mean I have run out of big picture questions but this just seems pressing.” He stated and he was well aware he was rambling. Once again, he looked toward Nico who was still clearly discontent from his last comment. “None of this explains how you’re here.”

Nico blinked and some of the visible tension seemed to ease from him which let Dean relax a little. It couldn’t be a good idea to piss off a child of Hades, could it? “Shadow travel” Nico replied simply.

“You say that like I know what that means” Dean pointed out because Nico really said like it was a common knowledge thing but he really had no clue. He turned to Will because Nico was still staring at him like he didn’t know what to do with Dean in general. “He says that like I should know what that means.”

“It’s a child of the underworld thing” Will exclaimed flatly “All shadows are connected and fall under Hades domain so Nico can step into one shadow and out another.”

“He can teleport!” Dean exclaimed excitedly. He had the desperate urge to offer his cousin a high five because damn. Not only was Will dating an underwear model, which was impressive all on its own, he was dating the demigod son of Hades who could raise zombies and fricking teleport. Dean was definitely past the point where he could contain his enthusiasm. He turned to Nico. “You can teleport!”

Nico blinked back at him for a second confused before turning to Will. “I have no idea what that means”

“I’ll explain later” Will promised with an amused little chuckle before looking to Dean “And yeah, I guess it’s sort of like that.”

“Dude,” Dean grinned at Nico as he spoke. “when they were handing out completely awesome superpowers you really took the lion’s share, didn’t ya?”

Whatever tension that had remained from before seemed to slip away. Nico seemed to fight back a smile as he replied uncertainly “I guess?”

“Follow up question” Dean declared turning on his cousin “Will, your boyfriend can literally teleport so why have you been a whiney bitch?” Seriously, Will really did whine and Dean had listened sympathetically for months (which was ridiculous because Will was complaining about not getting any in a month where Dean was going on a year, but whatever). Now that the truth was out, Dean was a little annoyed. What was the point of all the complaining? To keep up appearances? If that was the case Will didn’t have to work so hard to sell it. “You two must see each other all the god damn time!” He exclaimed and then immediately recognized his error. “Oh, I guess I should say gods. That actually explains so much.” Dean mused. He had noticed years ago that Will would sometimes say gods instead of god and it only seemed to get worse when Nico was around. It annoyed him a little, being a bit of a language nut, but he had let it go as one of those corky Will things. Now he understood where it came from and he was going to have to adjust vocabulary.

“That’s complicated too” Will replied shifting in his seat as a clear indication that he uncomfortable with the topic. So the likelihood was Dean had brought up yet another sensitive subject but at this point, he couldn’t really be bothered. This conversation was like walking in a minefield, almost anything he said seemed to lead to another landmine.

“Will won’t let me” Nico explained with a wide grin. He clearly wasn’t uncomfortable with the topic, in fact, he looked rather triumphant as he turned to look directly at Will. “Or I should say wouldn’t.”

“Nico” Will protested.

“You said!” Nico exclaimed sounding a little like a whiny child.

“You almost died! I _felt_ you almost die” Will stressed. It wasn’t just his words that were stressed the anxiety the memory caused was written all over his face. There was definitely a story there, and a serious one based on the look on Will’s face. Dean wanted to ask but on this, he could tell it wasn’t the time, so he added it to the list of things they were going to talk about later. “Please, don’t push this.” Will pleaded.

Nico huffed, crossed his arms over his chest, and pouted. Seriously, the guy could pout like it was his job (which Dean guessed it sort of was) but his sympathies to Will because that had to be hard to argue with. “I would never act that recklessly now” Nico stated dismissively.

Will groaned and his shoulders slumped. This was so clearly an argument they had had before and from the looks of it, they were both over it. “What’s so different now?” Will questioned with clear disbelief.

“Back then I didn’t have anything to lose” Nico declared, still pouting as he glanced sideways at Will. “Now I have you”

That was the right thing to say because Will blinked at Nico in clear shock for all of two seconds before a large grin spread across his face. “Really?” He declared….no he cooed which was really undignified in Dean’s opinion and he was going to give Will serious shit for it later.

Nico nodded and gave Will a look like he was an idiot for not already knowing that, and just like that they were kissing. Normally Dean would have given them a minute even though they were pawing at each other like they didn’t have an audience but right now considering……well considering other factors it was just too much.”

Dean clapped his hands together loudly to get their attention. He actually got a response which was a little surprising considering how into each other they seemed. They separated panting for breath, Will’s hands still grasping at the front of Nico’s shirt. “William! Hands to yourself” he ordered sounding (and feeling) a lot like a kindergarten teacher. “Don’t make me separate you two.”

Will dropped his hands and pulled away from Nico. “Sorry” he grumbled under his breath, only sounding about half-sincerity. Nico at least seemed to be capable of shame as he blushed a deep shade of red and stared down at the table.

“Okay,” Dean declared carefully pushing away any dangerous thoughts about the night before that Will and Nico’s little display of affection threatened to bring up away. He wasn’t thinking about that right now, he reminded himself “so when you’ve said you were at camp, you actually what? Gone and hung out with the gods in Greece?”

“No, I actually go to camp” Will replied easily as he ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s a camp for demigods where we can train, it’s in New York”

“As are the gods incidentally” Nico added simply “But they aren’t at camp, well for the most part.”

Will nodded as Nico spoke as if to confirm his words. Dean looked between Will and Nico for a moment trying to take in the full weight of what was being said. Dean pushed the training camp for demigods aside for the time being because he could tell that was going to be a several hour conversation all on its own, he could tell. Instead, he focused on the simpler, and yet more troublesome part of that statement. “So have you ever actually met your dad?”

“In person?” Will questioned uncomfortably before answering “Once.”

Greek god or not, Dean’s opinion of Will’s dad certainly wasn’t improving with the more information he gained. “Only once?” He questioned and didn’t even try to hide his disapproval because seriously, what the fuck was wrong with Apollo?

“It’s not a big deal, most demigods don’t meet their godly parent or only see them on very rare occasions.” Will explained, “The gods aren’t exactly hands on parents for the most part.” Will shot Nico a quick glance at the last bit of that statement and Dean got the impression that Hades might have been an exception.

Dean was still annoyed. He got that Apollo probably had a lot to do being a god and all but if he had the time to father all these kids he should make the time to show up in their lives more than once. Hell, Dean knew his own father wouldn’t be winning any parent of the year awards but he was physical present. “Ah gee, well what made Apollo grace you with his presence the one time?” he asked with heavy sarcasm.

“Another god asked him to” Will replied quickly before adding. “Listen I know you still have questions and I swear I’ll answer them but it doesn’t have to be all right now.”

“Dude you can not tell me your dad is the Greek god Apollo and expect me not to have questions” Dean complained. He still had enough questions to fill a large novel and there was no way Will was getting out of answering every single one of them.

“I know, and I’m not” Will stated “I’m just suggesting you take some time to think about it, maybe write some thoughts down.”

Will did know him well. The idea of being able to mull over the information, maybe do some research about Greek mythology, write down all the questions he had and prioritize them. Still, he felt nervous letting the topic go made him nervous. It had taken years for him to get the truth out of Will and he didn’t know how long he had. “And you’ll tell me the truth?” He questioned voicing his concern and looking for some sort of reassurance.

Will shrugged “Cat’s out of the bag so there’s really no point in lying.” The ease at which Will said it was actually comforting, Dean believed him.

“Plus,” Nico added dryly “now that you know whatever effect the mist has had on you will likely go away” he also spoke casually but unlike when Will did it, it wasn’t comforting. It was actually darkly cryptic, which might just have been the guy’s birthright considering who his dad really was.

“That’s the second time you’ve mentioned the mist” Dean pointed out. When Will had gone to deny the whole camp trip attack, Nico had stopped him, saying something about the mist. “What is that?”

“It’s sort of a mystical veil between the magical world and the mortal one.” Will explained with ease. “It prevents normal people from seeing stuff related to the gods and monsters and stuff” he shrugged “Mortals don’t always take that knowledge well”

“Well as a mortal let me say I get that” Dean stated with a bit of a nervous laugh. “It is a total mind fuck” Sure, Dean was playing it calm, cool, and collected right now but he was planning on freaking out about it later. He had already added the Greek Gods exist, my cousin is a demigod, and I was once was attacked by a cyclops to the list of things he was going to freak out about. God, (Gods, fuck that was a hard change) that was starting to be kind of a long list.

“You’re not your average mortal” Nico stated plainly jarring Dean from the thoughts of his life spiraling slowly out of control. Yeah, Nico was definitely lord of the cryptic, which Dean could only imagine was a fun quality in a relationship.

“What Nico is trying to say” Will offered “is if you remember that day in the woods, the cyclops and me healing your leg then you have the ability to see through the mist” Will shrugged like it was nothing, which it definitely felt like something. “It happens sometimes and people like that, like you, tend to take the knowledge better.”

“Now I just feel special” Dean proclaimed with heavy sarcasm although if his cousin, his best friend really, was a demigod it was probably for the best that he was already prepared to handle that knowledge. “Wait, does Aunt Naomi know that she knocked boots with a god?”

A look of sheer panic flashed across Will’s face. “Yeah, but you can’t tell her you know!” He stated insistently like it was a matter of life or death. They had sat here and talked seriously about battles and monsters and this was the first time Will seemed really scared. “This is a strict no magic household and she’d kick me out if she knew I told you.” He explained seriously “I have a hard enough time explaining Nico coming and going.”

Will’s panic, the way he said aunt Naomi would kick him out like he was serious or worse yet that he experienced that before. Oh, that was a horrible, terrible, no good thought that Dean just didn’t want to believe even though he could feel the truth of it. “That’s why you left after that thing in the woods?” He questioned. He remembered trying to talk to Aunt Naomi the year Will stayed in New York and how short and dismissive she got whenever he tried. At the time, Dean attributed it to parental worry and sadness at Will’s absence but now he wondered if it had been guilt he was seeing.

“We had a fight it was better that I just went away for awhile.” Will spoke quietly as he clearly tried to brush past a clearly painful memory “But we worked things out and have an understanding now. It’s not perfect but it works.”

Oh, Dean had so many choice words for Aunt Naomi. Why was there absolutely zero responsible, respectable adults in his life? “If you two fought over that, that’s stupid” He stated dismissively “You saved my life and it wasn’t your fault it happened or anything.”

Will blinked at him for a second before replying in a serious voice. “Yeah, it was.” Nico face mirrored Dean’s feelings on that statement. It was good to know that Will’s boyfriend thought that was utter crap. Nico didn’t say anything however, he just laced his fingers into Will’s as a show of support.

“Dude, I don’t care if you are a demigod, I will still slap you upside the head for talking stupid” Dean declared seriously “If aunt Naomi didn’t want magic drama she should have thought about that before she had a love child with fricking Apollo.”

Will made a bit of a face “Dad’s not always great about telling his ….um….dates who he really is, you know, before conception or ever.” He explained uncomfortably.

Dean stared at Will for a second but it was clear that Will wasn’t going to say anything more on that topic. He turned to Nico and asked. “It’s probably a bad idea to call a god a douche, right?”

“I wouldn’t recommend it” Nico replied simply.

Dean huffed, it was fine he didn’t need to say it out loud he would just think it. Apollo was an epic douche. The thought had barely crossed Dean’s mind when there was a loud buzzing sound, which caused him to jump with surprise, and maybe nervousness. Certainly, Greek gods could read minds. Nico and Will seemed completely unaffected, but they battled fricking monsters so the comparison wasn’t all that fair. Dean was still making it but it wasn’t fair. Will must have noticed how he had jumped and looked at him concerned “You alright?” he questioned in a whisper.

Dean just nodded, because he was absolutely fine. It’s not weird to get startled by noise every once and a while. Nico ignored the exchange as he rummaged through his pockets for a second before producing what had to be the world’s most out-of-date cell phone Dean had ever seen. He glanced at the screen for a second before he groaned “It’s Percy”

If there was one thing Dean didn’t have the energy to deal with right now it was another round of crazy irrational jealous Will. If he ever met this Percy guy he was going to punch if the face on principle, and he didn’t care that he was probably another demigod and could the child of Ares or someone even more frightening. For putting up with all of Will’s bitching Dean had earned one solid punch in the guy’s face. He glanced toward Will and was surprised to find him looking calm and unaffected. “You can answer it if you want” Will encouraged Nico sincerely.

“Yes Will,” Nico groaned and rolled his eyes. “because that’s what I was waiting for, your permission” he stated sarcastically.

“Well, you weren’t answering” Will pointed out as he gestured toward the unanswered phone in Nico’s hand. Again, it was so god (fuck! gods) damned relaxed like Nico wasn’t getting a phone call from a guy that Will freaked out over every mention. Dean was a little concerned that Will had been replaced by a pod-person or something.

“Because I don’t want to” Nico informed forcefully.

“Why not?” Will questioned with a bit of a laugh (yeah, that was weird as fuck and Will’s newfound attitude was going on the list of things they were going to talk about).

“Because it’s Percy” Nico declared with annoyance like the guy’s name explained everything. “He’s either calling to complain that I left in the middle of bros weekend or tell me about fooling around with Jason in graphic detail” he stated. Well, if the Percy guy was hooking up with someone else that would at least explain some of Will’s calm attitude. “Neither is a conversation I want to have.”

Will shrugged before pointing out simply. “He’s just going to keep calling”

“I have the worst friends” Nico declared as he pushed out of his chair and started walking toward the doorway of the kitchen. He was almost out the door with his back to them when he finally answered the phone. “What do you want Percy?” Dean could hear Nico practically hiss into the phone as he left the room. It was kind of phone considering he was talking to the guy Will had been so worried something would happen with (seriously, for a smart guy, sometimes his cousin was an idiot). “Of course I’m at Will’s what kind of stupid question is that?”

Dean was kind of worried that once Nico was out of sight Will would turn back into the sulking guy he had been lately but it didn’t happen. When Nico was gone Will just turned his attention back to Dean. He was even smiling a little which just was so weird. “So, I see your past being crazy jealous” Dean observed as he pointed toward the door where Nico had existed.

“Yeah, we……” Will started and his smile actually widened. He shook his head like he was trying to shake away a thought, and if his smile was any indication it was an X-rated one. “I don’t really know, I just don’t feel like I need to worry now, or that I every really did.” He let out a little laugh and it seemed to be directed more at himself than anything else. “Sorry I guess I’ve probably been a little annoying lately.”

Dean blinked at him, he really hoped Will wasn’t just coming to that realization now. “You have been completely insufferable and I deserve a medal for not slapping you.” He informed in all seriousness. Dean really considered himself a supportive friend but Will had been pushing him past all points of understanding lately. But if he had gotten over the mountain that was his irrational jealous there was actually a light at the end of the tunnel. Dean pointed toward the door again. He could hear Nico talking on the phone in the other room but couldn’t make out the words. “So, a son of Hades, huh?” He questioned. About a million of Dean’s thoughts on all the information he cousin had just given him started with that statement it seemed a good enough observation as any.

“If you’re going to say that’s weird please don’t” Will replied seriously “I have heard the odd couple too many times.”

“Really?” Dean questioned with genuine surprised that was so completely opposite of what he had been thinking. “I was actually thinking that knowing that makes you two make a lot more sense.”

Will stared at him with complete confusion. “What?”

“Well from what I have been able to gather so far you have literally served as a battlefield medic” That was something they were going to talk about at some point. “And you’ve probably lost patients” That was another thing they definitely were going to talk about. “maybe even had to make some hard decisions in the moment, he is probably someone who could understand that.” He shrugged trying to keep it as relaxed as possible even though based on the look Will was giving him he had definitely hit the nail on the head. “And you probably get that death has a place in the natural order of things better than most so…. it just makes sense.” Dean observed, what he thought should be pretty obvious to anybody in the know. “You guys are like a logical pairing.”

“Most people don’t see that” Will stated quietly as he looked down at his mug of tea which had to be cold by now.

“Well, I’m not most people,” Dean replied with a grin. It was finally starting to feel like a normal conversation between him and Will. Like they were having a normal conversation, or just fucking around like they did when they said they going to do homework or study but neither could focus.

Will sighed and shook his head. “I should have told you sooner,” he admitted in a resigned sort of way.

Dean couldn’t help but feel triumphant in the face of Will’s confession. “Yeah, you should have” he confirmed. In a weird way finding out Will was a demigod was worse than finding out he was gay. On either matter, he was offended that Will thought he would respond in any way other than supportive but it least with the whole gay thing Dean understood it. Will was enculturated to think that everyone, especially those in the south would take issue with his sexual preference. With the demigod thing, there was no obvious reason Will didn’t tell him.

Will smirked “How long are you going to be giving me flak for this?” he questioned and that was what solidified it for Dean; things were definitely as normal as they could be between them.

Dean wasn’t going to let him off the hook too easily. “How long did you lie?” He questioned with a self-satisfied grin. He knew the answer was years, he just wondered if Will would admit to it.  

“In all fairness, it was for your safety” Will defended as he completely dodged answering the actual question.

“In all fairness, I’m not a damsel in distress, I didn’t ask you to protect me.” Dean shot back before sipping at his ice cold coffee to appear nonchalant about the whole thing. “And I’m the older one so it’s my job to do the protecting so your whole premise is just faulty”

“If it makes you feel any better I don’t have any other secrets.” Will offered hopefully.

“I would hope not!” Dean exclaimed with a laugh “What could be bigger than your dad being the god of the Sun?” A memory came back to him from months earlier “Wait, can you fly? ‘Cause if you can fly and haven’t told me I will be forced to kick your ass.”

“No, I can heal and that’s it” Will assured with a laugh of his own “Although I do know someone that can fly.”

“Of course you do” Dean commented. Honestly, flying never seemed like the coolest superpower a person could have but they would definitely have a conversation about demigods and what other abilities they had.

For a stretch, they fell into silence and Dean was shocked at how comfortable it felt. He guessed neither of them had realized how much tension had grown between them. Not to blame Nico, but since he and Will had started dating Dean had noticed Will lying and feeding him half truths more often. And while Dean was sure part of that was just him being especially sensitive after being blindsided by the whole gay thing, the rest of it made more sense now. Will, up until this year, never really talked about camp or anything probably to avoid uncomfortable conversations and lying but with Nico, it was unavoidable so he was forced to lie to explain away the unexplainable parts of his life. Dean almost felt bad for him for having to bear the burden of all those secrets, almost.

Will was the one that broke the silence. He drummed his hands on the table thoughtfully before asking with genuine curiosity. “So what was your crisis?”

 _Fuck_! In finding out all of the insanity Dean had forgotten about that. “What?” He questioned hoping to sound oblivious. Somehow in the face of all the new knowledge, Dean didn’t think he could handle talking about that too. Of maybe that was just an excuse and he had just lost his nerve. Either way, it didn’t matter, he knew the moment he talked about it, it would be real and he wasn’t ready for that.

“Your crisis,” Will explained “the one that involved you seriously interrupting my sex life, the reason you came over in the first place.” Will actually gave a good-natured laugh before adding “The crisis that was definitely not about Oreos.”

“Oh” Dean looked down at the table. Of course, now Will was aware of other people’s stuff and not completely wrapped up in his own drama. Where was he the night before when crazy ideas were running around in Dean’s mind wreaking havoc? Oh, that’s right, Dean thought with frustration, probably getting laid. “Doesn’t matter”

“Dude, yes it does” Will insist.

Dean picked up his coffee cup and walked to the sink. As he poured the cold liquid down the drain he commented. “Compared to all of this it’s really not a big deal.” Dean was impressed with himself, he had managed to shut down the urge to tell Will to drop it.

“Yeah, so the demigod stuff maybe news to you but I’ve been dealing with it for years” Will stated and now he was looking at Dean like he was worried. He really needed to go back to worrying Nico was going to cheat on him or something because this concerned thing he was doing was just not going to work out well for Dean he could tell. “And I could tell that whatever you originally came over to talk about was important.”

Dean leaned against the counter so he could face Will. “It’s nothing we need to talk about right now” He stated more insistently hoping Will would take the hint.

“Dean, I get that all of this stuff is a bit much and you’re probably feeling overloaded but the everyday life stuff still matters” Will assured “And as you pointed out I have been a pretty sucky cousin and friend of late so let me at least start to try to make it up to you by helping you through whatever the crisis is.”

Dean sighed, Will was clearly not going to let this go. He didn’t even know why he came here, Will was probably the worst person to talk to about what happened. That wasn’t true and Dean knew, he was just looking for a reason not to say it aloud. “I kind of hooked up with someone last night,” he admitted. It didn’t sound so bad, but Dean knew he had left out the part that made it a crisis and not just a desire to brag.

“What!?!” Will exclaimed with a grin like he was genuinely excited for him. Damn, Will was really trying, Dean observed. For someone who could not be less subtle when he was getting some action Will was never really great about listening to other people’s tales of glory. He would sit and listen, maybe give a congratulations, but he was never really enthusiastic. Yeah, he was definitely trying which made this more awkward. “That’s awesome! Who was it?”

Dean sighed and tried to focus for a moment. He knew he was already past the point of no return and he just needed to say it but he was finding it hard to get the word. He closed his eyes because looking a Will was just too much and he finally said it. “Felix”

He spent a lot of time since he decided to come to Will for help thinking about how Will would react when he actually told him. It wasn’t a particularly fun thing to imagine considering how much and how vocally Will (the guy who got along with everybody) disliked Felix but it had seemed safer than the alternative. If his mind wasn’t imagining the various ways Will would freak out at the knowledge he would start thinking about Felix- the way he smelled, the firm yet soft feel of his lips, the way he sighed when they first started kissing, the way he tasted….. Yeah, that wasn’t a safe place for his mind to go.

In all the various ways he had pictured Will reacting silence wasn’t one of them yet here they were in complete and utter silence. The silence was worse than anything he had imagined and it made him feel panicked to his very core. He opened his eyes when he just couldn’t take it anymore and found Will staring back at him, his expression completely blank. “Dude, I need you to say something.” He pleaded.

“Please tell me you’re joking” Will asked seriously “You’re getting back at me for keeping secrets.”

Dean hadn’t expected Will to give him a way out, a way to deny it all, but there it was. Now that he had said it out loud be desperately wanted to deny all of it. It was too much to talk about it when he wasn’t sure how he felt about it, although that was why he was there to talk to Will. Although he wasn’t even sure if that was the truth, or at least not the full truth because these feelings felt familiar and he wasn’t sure if it had been someone else, a girl if he would be questioning anything. Fuck, he wasn’t sure when his life got so complicated but it needed to stop. “No” he replied. There was no backing out of this, even if he didn’t talk about it, it still happened and he would still have to face it eventually.

Will blinked at him for a second but his expression was still neutral. It was driving Dean crazy, he needed Will to have some kind of reaction. Anything at this point would be better than the nothing he was getting. It felt like an hour had passed before Will actually spoke. “Are my ears bleeding?” He questioned flatly.

Dean had been wrong, Will being quiet was definitely preferable to him being a complete ass. “You promised you wouldn’t freak out.” Dean reminded not attempting to hide his annoyance. He had put up with a lot of Will’s crap lately, Will could at least attempt to be helpful.

Will laughed humorlessly at that. “I really don’t think I can be held to that!” he retorted firmly.

“I didn’t freak out to finding out you’re a demigod” Dean pointed with frustration, and yeah that was going to be his go-to excuse for just about everything for the foreseeable future. If Will had a problem with that he was just going to have to suck it up.

“Being a demigod isn’t a bad thing!” Will retorted and his tone was on the edge of outrage.

Will might have sounded outraged but the higher function part of Dean’s brain knew it wasn’t mean the way he wanted to take it. It was hard for the rational side of his brain to push away the irrational thoughts never the less. Something was seriously wrong with him...For what felt like the thousandth time since last night Dean pushed that thought aside. “And this is?” He questioned and it came out almost argumentative but that was preferable to the alternative.

“Yes, hooking up with Felix is a bad thing!” Will exclaimed pushing to his feet because this apparently was a conversation they were going to have standing. “It’s a very bad thing!”

Will didn’t mean it like the way Dean’s brain wanted to take it at the moment and Dean knew it but that didn’t mean it didn’t hit below the belt. Dean had to make an effort to remind himself that Will’s issue was with the Felix part and not with the boy part, after all, Will was gay he couldn’t judge Dean for making out with a guy. That was what Will had said the night before, right? “You said you would be supportive!” Dean hissed back.

Confusion flashed across Will’s face, and Dean struggled to resist the urge to laugh. Will honestly didn’t remember what he had said the night before in the car. That was just fantastic because Dean had been playing that singular comment over and over in his head since dropping Felix off at his house. It had been his only source of comfort at points. “When?!?” Will questioned obliviously.

“Last night!” Dean shouted back. If Will hadn’t been so wrapped up in freaking out about Nico hooking up with some other guy (which anyone who had seen the way Nico looked at Will knew would never happen) he would have remembered. Dean knew that he wasn’t making excuses for Will’s lapse in memory either, in reality, he found it quite annoying. “You said if I liked guys you would be supportive.”

“Yeah, guys,” Will replied in what could almost be described as a growl. “not Felix!”

“Felix _is_ a guy!” Dean pointed out in a growl of his own. Felix had certainly felt like a guy the night before. Dean remembered the feel of Felix’s broad chest and muscled shoulders under his hands as they kissed... _Fuck! Don’t think about that!_ Dean told himself firmly. Those were not safe memories.

“No, he’s the antichrist!” Will shouted back.

Now really wasn’t the time for the Felix-Will feud he had been putting up with for far too long. Trying to argue with Will on his irrational hatred for Felix was a waste of breath and Dean knew it. “Are you allowed to make biblical references?” He questioned with a passive-aggressive tone

Will’s eyes narrowed with annoyance for a second before he replied: “When they are accurate.”

They were at an impasse and if they tried to continue down this it was going to end with them both either walking away or throwing a punch. Dean sighed and forced himself to relax his posture a bit. “This is not helping” he stated.

“How did this happen!?!” Will practically screamed. Well at least Will was finally acting like Dean had imagined, he thought to himself sarcastically.

Dean crossed his arms over his chest. That question was both far too complicated and far too simple all at the same time. “Felix got in a fight or something and his eye was all busted” Dean recalled the board details. He could do the broad details without getting dragged down dangerous roads. “I drove him home because he refused to go to the hospital and wouldn’t let me call you and…… I don’t know, it just happened.”

Will watched him for a painfully long time like he expected Dean to say more. Dean didn’t, he couldn’t, it got too personal, too confusing, after that. When Dean remained silent Will clearly became frustrated. “That doesn’t make any sense” he stated firmly.

“Do the details really matter?” Dean questioned as a way of avoiding actually giving any of the details. Dean didn’t know if he was ready to admit certain things about what had happened the night before. “I’m seriously having an identity crisis right now.” He pointed out on the edge of true panic and despair. “I’m straight!” He reminded loudly, maybe too loudly. Maybe he was trying to convince himself as much as Will. But he shouldn’t have to convince anybody, he had had girlfriends in the past. It wasn’t like he had been faking his interest in those girls, he had genuinely been attracted to them, he was certain of that. He had definitely been an enthusiastic participate in all his relationships, it had never felt like he was faking it. Even as Dean convinced himself those relationships had been real he was faced with uncomfortable truths. That attraction he felt toward those girls was so similar to what he felt toward Felix. Seriously, why was his life so complicated all of a sudden? “How can I be into another guy?”

Will was eerily quiet and when Dean looked at him he found Will staring at him like he was seeing Dean in a new light. Dean squirmed uncomfortably under Will’s gaze. “Wait, do you like Felix?” He questioned with sincere interest. “Like romantically like?”

Was this Will being supportive? Dean didn’t like the concerned look and the interested tone any more than he liked the yelling, and he hated the question. How was he supposed to answer that? If he had an easy answer he wouldn’t currently be freaking out. “I have no idea!” He admitted throwing up his hands in defeat. He slumped against the counter and wondered why he had stood up in the first place. The conversation seemed to have far too much weight to have while standing, he felt like he might buckle from it. “I’m never drinking again, I can’t believe I hooked up with Felix.” He declared.

“Alright, lets back up a bit.” Will stated in a carefully neutral tone. He sounded like a fricking therapist, it was annoying but Dean was starting to realize he wouldn’t be happy with any respond. He was confused and frustrated and being annoyed with Will was easier than facing his own emotions. “When you say you hooked up with Felix, what does that mean exactly?”

“You want details?” He questioned his voice coming out more bitter than intended.

“No, dear gods no” Will replied too quickly and too insistently to be mistaken for casual “I just want clarity.”

Will may have wanted clarity but Dean was really trying hard to think about the details at all. He huffed indignity. “We made out in my car.” He stated and as soon as he heard the words he realized that actually accurate. Sure, that was what had happened but saying it that way made it sound like less somehow. “And there may have been some touching” He added and then officially gave up on trying. That wasn’t right either, it made it sound like more than what actually had happened. He just couldn’t win.

“Okay” Will dragged out the word as he seemed to process the new bit of knowledge. Dean kind of expected a second freak out but Will remained calm. “And did you…..like it?”

WHAT KIND OF QUESTION WAS THAT? Dean wanted to scream. Will had asked it so seriously too like he sincerely wanted to know. Dean swallowed down the urge to have a truly epic temper tantrum. “Dude, I’m not gay.” He reminded firmly. He had said as much in his head so many times lately it was starting to feel like a mantra.

“Well, sexuality isn’t really an all or nothing thing.” Will stated in an almost sympathetic tone. Dean glared at him because he needed to stow that tone and the look on his face. Dean didn’t need his fucking sympathy right now. “So did you like it?” he reiterated the question with a soft sort of insistence.

“I……” Dean wanted to come back with some sort of sarcastic comment instead of an actual answer because that would have been easier. Or at least part of him did, but he found himself giving the question genuine thought instead of thinking up a witty retort. He was careful to not linger too much on the details instead remembering the night in blurry watercolor. He sighed heavily before answering. “I mean it was awkward as fuck. He had a swollen eye, and I never realized how high the center console in my car was but the actually kissing…..I…..yeah I think I liked it.” There now he had actually said it out loud and there was no taking it back. It was the truth too, he had enjoyed and if it hadn’t been for Felix being injured and in pain he wasn’t sure how far things would have gone. He had absolutely no way of factoring that into the way he viewed himself. “Fuck, I think I’m having an easier time factoring Greek mythology into my reality then kissing a boy and liking it.”

Of course, that is the exact moment Nico walked back into the kitchen. In all the talk about Felix Dean had kind of forgotten he was there, but he really shouldn’t have been surprised that he showed back up considering he and Will had pretty much yelled 90% of their conversation. “You kissed a boy” He stated (yes, stated not asked and he didn’t even seem surprised- he sounded like he was commenting on the damned weather!) as he leaned against the door frame.

Dean wanted to run far, far away and hide. It was bad enough Will knew, he didn’t think he could take another person. He had to consciously remind himself that Will’s boyfriend wasn’t really going to judge to stop himself from trying to bury his head in his hands. Will must senses some of Dean’s apprehension because he turned to Nico and asked. “Darlin’, could you give us a few more minutes?”

“Will, we’ve talked about you calling me that” Nico retorted firmly.

“It’s a term of endearment” Will replied sweetly.

“I don’t care” Nico replied. If Dean hadn’t been in the mists of an identity crisis he might have pointed out how interesting it was the Nico was opposed to being called ‘darlin’ but was apparently fine with being called ‘pretty boy’ but he let it go for the time being.

“I’ll work on it.” Will offered before asking “Please, just a couple minutes?”

Nico nodded and turned to leave but paused to call over his shoulder “As long as it wasn’t Felix.”

Of course, Nico wasn’t going to think highly of Felix, he was Will’s boyfriend after all, and since Will clearly despised Felix so would Nico. It wasn’t a surprise but for some reason, at that moment it really bothered Dean. He threw up his hands in frustration and shouted: “Felix really isn’t all that bad.” This really wasn’t the audience to defend Felix to and Dean knew it but he couldn’t stop himself. “Actually, he can be a pretty cool guy.”

Dean expected Will to come back with some sort of comment about Felix’ personality but surprisingly outside of a groan his cousin remained silent. Nico just shrugged dismissively “That’s nice, he still has to die, but whatever.”

“What!?!” Dean exclaimed partially out of shock and partially out of panic. He was new to the whole demigod thing but he was pretty sure when a child of Hades says someone has to die it was a bad thing, a very bad thing.  

“Nico!” Will exclaimed with clear disapproval

“What?” Nico questioned clearly undeterred. “He hit on you Will!” His cousin’s boyfriend declared like this was common knowledge. “He has to die, those are just the rules!”

Dean felt like he had been slapped in the face or maybe dunked in a vat of cold water. He couldn’t have heard right. Nico couldn’t have meant it how it sounded. Felix didn’t get along with Will at all, there was no way……. “He what?” Dean questioned looking toward his cousin numbly.

Will was looking at him with sympathy and Dean really thought he might throw up. “Dean, it’s not a big deal.” His cousin offered, both confirming Nico’s statement while managing to avoid saying anything of real importance.

Dean carefully pushed down every feeling that was threatening to tear him to pieces.

“When did this happen?” He questioned his voice coming out both flat and jagged.

“Doesn’t matter” Will replied quickly.

“Last night” Nico supplied honestly which caused Will to sigh. It hurt but the truth was better than sitting in the dark.

“So apparently I’m just the rebound Solace” Dean declared bitterly before adding with heavy sarcasm. “Awesome”

“Dude,” Will sighed “I really think the only reason he made a move on me is because we look alike.”

Dean couldn’t actually believe his ears, Will was actually trying to make an excuse for Felix’ bad behavior. “Is that supposed to make me feel better because it really doesn’t” Dean hissed back. “Apparently my complete sense of self has been shattered over a complete jackass.”

Will sighed and he slumped. Dean recognized the posture as Will giving up. “Well, this is Felix we are talking about.” Will commented _almost_ under his breath but not quite.

Dean hated himself for being frustrated with Will for that comment. It still bothered him that Will talked like that about Felix even if his feeling regarding Felix were suddenly infinitely more complicated. “Dude, I get you two don’t get along but up to this Felix has actually been a pretty good friend to me.” He pointed out with frustration. Sure, Felix could be an ass but he had always been cool with Dean, or at least that was what Dean had thought. Last night just changed things in so many ways. The idea of Felix going after Will when Will was so clearly a mess over Nico was seriously not okay in Dean’s mind. But what made it worse was that Felix would make a move on him in the same night... Then again Felix really hadn’t been the one to make the first move the night before. _Fuck_!

“You’ve been wrapped up in your own stuff for a while, and I get that it’s important, fighting battles and stuff, but you just up and left after spring break last year. Wash and Watts are always with their girlfriends” Sometimes Dean wondered if those four were in some weird two-way relationship because they seemed to do everything together and got weird when Dean was around, although the weirdness could have been more of Dean’s insecurities coming out. “Do you get how badly it sucks to be the single guy hanging out with two couples?” It seriously sucked, everyone looked at you like you were the sad single guy. What made it worse that Ruby and Nora always tried to set him up with one of their friends which no offense to Ruby or Nora but their friends really weren’t Dean’s type. “It hardcore sucks so, for the most part, I was on my own.” Sure Dean had other friends, well acquaintances, but for the most part, when Will wasn’t around he did his own thing. “

I’ve gotten used to the summers being like that but it was nice to have someone to hang out with.” When Felix had shown up in town he had approached Dean on his first day because someone told him Dean was on the soccer team and they had just sort of clicked. “Felix and I actually have a lot in common”

“Sorry,” Will muttered, guilt clearly written across his face. “I guess I didn’t think about it like that.”

“Don’t” Dean sighed. Sure, Will should feel a little guilty for up and leaving but it wasn’t like he didn’t have a good reason. “It doesn’t fucking matter, and you were right about Felix.” There was a long stretch of silence where Dean was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to focus on the awkwardness or the way Will was staring at him concerned. He couldn’t deal with all of the things running around in his head with an audience. He pushed off the counter “I’m going to head home.”

“No” Will replied quickly “We should do something like get coffee.”

“Dude I’m hung over” Dean responded, “And I think I made my feelings about being the single guy hanging out with a couple pretty clear.” He shrugged “Not that you guys aren’t great, you’re just really couple-y and I honestly can’t deal with at that right now.” He admitted.

“Dean” Will stated trying to step between Dean and the path to the door.

“Will, I’m fine” he lied and patted his overly concerned cousin on the arm “I’m just going to go back to bed and sleep this whole thing off, then maybe you’ll look up some stuff about Greek Mythology, write some questions down.” He offered the last bit as a distractor. “I’ll call you later.”

He sidestepped Will and headed for the door. Nice didn’t attempt to stop him on Will’s behalf which was appreciated almost as much as the fact that Dean heard Nico stop Will from following him with the hushed declaration “Sometimes people need to handle things on their own.”

Dean was half a mile down the road before he had to pull over just to breath. The world felt upside down and backward and he had no idea how to start unraveling the mess.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading!
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated.
> 
> See ya in a few weeks.


	39. Conversations over Crepes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm BACK!
> 
> It was so strange not to be posting, I don't think I can even explain it but I just felt so disconnected. I didn't get as much writing as I wanted done but I did have a lot of time to think and plan things out more which was good.
> 
> For everyone who was understanding about my short break (which was the vast majority of you) thank you so much!
> 
> Also sorry I am posting a little later in the day. I ended up adding content to the chapter last minutes.
> 
> So this chapter is a bit of a surprise (to me) I didn't really know the story was going this way until it just sort of did so sorry for the lack of warning.
> 
> This chapter contains references to smut.

Annabeth woke slowly, enjoying the fact that she didn’t have to rush out of bed to make an early morning class. She stretched and rolled into the warm body next to her in bed. Percy worked a lot of morning shifts at the café because it was the busiest time so he could make more tips. It was a rarity that Annabeth had company in the morning.

Her sleep-clogged mind didn’t remember that Percy was staying at a hotel for “bro’s weekend” until she found herself breathing in long strains of hair. Annabeth sputtered and spat until her mouth was clear and she wasn’t breathing in hair anymore. The person next to her, definitely not Percy, sighed and shifted their own form closer to Annabeth on the bed.

The warm smell of sunlight and desert flowers penetrated the air from the long locks of chocolate colored strands and caramel skin and helped to jog Annabeth’s memory. It came back slower than Annabeth would have liked, and for that she blamed the champagne. She remember going dress shopping with Piper, Reyna, Hazel, and Calypso. She remember Aphrodite and Eros showing up and bickering like petty children. And she definitely remembered the champagne (there had been so much champagne).

It had been a happy surprise when Aphrodite actually returned them to New Rome because Annabeth had been sure the goddess would get bored and abandon them in New York. Once back in the Roman city they had all gone their separate ways after exchanging goodbyes: Reyna and Hazel went back to the barracks, Calypso went off to her hotel room (because apparently Leo insisted on getting a room which Annabeth thought was rather sweet), and Piper had come back to the apartment since Percy was staying in hotel for the night.

That was who was in bed with her, it was Piper, Annabeth realized. Just as Annabeth came to that realization Piper reached behind herself blindly for a moment and Annabeth could feel her hand pat on the bed until she found Annabeth’s arm and pulled it over her body.

They spooned for a minute and it was comfortable or it would have been except for Piper’s hair in Annabeth’s face. It seemed like every time Annabeth readjusted to stop the tendrils of Piper’s hair from clogging her air passage she only had a second of relief before it was a problem again. “Piper, your hair is trying to smother me,” She informed plainly, her voice slightly raspy from sleep.

“Sorry,” Piper laughed good-naturally. “It does that with Jason too,” She admitted as she reached back with her arm once again. This time she brought her hand to her head and rearranged her hair so it was no longer threatening Annabeth’s life.

Once tendrils of Piper’s hair wasn’t trying to suffocate her Annabeth sighed and settled in. It was comfortable and warm, Annabeth was sure she could have stayed there all day in bed. Time took on a timeless quality; Annabeth was aware of increasing amounts of morning light spilling through her tiny bedroom window but she wasn’t sure how long they remained, Annabeth’s arm slung over Piper’s side and Piper’s back pressed against the front of Annabeth’s body. Piper was the one to break the silence in a soft voice. “Your wedding dress is really pretty,” She stated, her voice was still a bit clouded with sleep.

In spite of herself, Annabeth peeked over Piper’s shoulder at the dress hanging off the door of her closet. It looked so much different on a hanger then she remembered it looking on her body. Even hanging it was still beautiful. The spray of crystals embedded in the lace sparkled in the light from the window. “I can’t believe I brought a wedding dress,” She groaned. It was such a girly thing to do, it wasn’t the behavior of a daughter of Athena (maybe a daughter of Aphrodite but not Athena).

“Well, technically you didn’t buy it,” Piper pointed out rather unhelpfully. “My mom and Eros gave it to you.”

Piper wasn’t wrong, as much as Annabeth didn’t like it. She had said no, she kept saying no but the two deities insisted. At a certain point arguing with gods was pointless and that was just truer when talking about love gods so she had accepted the dress. “Not my point,” Annabeth declared as she brought her head back to rest on her pillow. “Percy and I still can’t agree on a date.”

“You guys will figure it out,” Piper assured running her fingertips over Annabeth’s arm absently. “And now you’ll have one less thing to worry about when you do,” She added on a positive note.

 _Leave it to Piper to look on the bright side of things_ , Annabeth thought. “I guess if you say so,” She agreed, sort of. Annabeth snuggled closer to Piper at the risk of being smothered by Pipers dark locks for comfort.

They were both quiet for another long stretch before Piper once again broke the silence. “Next thing we have to do is pick the bridesmaid dresses.”

At first, all Annabeth really heard was something about dresses and the memory of getting crammed into white dress after white dress came flooding back, it wasn’t the most pleasant memory. Annabeth really would never understand how some women actually enjoyed that experience, but she guessed to each their own. It wasn’t until she considered the idea further before it became more appealing. “That involves you guys trying on dresses while I sit around drinking champagne, right?” She questioned only partially teasing.

Piper let out a soft laugh before replying. “Pretty much,” She admitted her voice filled with amusement.

Annabeth shrugged or the closest think she could manage while laying on her side. “That sounds like it could be fun,” She admitted. Fun might not have been the right word but it certainly sounded like less work for Annabeth.

“Of course,” Piper declared like there really was no other option. She glanced back over her shoulder to meet Annabeth’s gaze and smiled playfully. “You could even help me change if you want.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes as she slid her arm out from underneath Piper’s to snatch the pillow from beneath her own head to hit Piper playfully. “Seriously, you’re almost as bad as Percy!” She declared with a laugh.

Piper laughed as she rolled onto her back and smiled at Annabeth. “Is that so?!?” She shook her head still grinning with amusement. “Well, then Jason is definitely screwed!” She declared. Apparently, Piper found her own statement funny and chuckled as she shrugged her shoulders. “I mean figuratively, although literally is also a possibility.”

They both broke into a fit of hysterical laughter. Both Percy and Jason were so oblivious to their obvious attraction to each other it was comical, not surprising, but comical. With Percy the obliviousness was practically expected, historically speaking he was observant when it comes to other people’s feeling toward other people but completely unaware of other people’s feeling toward himself. He hadn’t realized Annabeth liked him until she kissed him (and from what she knew, it was similar with Rachel and Calypso), he was completely blindsided by Nico, and he didn’t figure out he was bisexual until it was spelled out for him.

Jason, Annabeth suspected, was more in denial than actually oblivious to the sexual tension. Jason was clearly devoted to Piper and tended to have a soldier’s black or white mentality so admitting or even acknowledging his desires outside of that relationship was likely hard for him.

Of course, at Percy’s bachelor party both Jason and Percy had permission to do what they would like. They had probably been drinking and considering where Annabeth knew Percy was dragged everyone the night before she would be surprised if something hadn’t happened between the two sons of the big three. “I wonder how much trouble the boys got into last night,” Annabeth wondered out loud.

“If it got out of hand Nico would have called,” Piper replied simply. That was what Nico had promised after all, but only after Piper and Annabeth had insisted.

Nico may have promised but the son of Hades was well known for having a low tolerance for annoyance, which Percy was pretty good at causing. Nico had already been annoyed with Percy at the beginning of the night for not inviting Will. Needless to say, Annabeth wasn’t entirely convinced Nico was the most reliable informant. “If it got a bit annoying Nico probably shadow-traveled to Tennessee,” She stated like it was fact because she was pretty sure it was. “Grover or Frank would have called.”

“See, then no reason to worry,” Piper stated positively.

Piper really was an optimist. Annabeth wanted to agree but she was too familiar with how much trouble Percy could get himself into without even trying. Jason wasn’t exactly known for staying out of trouble either, and then, of course, there was Leo. She was a little surprised they didn’t return to the city to find it had burned down and in complete chaos as result of those three being let lose. “I wouldn’t go that far,” She replied without any real force behind her words. Sure, the boys could get themselves in their fair share of trouble but they were more than capable of getting themselves out of it and they had each other for help.

“You may be right but it’s too early and the bed is too comfy to worry about it,” Piper declared as she rolled over onto her side and snuggling back against Annabeth. “Besides they’re big boys they can take care of themselves.” Piper sighed echoing Annabeth’s earlier thoughts.

“You realize you and I are 95% of the reason they’re alive?” Annabeth pointed out in a mostly teasing fashion. As much as she teased Percy, he was actually more than capable.

Piper laughed, and much like her voice in general, it had a musical quality. Annabeth doubted she sounded like that when she laughed. “Not Nico,” Piper pointed out.

She made a good point, Nico had survived a lot and most of it on his own. Annabeth hummed thoughtfully for a moment before pointing out the tiny flaw in Piper’s logic. “I thought we already agreed he’s in Tennessee with Will.”

“Oh right,” Piper laughed again. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled back at Annabeth. “Well, if Percy got himself killed or arrested I’ll marry you in his place.”

Annabeth grinned back at her. “My mom would be so happy,” She declared with amusement.

“And Eros,” Piper pointed out with an equal amount of amusement. “Don’t forget Eros,” She stated with a playful firmness.

“Oh, right,” Annabeth just barely managed to get the words out before bursting into a fit of laughter. Piper did the same and they both laughed until they were gasping for air.

Having both Aphrodite and Eros show up the night before had been beyond stressful at first but once Annabeth relaxed a bit (probably thanks to the champagne) they had actually been pretty amusing. Their bickering was very informative if you could take even half of what either of them said at face value. According to Aphrodite, she was responsible for every great couple that ever was. And Eros was the same way, to a certain extent, although Eros was often quick to point out that a same-sex couple would have been better. It really had made for an amusing evening overall.

They fell into a comfortable silence after a while before Piper questioned: “I’m hungry, are you hungry?”

“I could eat,” Annabeth stated which was a bit of an understatement. She hadn’t eaten anything since the bakery the night before and was officially starving but hadn’t thought much about it because the bed was so comfortable. She gave it some thought before adding. “We could go to breakfast.” The little restaurant they had all meet for breakfast the morning before was just down the street from Annabeth and Percy’s apartment and made a delightful breakfast.

Piper shifted and rolled so that she was laying facing Annabeth, their knees barely touching. “Would that involve putting on pants?” She questioned seriously.

“Well, yeah.” Annabeth replied with a bit of a smile “Normally.”

“Then I’m going to come out against that plan and pants in general,” Piper stated. She seemed to give the dilemma some thought before her face lit up with excitement. “I could make something!”

“Pipes,” Annabeth spoke with uncertainty. It had nothing to do with Piper’s cooking ability. Annabeth had been on the phone with Piper enough times while she was bored to know how frequently Piper cooked.

As Piper explained it, she may have been reluctant to accept the fancy things her father tried to give her growing up but it was kind of hard not to notice what the fancy chefs were doing while she made her peanut butter and jelly. “I’m not much of a cook so we don’t have much.”

“Its breakfast,” Piper assured pushing up and throwing her legs over the side of the bed. “Breakfast doesn’t take much.” She hopped off the bed and pulled down the hem of the tank top she had borrowed to sleep in the night before that had ridden up a bit during the night. She smiled down at Annabeth who was still laying on the bed in a tangle of blankets. “Come on,” She gestured. “Maybe I can teach you a thing or two.”

“Alright,” Annabeth groaned pushing herself up on the bed slowly. “But be warned the kitchen is a bit of a mess.”

Piper smiled “How big of a mess could it be if you don’t cook?” She questioned sincerely before turning on her heels and walking out of the room. Annabeth thought about calling after her to explain just how wrong Piper was but thought better of it. Piper would see for herself in a minute.

Annabeth threw off the blankets and was surprised that the air didn’t feel colder on her now exposed legs. It was a reminder that winters in California were very different from New York. Even with camp’s mild weather, it could get pretty cold, but New Rome was more like winters in Virginia she remembered when she was young.

She threw her legs over the side of the bed and hopped to her feet. She didn’t bother getting dressed, Percy’s old t-shirt was fine for walking around her own apartment in. She paddled out of the bedroom only moments after Piper.

She walked out into the living room to find Piper standing in the doorway to the kitchen with a look of complete shock. Annabeth couldn’t say that was a surprised she knew what Piper was seeing, that didn’t stop her from walking over and peeking over Piper’s shoulder. The kitchen had become more like Annabeth’s office, especially since she took on designing the Roman baths for Camp Half-Blood. Almost every single inch of flat service was covered with her books, papers, and sketches.

“Oh,” Piper declared.

“Like I said I don’t cook much,” Annabeth defended, sort of, as she stared at the state the kitchen. Knowing Piper was seeing the scene for the first time had Annabeth seeing it with new eyes and it may have been overboard.

“I can see that,” Piper said flatly as her eyes seemed to slowly scan the room in front of them.

“Our apartment isn’t that big,” Annabeth reasoned. Their apartment was pretty much the opposite of big. In reality, it wasn’t much bigger than the dorms at the university and it didn’t benefit from being free either. Unfortunately, the dorms at the University of New Rome were not co-ed so Annabeth and Percy had ended renting their laughably tiny apartment because it was all they could afford. With her and Percy in college, study space was a rare commodity that just couldn’t be wasted. “I don’t want to waste a room.”

“Well, that’s practical,” Piper admitted with a nod. She gave another careful look around the room before gesturing to the scene. “We’ll have to move some of this stuff if I’m going to cook,” She informed.

“Right, yeah,” Annabeth agreed nervously. She looked around the kitchen once again but this time it didn’t look like a mess, it looked like a perfectly organized display of her life and work. “Just…. there is an order to things,” She explained carefully.

Piper glanced over her shoulder at Annabeth and smiled. “I’ll follow your instructions then,” She promised more than offered.

That eased Annabeth’s stress immensely as they walked into the small kitchen. Piper really did wait for Annabeth’s direction, only touching something when Annabeth suggested it and always marking the open page of books before closing them. They cleared the counters first which probably took more time than Piper had expected because there were several layers in most places.

They moved everything carefully to the living room, taking over the couch and coffee table. Piper was cautious and attentive, she only moved things when Annabeth said so and she only placed them where directed. Once the counters were clear they moved to the rickety old table in the kitchen. Under a layer of old architecture books and spiral bond notebooks were Annabeth’s most recent design sketches. Piper stopped in her attempts to clean and stared at the largest sketch once it was fully revealed. Annabeth stopped too to watch Piper stare at her design nervously. No matter how proud she was of a particular design Annabeth always felt a bit of anxiety when she saw someone look at them. It seemed like forever before Piper looked up from the sketches. “Annabeth, are these the plans for camp?” She asked with a sense of awe clear in her voice.

“Yeah, they’re the newest and hopefully the last,” Annabeth agreed plainly. She looked down at the sketch she had finished only days earlier for the Roman Baths to be built at Camp Half-Blood. Unlike Piper she didn’t get a sense of awe looking down at them, instead, she felt concern. “They should be the last unless Leo doesn’t demand any more changes,” She stated. The sketches on the table were her sixth modification to her original plans and she was starting to feel that working on the remodel of Mount Olympus had been easier.

“They’re amazing,” Piper declared looking down at the sketch again like it was a genuine piece of art.

“They’re alright,” Annabeth disagreed. “My original plans were better but Chiron said they were impractical and Leo said they were impossible,” She explained. The plans laid out on the table were still lovely but Annabeth felt an attachment to her original plans and was finding it difficult to let them go. That was probably why she and Leo had gone back and forth so many times, she kept making the least amount of changes she could whenever he pointed out an issue. She wanted to keep the final product as close to her original plan as possible and Leo seemed like he wanted to throw out her original plan completely and start fresh.

“Annabeth, these are stunning,” Piper insisted looking up to meet Annabeth’s eyes with a serious expression.

“They’re not as grand as the baths here in New Rome,” Annabeth pointed out begrudgingly. The Romans had a tendency to overindulge so it seemed wrong that the homage build at Camp Half-Blood wouldn’t have the same level of decadence.

Piper looked back down at the plans on the table for a moment before looking back up at Annabeth her eyebrows furrowed together questioningly. “Do they need to be?”

“Not really,” Annabeth admitted somewhat reluctantly with a bit of a shrug. “The baths in New Roman serve the whole city. There are private bath chambers for important dignitaries and ambassadors,” She explained. It was a rather oversimplification but it was a start. “Camp Half-Blood doesn’t need all that.”

“No,” Piper agreed with a knowing grin “not unless you want the teen pregnancy rate to skyrocket.”

Annabeth couldn’t help but smile, she had never actually thought about that but Piper made a very good point. Camp Half-Blood was essentially a camp full of impulsive pre-teens and teens whose only source of supervision came from a centaur whose policies on most things were more hands-off in nature and the god of Wine and Parties. The only reason pregnancies weren’t rampant was the Apollo cabin handing out condoms like they were candy on Halloween. “Definitely can’t have that.” She agreed as she began to roll up the sketches to reveal the table underneath. “Will has been pretty clear about not wanting to deliver any more babies ever.” It was actually kind of funny, Will Solace, who could talk about reattaching limbs in graphic detail over a meal like it was nothing still cringed whenever anyone brought up how he had handled Chuck’s delivery.

“I’m sure he’ll change his mind when he and Nico go to have kids,” Piper stated matter-of-factly as she too began removing the sketches from the table with extra care.

Annabeth snickered at that. As weird as it seemed out of all of their friends she just imagined Nico and Will having kids before any of the others. However, they decided to do it (surrogacy or adoption) she imagined them being pretty good at it too. “That’s a given,” She agreed as she started for the door of the kitchen with a bundle of designs in her arms.

After depositing the last of Annabeth’s sketches on the top of the pile of things on the couch they went back into the kitchen, which actually looked like a kitchen for the first time in a long time. Piper went straight for the refrigerator. “Let’s see what we’ve got to work with,” She declared as she examined the contents of the refrigerator. Annabeth was trying to remember the last time she and Percy had gone grocery shopping and just couldn’t. That in and of itself gave her a pretty good idea of what Piper was seeing. “Wow, you have next to nothing,” Piper declared confirming what Annabeth had already suspected. After a few seconds of examining the contents more closely, Piper added in a more positive tone. “Oh, blackberries!”

“I told you I don’t cook,” Annabeth offered in her own defense. They weren’t one of those couples that lived off take out they just tended to buy things that didn’t require a whole lot of preparation. Things that could be eaten raw were a big favorite of Annabeth’s so they had lots of fruits and veggies.

Piper removed the container of blackberries from the refrigerator and placed them on the counter before closing the door. She started opening cabinets as she spoke: “It’s fine, we’ll make do with what you have,” She insisted as she finally found the pantry. Piper took a moment to examine the contents before she spoke again. “I think we have all the stuff to make crepes.” She stated as she started to pull items off the shelves and placing them on the counter. “I could probably even use the blackberries to make a sauce.”

“That sounds far too sophisticated for it to be readily made from things found in my kitchen,” Annabeth replied doubtfully.

“It’s not nearly as fancy as it sounds,” Piper assured. She took one last look at the items she had placed on the counter like she was checking to make sure she had everything she needed. “Come on, I’ll show you,” She offered enthusiastically.

Piper was a confident cook, she did everything with certainty that Annabeth never had in the kitchen, at least not while cooking. It was actually cute because she really was trying to teach Annabeth as she went. She would pause and try to explain what she was doing. For Annabeth, it was like watching a cooking show, except Piper was using words she actually understood.

After demonstrating a few times Piper put Annabeth in charge of watching and flipping the crepes as she focused on the sauce. Similar to the battlefield Annabeth and Piper worked well together in the kitchen and time passed quickly (Annabeth only burned two crepes).

Annabeth was finishing the last of the crepes when the sound of Piper practically moaning with pleasure. She turned to see Piper tasting the blackberry sauce she had been working on. “Wow, that’s so good!” She informed staring at the contents of the sauce pot with amazement. She turned to Annabeth with excitement. “Annabeth, you have to try it!” She declared holding out the spoon for Annabeth to try.

Annabeth leaned in to accept but to spoon tipped or Annabeth bumped it, either way, several drops of blackberry sauce dripped down onto Annabeth’s exposed collarbone. “Aw! That’s warm,” She complained in a bit of a hiss. Warm was a bit of an understatement, the sauce was almost to the point of burning.

“Oh gods!” Piper exclaimed with both concern and a nervous laugh. She discarded the spoon thoughtlessly into the sink before approaching Annabeth. “Sorry,” she apologized as she leaned in and used her fingers to scoop the sauce off Annabeth’s exposed skin. Piper took a second and examined the sauce on her finger before she met Annabeth’s eyes with a grin. “Still want to try?” She questioned as she held out her finger still dripping with sauce.

Their eyes meant for a moment in a silent challenge, well it wasn’t quite a challenge but it was something. Annabeth weighed her options carefully and quickly before coming to a decision. Silently, she leaned and pulled Piper’s finger into her mouth and licked the (extremely tasty) sauce off the daughter of Aphrodite’s digit.

Annabeth was ashamed of herself more than a little, the cooking activities and their general chitchat was in no way loud enough to mask the sound of the apartment door opening or people walking in but, apparently, it had. She wasn’t aware that anyone was there until Percy started talking from the doorway of the kitchen. “I have no idea what I just walked in on,” Her finance stated with a ridiculous grin on his face, “but for the record, I’m cool with it.”

Jason raised his hand even though he was clearly visible standing behind Percy and staring over his shoulder. “I second that,” he offered with a grin with a grin of his own.

Annabeth could feel herself blush as she took a step back from Piper. One glance at her friend Annabeth saw Piper had reacted in much the same way. “I didn’t hear you come in,” Annabeth muttered rather weakly. She realized it sounded completely idiotic outside of just being plan obvious but she couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Bit distracted?” Percy questioned with a teasing grin (and tone). Annabeth was going to have smacked him for that later.

“We’re making breakfast.” Piper pointed out as she leaned over to shut off the burner the sauce was sitting on top of. Annabeth figured she was making sure the sauce didn’t burn which was smart because Piper had been right, the sauce was delicious.

“Looked like something different,” Jason pointed out his eyes darting between Piper and Annabeth and back again.

Annabeth placed a hand on the counter and leaned against it as casually as she could manage. “Just a taste test,” She stated with a shrug. She hoped her act was at least a little convincing.

“Right,” Percy hummed with clear skepticism. He gestured between Annabeth and Piper and he was still grinning like he had just won something. “Sorta looked like that.”

“Piper made crepes,” Annabeth pointed toward the stack of thin crepes sitting on a plate near the stove as evidence. She pointed at the simmering pot of blackberry sauce before adding, “and a really delicious blackberry sauce.”

“You helped,” Piper stated insistently and rather flatteringly.

“I watched,” Annabeth corrected dismissively to Piper. Piper had done almost all the work and truly deserved all the credit. She turned back to the boys who were both standing in the doorway grinning at them. Honestly, from Percy, that sort of thing was expected from Jason Annabeth was a little disappointed. “Either of you want any?” She questioned casually. This time she felt a bit more confident. After all, why shouldn’t she be casual? It wasn’t like the boys actually walked in on anything.

Jason looked conflicted for a second, which again Annabeth was a little surprised by although maybe she shouldn’t have been. Annabeth knew the stereotype that guys were the ones that talked to each other about sex, and it was a stereotype she never really understood. Sure, she knew the boys talked about sex but she doubted they did to the extent that girls did. From what she knew boys talked in vaguities but girls talked in explicit details (although from what she knew of Will he may have been the exception). Piper had happily told Annabeth enough about how Jason could be in private for her to know that Jason wasn’t as straight-laced as he seemed in public. Whatever was running through the son of Jupiter’s was resolved quickly and he pointed toward the direction of the bedroom. “We just came so Percy could grab some clothes.” He informed sounding a little disappointed.

Percy ignored Jason and shrugged. “I could eat,” He admitted.

Annabeth couldn’t help but laugh at that because it was just so Percy (and after all that’s why she loved him). “You could always eat,” Annabeth reminded teasingly.

“Our kitchen is actually being used for cooking,” Percy declared gesturing around the room as that was a sign of some kind. “I feel I should take advantage.”

 

Piper-

They sat around Annabeth and Percy’s tiny kitchen table eating crepes (that really had turned out shockingly delicious). After Percy and Jason had arrived they had both excused themselves back to Annabeth’s bedroom (separately) to put on pants. It had suddenly felt awkward to walk around in nothing but tank tops (or t-shirts) and panties (Well, Piper didn’t know if it was awkward for Annabeth but she certainly wasn’t comfortable walking around in such a state of undress in front of Percy).

The boys’ arrival was a bit of an unexpected turn for the morning and not the one Piper had been hoping for (and working for- she had been laying the groundwork since the night before). But Piper was forever an optimism (or at least she tried she to be) so she tried to spin it as a good thing. Based on the boys’ reaction it wouldn’t be difficult to spin a positive. This was an opportunity for the four of them to discuss this whole thing right now and get it over with, set ground rules.

Percy was eating with enthusiasm while Jason picked at the contents of his plate. Piper watched the two boys as they ate with interest, and a quick glance at Annabeth told her the daughter of Athena was doing the same. She was trying to figure them out, read their tells so to speak, to see if something had happened between the two of them.

Piper, as a child of Aphrodite, was good at reading people and she knew Jason and Percy both well. Still, she just couldn’t figure it out for sure. Percy did seem cheerful, but that could have been the food, and Jason was being quiet but he was often quiet in the mornings especially when he was tired (which after a night of partying he was probably tired). She was halfway through her crepes when she decided she just couldn’t take it anymore. “So anything interesting happens last night?” She questioned her eyes shifting between Percy and Jason with interest.

The questioned definitely struck a nerve. Jason’s blushed crimson as he downcast his eyes and Percy looked up from his plate with a wide grin. “It was a fun night,” the son of Poseidon replied happily.

Something had obviously happened, Percy and Jason’s reactions made that abundantly clear. Piper wondered if she could figure out how much had happened by carefully reading their body language. Before she could even try Annabeth took a different approach. “So did you guys do it?” She questioned plainly.

Jason almost choked on a mouthful of crepes, the sight of which pretty amusing. Piper dabbed at her mouth to hide her own grin. After a solid minute of choking and sputtering, Jason managed to talk, barely. “Oh, my gods!” He declared. He looked up at Annabeth wide-eyed with shock.

Percy continued to work on his crepes completely unfazed but the question. He paused with his fork halfway to his mouth and shrugged. “We didn’t do it,” He replied simply.

Jason rolled his eyes and shot Percy an annoyed look. “That’s a matter of opinion,” He grumbled.

Percy looked dismissive but said nothing. He didn’t have to, Piper was pretty sure she knew what was going on. Piper turned and smiled at Percy with a bit of amusement. “Jason has some old fashioned ideas, doesn’t he?” She mused. It was funny and kind of unexpected considering some of the stories Piper had read about Ancient Rome but it was true. Jason’s definition of sex involved pretty much anything that was done without pants (and if someone got off it was definitely sex in his mind). Piper realized that she should have been more specific when she told her boyfriend he could go and hook up with a guy. She had meant sex in the more restrictive (penetrative) sense and anything less than that she thought of more as foreplay and didn’t constitute his one time, at least in her mind.

“Little bit,” Percy agreed. He finally took the bite of crepe he had been holding on his fork for a while and chewed thoughtfully. Piper noticed how Percy looked between Annabeth and herself as if he was carefully considering them. He swallowed and gestured using his fork to do so between Annabeth and Piper. “So did you two do anything?” He questioned seriously.

“Percy!” Annabeth exclaimed shooting in her finance a disapproving look.

“What?” Percy questioned defensively. He threw up his hands and looked at Annabeth with genuine confusion. “I said I’d be cool with it,” He declared. Piper remembered how Annabeth had told her Percy’s first reaction to getting permission to hook up with a guy was to ask Annabeth if she wanted to hook up with a girl. Percy waved off the statement like it was nothing. “Especially Piper, go for it.”

“Thank you, Percy,” Piper stated sincerely.

They fell into silence and it wasn’t exactly awkward but everyone around the table was clearly thinking. She noticed how Jason was looking between Annabeth and herself with a thoughtful expression. She knew the look, it was the same look Jason wore when he was trying to figure out an especially complicated problem like how to meet some gods’ ridiculous demands for his temple or shrine or a quadratic equation. If Piper would have had to guess she would have figured it would have been Percy to break the silence (being that he had no filter and all) but it was Jason, much to her surprise. “I would be fine with it if it was Annabeth,” Jason stated seriously.

“That’s an interesting idea,” Piper hummed sincerely. The way Jason had worded the statement had her thinking.

Annabeth corked an eyebrow at her inquisitively and questioned: “Us having sex?”

“That too,” Piper replied thoughtfully. That bit was a given in her book, she was referring to the situation as a whole. She couldn’t help but smiled sweetly, if somewhat teasingly, at Annabeth. “And if I didn’t make it clear last night I’m all for it if you’re interested.”

 Percy perked up and looked between Piper and Annabeth with interest again. “What happened last night?” He questioned excitedly.

“I saw your finance mostly naked,” Piper answered simply with a small shrug like it really wasn’t a big deal because it really wasn’t. They were girls and friends and that was pretty normal, she had seen Calypso, Reyna, and Hazel almost naked too.

“Nice,” Percy exclaimed with approval.

“I thought so,” Piper admitted with a smile, Annabeth certainly was nice to look at.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and shook her head dismissively. “You are both ridiculous.” She stated with no real heat in her words.

Piper smiled at that but went back to her original topic. “What I was referring to is-” She began to explain. “-when we came up with this whole ‘go out and have a gay experience’ deal we both knew you two would end up hooking up.”

“Could have clued us in on that,” Jason grumbled under his breath.

“Oh sweetie the signs were all there,” Piper replied patting Jason’s hand sympathetically. “If you didn’t see it I can’t help that you’re blind.”

“It’s like Percy and his sexuality all over again,” Annabeth commented with a disappointed shake of her head.

“How was I supposed to know!?!” Percy questioned with force.

“Everyone knew” Annabeth retorted firmly.

Piper took a moment to look down at her plate and compose herself before swallowing the laughter that was threatening to escape her. Percy had been so oblivious to being bisexual while being completely obvious about it which was amusing and a bit impressive. Piper didn’t think any straight guy would be so quick to notice that other males were physically attractive and point it out as Percy was. “Seriously everyone,” Piper commented under her breath before quickly adding a more conversational tone. “ _But_ that was a big part of what made me comfortable because it was Percy.” Annabeth hummed in agreement and Piper just shrugged. “And honestly I don’t care if you two wanted to do it again or do more,” She admitted. That was probably shocking, or maybe it just should have been shocking but it really didn’t bother her. Sure, she wouldn’t be okay with Jason going out and hooking up with random guys and she definitely wouldn’t have been okay with him hooking you with other girls but this was Percy. Piper just couldn’t find it in her to feel jealous of Percy. Jason and Percy were already such close friends they practically acted like they were dating already so if they started fooling around it really didn’t change her world much. Also, she just knew that whatever happened between Jason and Percy the relationship between them was fundamentally different from her relationship with Jason. “Have at it in my opinion.”

There was silence after that declaration; Jason looked shocked, Annabeth looked thoughtful, and Percy was watching Annabeth waiting for her reaction. It made sense that the daughter of Athena was the one to break the silence. “Oh, that is interesting,” Annabeth stated with interest like she had just realized something she should have already known. “I feel the same way,” She stated.

Percy grinned widely at Annabeth’s declaration. “Awesome!” He exclaimed.

“Really?” Jason questioned. His features were painted with uncertainty, or at least it was for the casual observer but Piper knew her boyfriend better than that. Under the uncertainty, she could see the hidden excitement in his eyes. “But wouldn’t that be cheating?”

Piper shook her head before answering thoughtfully. “I don’t think so.” It was a truthful answer at least in her opinion, she knew not everyone would see it that way but that was their problem. The way Piper figured is if she was okay with it and Jason, Percy, and Annabeth were as well it was no one else’s business.

“I’m assuming in this deal you’re proposing,” Annabeth began sounding very much like the strategist she was. She gestured in between herself and Piper as she continued. “We would be given the same privileges?”

“With each other?” Piper questioned for clarity although she thought that was clear. Piper wasn’t thinking of something completely open, Annabeth and Jason would not have permission to fool around (Gods, that was a weird thing to even think! And with the similar complexion and the hair they would look like brother and sister going at it- Gross). And Piper had no interest in doing anything with Percy- he was a great guy and all but no absolutely not, Piper had absolutely zero interest. “Well, that is only fair.”

“I would totally agree to that,” Percy offered with extra enthusiasm.

“Sorry,” Jason held up his hands in defense or maybe just to get their attention “I’m having a hard time wrapping my around this,” He admitted. Piper wasn’t all that surprised Jason had a tendency to see things in black and white and this was definitely a gray situation. Piper had always figured it had something to do with growing up in the military. “You’re suggesting….what?” He questioned, “Be in an open relationship?”

“I don’t think this deal counts as an open relationship,” Annabeth stated thoughtfully. “More like polyamorous.”

Historically speaking, Jason didn’t do well with accepting things about himself which fell out of what he considered normal (choosing to be Greek, and admitting he was bisexual were just the most prominent examples). “Do we have to label it?” Piper questioned. After all, if it worked for them then it shouldn’t matter what they called it.

“I’m with Piper, let’s just enjoy it not worry about what to call it.” Percy agreed quickly and with certainty. The son of Poseidon glanced at Jason and his certainty seemed to waver. “If you’re cool with that,” He stated directed the question toward Jason.

“Um….I….I want,” Jason stammered for a moment looking between the other three questioningly for a long moment. Piper wasn’t really sure what Jason would say next until he sighed and slumped, the tension visibly dissipated from his shoulders. “Yeah, I’m cool with it….. obviously..”

Piper wasn’t sure about that last bit but before she could comment Percy grinned at Jason and questioned teasingly “Obviously?”

“Dude, shut up,” Jason groaned back before turning to Annabeth and questioning “Is he always so impossible?”

“Pretty much” Annabeth admitted with a casual shrug. “Happy to have someone to share that with now.” She smiled. “I should also warn you his survival instincts are sometimes questionable.”

“Already aware,” Jason replied with a smile as he pushed his plate of long forgotten crepes away.

“Alright, first of all,” Percy declared “I don’t think things constantly trying to kill me should be held against me.” He stabbed the last bit of crepe on his plate with force as if to emphasise his point “And second of all,” He brought the crepe to his mouth, chewed quickly, and swallowed hard before continuing “you two can’t team up against me, it isn’t fair,” he gestured between Annabeth and Jason with his fork.

Annabeth stood up and collected Jason’s plate before picking up her own and walking toward the sink. “We aren’t holding monsters trying to kill you against.” Annabeth insisted.

“We are holding your tendency to run toward things trying to kill you without a plan instead of running away, or getting backup, or coming up with a plan to increase your chances of survival,” Jason explained.

“I have backup, what do you think you two are?” Percy retorted “And Nico if he is around and not otherwise distracted.” Percy huffed as the two blonds gave him teasingly sympathetic looks. “There needs to be a rule against you two teaming up against me.”

Annabeth discarded the last of the dirty dishes in the sink before turning to face them as she leaned on the counter “We should probably sit down and work out rules for this arrangement,” She informed thoughtfully. Piper nodded in agreement, whatever they called this could get complicated and they would probably be able to avoid a bunch of problems by sitting down and making sure everyone was on the same page. “But we can do that later,” She declared pushing off the counter and walking toward the door of the kitchen “Piper and I did the cooking so you boys have the dishes.”

Piper grinned and got out of her chair to follow Annabeth to the living room. “You two have fun with that,” She declared gesturing toward the overflowing sink before slipping out of the room.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so I promise I am going to handle the whole Percy, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper situation tastefully. Also, this is largely something that will be going on in the background.
> 
> For those of you who are interested (worried or curious) about my poor baby Dean I promise he will be back in the next couple chapters.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated.


	40. Phone Calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday All,
> 
> So this chapter jumps a bit from POV to POV but I tried to lay it out in a way that is clear.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Percy

Annabeth had left for her night class and planned to go to the university library afterward to do a little research. Before leaving she had ‘suggested’ that Percy use his night off from work to get ahead on his homework because she wasn’t helping if he waited to last minute and gets himself into a panic. Once he was sure Annabeth had left and wouldn’t be coming back he grabbed a leftover pizza from the refrigerator and dropped himself on their ancient, hand-me-down couch.

Percy wasn’t avoiding his homework or anything, it would get done. And it wasn’t like he had anything due that week anyway. Contently he ate the cold pizza down the crust before receiving his cell phone and dialing the familiar number.

It rang so many times Percy was about to hang up when Jason finally answered sounding completely winded. “Hello?” He answered the phone with more of a question than a greeting through gulps of air.

“Were you running?” Percy questioned.

“Yeah” Jason replied like that was obvious and rather a stupid question.

“Why?” Percy questioned a bit confused. He knew there were reasons Jason could be running, he had heard that there had been more activity on the monster front lately but figured Jason would have said there was a monster attack.

“I’m on the track team” Jason replied with a tone that was very similar to Annabeth’s ‘ _I’ve told you this a million times_ ’ voice. Okay, so Percy might have forgotten about that but was he really expected to remember all the things his friends had involved them in since retiring from the saving the world business?

“That doesn’t sound like fun” Percy admitted after some thought. He had never really gotten into a lot of sports when he was in high school but that may have had more to do with never going to the same school two years in a row. The only team sport he ever participated in was his senior year when he joined the swim team (and no being the son of Poseidon was not cheating, thank you very much, Nico). He figured swimming was far more fun than running for no reason than to run. “You should have done swim.” Percy offered.

“Are you forgetting fourth of July?” Jason questioned sounding like he had mostly caught his breath. “I’m a pretty weak swimmer.”

Percy grinned, he had forgotten about that but in all fairness, a lot of interesting things had happened on the fourth. Calling Jason a weak swimmer was actually overselling his abilities. “I could teach you.” He offered with sincerity to spite it coming out as a bit of a snicker. He and Jason may have been a friend but that competitive children of the big three thing was still that and he couldn’t help but get a certain sense of satisfaction from being good at something Jason sucked at (even if his dad gave him an edge).

“Not happening” Jason replied dismissively. Percy didn’t take offense he wouldn’t want Jason giving him flying lessons. “What’s up Perce?”

Percy shrugged casually, a gesture he realized only after he did it that Jason wouldn’t be able to see it. So much for even attempting to be smooth. “Just sticking my toe in the water.” He offered “Seeing where you’re at after the talk with the girls.”

Talk about unexpected revelations, Percy would have never seen Annabeth and Piper suggesting they… well, whatever they were doing (they weren’t labeling it which was fine by Percy). Percy still wasn’t sure if it was actually happening. Jason had said he was on board but Percy had seen the guy in a battle with a primordial god and to be honest he had seemed less freaked out about that. Percy would be fine either way (sure he was hoping for it to go one way but he would be fine either way) but the not knowing was driving him a little crazy.

“You’re checking up on me,” Jason stated not sounding particularly happy about that idea.

Percy sighed, there was really no point of denying it but he didn’t see how admitting it would help him either so naturally he went with the only remaining option. “Maybe” He stated not entirely convincingly.

There was a long stretch of silence before Jason replied: “I’m not your girlfriend.” Unlike the night at the bar where Jason’s inner turmoil was evident in the statement, this time it just sounded like the only thing he could think to say in response.

Percy wasn’t sure if that made it a step forward or a step back but it was something. Percy laughed over any uncertainty he had, Jason was having doubts or was feeling conflicted or something it wouldn’t help if Percy seemed uncertain too. His whole plan for dealing with this confusing situation was acting like he was confident- he totally had practice in faking confidence. “Dude, Annabeth would kick my ass if I checked up on her.”

“How am I different?” Jason questioned seriously.

He had a point, Percy couldn’t deny that. “I don’t know” he admitted with a shrug again realizing too late that Jason couldn’t see the gesture. “I’m still figuring this whole thing out and normally I would talk to you or Nico about this sort of stuff.” Grover may have been his oldest friend and, for some things, he was great to talk to but not this. And as much as he loved Leo the guy would make a joke (good-natured) which normally Percy would appreciate but not on this. “Talking to you is not an option for obvious reasons.” It was kind of hard to talk to Jason about what the best way to handle this situation when he was part of the situation “and Nico’s still moody.” Percy totally wasn’t pouting about that, and if it sounded like he was well that was just a mistake.

Jason laughed a genuine laugh of amusement. “Nico’s always moody.” He retorted.

Percy rolled his eyes “You know what I mean.” Nico had returned to New Rome while Percy and Jason had been back at Percy’s apartment. When Percy and Jason had rejoined the rest of the group Nico had seemed in a great mood with everyone but downright annoyed with Percy. And yeah, Nico had a tendency for mood swings but this was above and beyond what was typical for him.

“You should have invited Will,” Jason informed for what had to be the one-hundredth time.

“Yeah, I know.” To be honest it was what everyone said (except for maybe Nico) when Percy mentioned Nico’s mood problem and he was getting a little sick of hearing it. “I swear that is going to be written on my tombstone.”

“Hey isn’t holding grudges like the children of Hades’ fatal flaw?” Jason questioned, “What did you expect?”

“He ended up in Will’s bed” Percy reminded. The fact that Nico just up and took off in the middle of his bachelor party had annoyed him for maybe the first two minute but he had gotten over it. Sure it bothered him that Nico was still mad at him but he realized not inviting Will had been a dick move. It wasn’t even that he didn’t like Will, he did it just could be so hard being around Will and Nico when they were together. The seemed to forget other people existed. “So there is no grudge to be had.”

“Clearly Nico feels differently,” Jason offered plainly before adding. “If it makes you feel any better I’m pretty sure Will could care less.”

“Good to know he won’t be plotting to kill me,” Percy said without any real heat. Percy really understood it, if Annabeth had had a massive crush on some guy for years and they were still friends Percy probably would have plotted the guy death once or twice too. “Now I just need him to put in a good word with his boyfriend.”

“Nico will get over it when he’s ready I don’t think you can rush that,” Jason replied.

Percy groaned and shook his head dismissively. “That kid really is stubborn.”

“Yeah,” Jason laughed “if you are trying to make Nico not mad at you I wouldn’t let him hear you call him a kid either.”

Jason was right on that one. “Good point” He admitted. Nico never appreciated a reminder that he was one of the youngest in their group of friends.

There was a stretch of silence but at least this time it felt natural. Percy slouched down further on the couch as he tried to think of something to say and came up to nothing. Jason was the one to finally break the silence. “So were you just calling to check up on me or was there something else?” He questioned.

“Actually, yeah,” Percy admitted. He had forgotten that he had a purpose to the call beyond just making sure Jason was still okay with everything. The conversation had just taken an awkward turn earlier than expected and when they had finally got back on track Percy didn’t really want to throw the whole thing off the rails again. “Annabeth and I have a long weekend off from school coming up.” He informed. That was the nice thing about going to school in New Rome, they got time off for just about everything (because every god should get honored with their own holiday). “I think Annabeth and Piper are planning to go to a ballet or play or something.”

“You want to go?” Jason questioned doubtfully “Make it a double date?”

“Dude, they are going to a play” Percy pointed out a bit disappointed that Jason would even ask. “No, I don’t want to go.” Seriously, did Jason actually think he wanted to go to the ballet? “I thought we could hang out.”

The long stretch of silence on the other end of the line was practically deafening before Jason hummed uncertainty on the other end of the line. “Um…”

“Wow” Percy exclaimed, “I can actually _feel_ you freaking out.” The tone of Jason’s voice wasn’t really all that subtle. The tension in the son of Jupiter’s voice Percy would have thought he had just suggested they try bondage. “Nothing has to happen I just want a reason to not work a double shift at the café.” He really didn’t want to work any shifts at the café but a double shift was like visiting the fields of punishment for twelve hours.

“I don’t know I might have a track meet and I definitely have homework” Jason offered clearly as an excuse. Yeah, Jason was still clearly on the fence about this whole thing which meant Percy would be stuck in limbo land for the foreseeable future- it was like the early years with Annabeth all over again. There was a stretch of silence where Percy wasn’t sure if he should say anything or just wait for Jason to continue. Ultimately Percy waited even though it felt awkward and Jason was the one to break the silence. “How do you not have homework?” Jason questioned doubtfully sounding a lot like Annabeth on the subject of Percy’s homework (maybe Percy had a type too).

“I’ll get it done” Percy replied dismissively before adding with a hint of desperation “Dude don’t make me work a double shift it would suck so bad.”

Again there was another long stretch of silence before Jason replied sounding a bit uncertain but also resigned. “I guess I could,” He stated.

Percy grinned to himself at the small victory. “Awesome!”

 

Jason

            When Jason got home from practice Piper was immersed in homework grumbling about independent and dependent variables and repeating the phrase correlation does not equal causation. He left her to her work and went off to take a quick shower, his mind still trying to work through his conversation with Percy from earlier. Piper was still focused on homework when he got out and Jason knew he could just keep replaying the conversation in his mind so he decided to make a phone call.

He was a bit surprised when his call was answered on the second ring. “Hello?” Will greeted uncertainly. His voice sounding heavy like he had just gotten back from a battle.

“Percy wants to hang out” Jason blurted out in place of a greeting. “Like without the girls,” He added for clarification before questioning “Is that weird?”

In spite of what it sounded like, and what everyone seemed to think Jason was actually okay with the arrangement the girls had proposed. If he was being really honest with himself, he was probably more than just okay with it (the word excited would probably be an appropriate description of his feelings). The thing that had him on edge was being completely unsure how to handle the situation as a whole. There wasn’t really any examples of polyamory in the media (and yeah that was the appropriate term, Jason had looked it up. Technically Jason thought it fell under the heading of polyfidelity but that wasn’t the point) and no one seemed to be handing out a do’s and don’ts guide to polyamory either.

Jason had grown up in the Roman Legion, he was used to rules and strict codes of conduct, but with this everything seem lost in a murky shade of gray. He felt like he was running around a battlefield without a plan just swinging his sword around, and shockingly it was working out for him- So he felt like Percy looked in a fight and it was not only exhausting but panic-inducing.

There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the line, snapping Jason out of his own thoughts. “Hey Jason, I’m good thanks for asking.” Will offered with a dry sarcasm that would have made his boyfriend proud. “I’m kind of whipped out from practice and I have a bunch of homework but I’m good,” Will continued with the unsolicited pleasantries. “How are you?”

For being the camp “nice guy” Will could be just as sassy as Nico or Percy when he wanted to be. Jason took a breath and reminded himself to slow down a half a tick. “You’re right, that was rude.” He admitted, “Is that weird?”

“I think this whole thing is weird.” Will replied flatly.

“I know” Will had made that pretty clear the first time Jason had called him to talk about it. At first, he had found it to be a weird reaction coming from a child of Apollo. It wasn’t until Piper had suggested that being a child of Apollo might have been a big part of the reason Will had such a reaction. Jason had struggled with the weight of being the son of Jupiter so he guessed it was fair that other demigod to have similar issues. And Apollo certainly had a reputation. Still, he had to give Will credit he didn’t sound judgment or disapproving. “But does it sound like a date?” Jason questioned curiously. It was hanging out with Percy, it shouldn’t feel different than it ever had in the past but he swore it did and he just needed a third party opinion. “I feel like it sounds like a date.”

“I have no idea,” Will replied sounding sincere. “Do you want it to be a date?” he questioned. Gods Jason had even thought about it that way and he wasn’t sure he wanted he sat there is stunned silence.

On the other end of the line, Jason heard a noise, like someone talking in the background and Will huffed with clear annoyance before he started to talk. His voice sounding distant like he was holding the phone away from his mouth. “No, it’s not Nico, don’t worry about it,” The son of Apollo stated and it was clear he was definitely not talking to Jason. There was more noise on the other end before Will let out another annoyed burst of air. “No,” He stated firmly. The indistinct talking sounds seemed to be more insistent this time before Will replied sounding less certain “Well yeah it is but….” The talking noises interrupted for a minute before Will retorted sounding surer this time. “No, absolutely not.” The talking resumed and Jason had to admit he was a little curious about what was being said. Will let out a long resigned sigh before declaring. “Fine” This time Jason was sure he heard a celebratory noise. “Jason, I’m putting you on speaker phone.” Will informed sounding both deflated and apologetic. “Sorry.”

Will didn’t wait for a reply. Jason heard a bit of a rustling sound followed by a soft beep. A soft hiss noise seemed to indicate the call was actually on speaker but Jason really didn’t get any time to consider that before an unfamiliar male voice cut in. “Hey, so you’re a demigod?” The unknown speaker questioned quickly.

Jason was pretty sure if you looked up the definition of unexpected in the dictionary that question was the number one example. He knew he was expected to say something but it took him an impossibly long time to even make a sound. “Um?”

“Jason, this is my cousin Dean” Will’s voice explained “he just found out about everything and he has questions,” He offered before letting out a sigh and adding “so many questions.” The next thing Will said clearly was directed at his cousin and not Jason, “And yeah Jason is a demigod.”

“Awesome!” Will’s cousin declared with genuine enthusiasm.

“Dude,” Will stated. His voice completely lacked any enthusiasm “you get three questions.” He informed the other guy firmly.

“Fuck you with your three questions” The other guy retorted with genuine outrage.

“Dude, Jason doesn’t want to answer your questions for hours.” Will replied sounding slightly exasperated. Jason got the impression that Will had, in fact, answered his cousin’s questions. Having grown up in New Rome and then moving to Camp Half-Blood must everyone he knew (until he started attending a mortal high school) knew about the gods and everything. It was hard for him to imagine what it would be like to find out one day but he figured that anyone that didn’t go crazy from the knowledge would likely have their fair share of questions.

“Fine,” Dean sighed sounding just as exasperated as Will (actually they sounded a lot alike in general). “but can we call Nico after?” He questioned. “I have more follow-up questions about the underworld.”

“How do you have any more questions about the underworld?” The son of Apollo questioned sounding completely taken aback by the mere idea.

“It’s the fucking Underworld!” Dean exclaimed as an answer before adding. “Dude, you are going to call him anyways.”

Jason had to admit while he had called to talk about his own personal drama listening to the two boys on the other end of the line go back and forth was almost soothing. Maybe soothing wasn’t the right word but it was at it’s very least an amusing distraction.

“Fine,” Will sighed in surrender. “Sorry again Jason.”

Jason didn’t get a chance to respond before Will’s cousin chimed in with his first question. “Who’s your godly parent?”

That was a reasonable and straightforward question, Jason thought. “Jupiter” he replied easily.

There was a long stretch of silence. “Um,” Will’s cousin hummed uncertainly. “This is not my next question for you.” He declared and Jason assumed he was talking to him. “Will, isn’t Jupiter the Roman name for Zeus?”

“Yeah, Jason’s Roman,” Will answered.

“What does that mean?” Dean replied with a follow-up question sounding both confused and slightly annoyed.

“Haven’t told him about Camp Jupiter yet?” Jason questioned figuring that Will would realize the question was directed at him. Jason had never had to explain all the demigod stuff to anyone before so he couldn’t even imagine where he would start. I guessed for Will at least going through how there were two camps was probably low on his list.

“Haven’t gotten to it.” Will admitted.

“There is another fucking camp?” Dean exclaimed sounding outraged.

“Yeah, it’s Roman.” Will replied quickly. “I’ll explain later.” He promised although Jason thought he picked up a note of amusement in his voice. “Do you want to get your notebook and write down some questions?” He questioned and while he sounded sincere enough Jason was sure he picked up a teasing note in the son of Apollo’s voice.

“Dude,” Dean stated and Jason didn’t need to see the guy’s face or really know him to tell he wasn’t amused. “Demigod or no I will punch you.” He reminded firmly.

“Right, sorry.” Will replied not actually sounding all that apologetic.

“Yeah, after I get permission from Nico I’m totally punching you” Dean stated with an almost mocking tone “I don’t want to smack around the prince of the underworld’s arm candy without permission.”

“That’s not even remotely funny” Will replied with none of his earlier amusement “and I’m not arm candy.”

“That was hilarious and you are totally arm candy” Dean replied sounding downright smug. Jason heard Will huff but the son of Apollo didn’t say anything. Jason had to work hard to hold back a laugh, the whole thing sounded like an argument he would hear Percy and Nico having except Nico would have definitely threatened to stab Percy after the arm candy comment.

 “So what are your powers?” Dean questioned.

It took Jason a minute to snap out of his own thoughts and remember he was actually participating in the conversation as well. “I can summon lightning and control winds.” He explained.

“He can fly.” Will clarified although Jason didn’t really think that was necessary.

“That’s cool.” Dean offered sounding so unimpressed Jason felt like he should be offended. “Not summon zombie cool, but still cool.”

Jason had to admit he was a little taken aback by that, not that he cared, but most people were freaked out my Nico’s powers. And in all fairness there was a reason for that, Nico’s powers were completely terrifying to see. Maybe that was it, this Dean guy had never seen Nico’s powers at work. Still, Jason knew one demigod who would have totally made a big deal out of a comment like that. “Don’t ever let him around Percy.” Jason directed the comment to Will.

“Hadn’t planned on it.” Will replied quickly, like it was something he had already thought about.

“Oh fuck _that_ guy,” Dean exclaimed dismissively which was rather unexpected. Jason really didn’t know how to respond to a comment like that.

Apparently, Will was less surprised by his cousin’s reaction because Jason could hear him snicker before commenting “Jason’s working on it.”

Jason could feel the blood rush to his face. He was suddenly very glad he was currently sitting in his room alone because it meant he didn’t have to explain why he was blushing crimson. “Percy and I aren’t…..” He stammered suddenly feeling like he needed to explain the situation. The only problem, Jason hadn’t completely figured out the situation yet, and he was positive half of what he did understand he couldn’t actually explain. “we haven’t …..I……”

“I’m going to guess I don’t want to know,” Dean stated plainly.

“It’s a bit confusing” Will admitted which sounded like an understatement to Jason but he realized that might have been because he was in the middle of the whole thing.

“Honestly, don’t care either.” Dean declared, which was very similar to the response he and Percy had gotten from Nico when they first tried to tell him about the whole thing. “If it keeps that Percy guy busy and away from Nico I’m good.” He explained sincerely. “I can’t take Will turning into a whiney bitch again.”

“I was never a whiny bitch!” Will denied his voice about a half an octave too high to really be believable. “And stop talking!”

“You were so a whiney bitch and you know it,” Dean replied dismissively like he was so right he didn’t need to argue the point further. “You know what, I forfeit my last question for now.” He stated. His words were followed by the sounds of motion on the other end of the call.

“I’m going to grab a water.”

“Grab me one!” Jason heard Will call.

“What am I?” Dean questioned his voice sounding more distant now. “A waitress?”

Will didn’t reply, at least not in words that Jason could make out. There was a noise that sounded distinctly like a door being pulled open before Jason heard a quick click signally the call was being taken off speaker phone. “Sorry about that,” Will offered. “We had just got back from another practice when you called.”

“It’s fine” Jason assured. It was actually nice to have a bit of a distraction from everything else going on. “Soccer season isn’t over yet?” He questioned. He was pretty sure that the soccer team from his school had been done for months but he guessed the season could vary depending on the state.

“Almost, thank the gods!” Will exclaimed. Jason could hear the exhaustion in Will’s voice and he could relate. Track could be exhausting even though Jason enjoyed it and on more than one occasion he had questioned willing signing up for the team. He figured that was where Will was coming from. “Championships is the weekend before Nico’s birthday, after that, I’m done.”

“Well, you and Nico will get to see each other two weekends in a row.” Jason pointed out “That’s cool.”

“No, Nico’s not coming.” Will stated quickly and firmly. Jason got the impression Will had been through this conversation. “It doesn’t make sense it’s not like I’ll really get to spend time with him anyways and I don’t want him to get bored.” He explained.

“Ah-ha” Jason hummed. Nico would want to be there, Jason was sure of it, so he figured Nico not attending the game was Will’s idea. And knowing Nico, that idea couldn’t have gone over well so it had probably taken quite a bit of convincing on Will’s part.

“It’s really not a big deal” Will stated too insistently to be believed. Maybe Will felt conflicted and he was trying to convince himself. “I’ll see Nico for his birthday, I can wait.”

Yeah, Will was definitely trying to convince himself. “Clearly” Jason replied doubtfully.

“So when are you going on this date with Percy exactly?” Will questioned deflecting the conversation off himself and back to Jason and their original topic of discussion.

“That’s not helpful.” Jason pointed out although he felt surprisingly calm in face of Will calling it a date which he guessed was something. “But I actually think I have a solution to that problem.” He stated. He really should have thanked Will, hearing him talk about Nico not coming to his game and remembering Percy going on about how Nico was still mad at him for New Years’ had given Jason a perfect idea.

 

Will

The soccer team had made state championships the last three years in a row. So for the month of January Will found himself wondering why he was on the damned soccer team. It wasn’t that Will didn’t like the sport or didn’t want to win (he was actually a big fan of winning) it was just from the moment they made states until the actually games practice sort of took over his life. The would have practice in the mornings before class as well as after school and then they would, of course, have practice on the weekends that would go on for hours.

It was two days after Jason’s frantic phone call about his potential date with Percy and he was just getting home from one of those long weekend practices. It was nearly dinner time, he smelled from all the sweat and hours of exertion, and he still had a pile of homework to do before showering or sleep was even an option.

He had barely pushed open his bedroom door when Dean pushed passed him. He had come over so they could work on homework together- they had complementary strengths so studying together usually worked out well- except when Dean wasn’t in the mood to do anything. As Dean dropped himself unceremoniously onto Will’s bed, Will got the feeling this wouldn’t be a productive evening.

“I hate running” Dean declared his voice half muffled by Will’s pillows.

“Me too” Will agreed. He tossed his gym bag weakly into a semi-empty corner of his room by his desk. Gods, his room was such a complete mess, it would make Nico cringe. He stared at his cousin sprawled out on his bed as he could feel his own knees ready to give out. “And that’s my bed,” He pointed out. He too wanted to sprawl out on the soft surface which was impossible what his cousin was in the way.

“My legs gave out and you heal faster than me” Dean responded clearly making no move to vacate Will’s bed. “Demigod child of medicine god and all.”

“Don’t you think you’re over using the whole demigod thing a bit?” Will questioned without any real heat in his voice. Will being a demigod had become Dean’s go to excuse for pretty much everything since he had found out which was extremely annoying but Will was just too tired to really care.

Will moved toward his desk chair because it was the only other spot in the room to drop, minus the floor which was littered with dirty clothes. He shot his cousin a somewhat frustrated look as he laid looking practically asleep (his eyes were even closed) on Will’s bed. “Not even remotely,” Dean answered not bothering to open his eyes.

Will dropped into his rickety old desk chair with all the grace of a sack of potatoes and dug in the pocket of his jeans to retrieve his cell phone. He unnecessarily looked at the screen to see he still had one missed call. “I missed a call from Nico,” He stated. “You mind if I return it?”

Dean’s eyes blinked open and stared back at Will critically for a second. “I’m not moving” He stated and Will recognized it for what it was, both a promise and a warning.

“I will do my best to keep if PG,” Will promised without much enthusiasm. Dean had it in his head that all Will and Nico did was talk about sex which was completely not true (it was truer of late but that was just from the sexual deprivation).

Will peek up at his cousin momentarily before hitting the send button and found his cousin staring at him curiously. “Still don’t know why you talk on the phone instead of seeing each other in person.” He stated seriously.

“Dude, it's bad enough I get that from Nico,” Will groaned as he hit the button and brought the phone to his ear. “I don’t need it from you too.”

“Just saying,” Dean continued to offer his unsolicited opinion. He rolled over on the bed so he was laying on his back instead of his stomach. “It seems like a better idea to set realistic limits for shadow travel rather than unrealistically thinking he’ll never do it.”

“Thanks for that,” Will replied through clenched teeth as he heard ringing from the other end of the call. Since finding out about Nico’s shadow travel abilities Dean had plenty of opinions on the matter which he wasn’t at all afraid to share. Dean’s opinion on the subject amounted to this: Nico had a super cool ability that Will shouldn’t try to limit just because Nico overdid it a little one time when trying to save the world and all of humanity. Dean wasn’t technically wrong but he also hadn’t been there during the Battle of Camp Half-Blood, hadn’t felt how close to death (or more accurately, nothingness) Nico was. Will couldn’t lie, even just remembering how it felt scared the hell out of Will. “And I’m going to after soccer is over.” As uneasy at it made Will, Dean was right. Will couldn’t expect Nico to never use his abilities, it just wouldn’t be fair. He knew Nico had his complaints about Will using his healing abilities but he never once asked Will not to, he just asked Will to be careful and not overdo it. In that way Will and Nico were very much alike; they both tended to overuse their abilities when they thought it was important. He sighed at least partially with regret because he was in no condition to act on this new found understanding. “I’m too exhausted to think right now let alone give Nico the attention he deserves.”

“That’s so sweet,” Dean cooed mockingly. “I think I’m going to gag.”

“Shut up,” Will retorted. The ringing on the other end of the call cut off in the middle of a ring and he heard the indistinct sounds of Nico’s voice even though he couldn’t quite make out the words. Still, just the sound of Nico’s voice was enough to bring a smile to Will’s face. “Hey, you.” Will greeted hoping he managed to contain enough of his excitement to maintain a little of his dignity.

“Wow” Dean whistled mockingly.

Will shot his cousin a dirty look which Dean promptly ignored. Nico’s voice rang through from the other end of the call making it hard to stay any level of angry. “Practice run late?” His boyfriend questioned sympathetically. Nico had been the world’s most amazingly understanding boyfriend ever the last month. They would have plans and then Will would forget to call or wouldn’t answer the phone because practice had run late or he just passed out from exhaustion. Nico would never complain, not once. Sure he sounded disappointed but he was always so understanding and Will really couldn’t ask for much more.

“Practice was running,” Will explained with a heavy sigh. “Hours of running and now my legs hurt more than I ever thought possible.” He explained. He felt kind of bad for complaining to Nico about it considering how understanding he had been with everything (and everything Nico had actually been through it seemed petty) but he was just too tired to hold it in.

“I’m sorry” Nico spoke in a hushed but sympathetic tone which told Will two things: One, his boyfriend practically purred when he was trying to sound sympathetic which was cute bordering on sexy and two, Nico was trying to go unheard so he was probably working in the infirmary (which was so common at this point Will couldn’t be surprised anymore). “If I was there maybe I could be of more assistance,” Nico assured and the musical quality of his voice became especially tempting. Sometimes Will wondered, Nico could sound so serene yet so tempting, it was like the myths and stories of the sirens. Will just wanted to say yes when Nico sounded like that.

“If you were here there wouldn’t be much more to do than watch me sleep.” Will replied because it was more or less the truth. Of course, it had been true the last six or seven times Will had said over the last week or so and that hadn’t stopped Nico from protesting. He continued talking in hopes of stopping Nico before he could start because telling him no was getting more challenging each time. “Today was the last practice until the championship game and then I’ll see you the weekend after for your birthday.” Fourteen days, Will would see Nico in person in fourteen days (not that he was counting).

Nico let out a long sigh before speaking. “You could see me _this_ weekend if you wanted.” Nico pointed out. He didn’t sound as insistent or pleading as he had the last few times he brought it up, now he sounded more or less resigned. Nico may have recognized that Will had dug his heels in on the topic but that didn’t mean he would stop bringing it up.

Why did Will have to fall for the most stubborn guy at camp (possibly on the planet)? _Oh right_ , Will thought _because he is a gorgeous badass with a heart of gold_ \- really how was he not supposed to fall for him. “No, I wouldn’t want you to get bored.” Will stated and that was at least part of his reason. The championship games were a whole weekend thing and even if Nico enjoyed watching and wanted to be supportive Will couldn’t imagine that wouldn’t get boring. “It’s just a game.”

Dean issued a dismissive grunt which served to remind Will that his cousin was still in the room (he may have forgotten he was there for a minute). Dean was still sprawled out on Will’s bed staring up at the ceiling. “More like you know him being there would be a huge distraction and you need to keep your mind on the game.”

Will glared, that wasn’t it at all. Okay, maybe it was closed but not the way Dean said it. Sure, Nico being there could be a distraction but it was more about the added pressure his presence would cause. Their team was actually pretty good but the other teams were good too (that’s how they made it to the championships after all) so there was a chance they could lose. Losing was awful no matter what but Will didn’t think he could handle losing in front of Nico (yes, he wanted to impress his boyfriend).

“What was that?” Nico questioned. He must have overheard Dean speaking although he doubted that he heard his actual words.

Will shot Dean another heated glare that based on the way Dean just rolled his eyes in response. “Nothing.” He answered quickly. Will wasn’t about to relay what Dean had said to Nico and he certainly wasn’t going to explain the full reason he didn’t want Nico to come to the game either.

“Oh!” Dean exclaimed with sudden excitement as he pushing up on the bed “Tell him what we saw while running today.”

Will had to grin a little at his cousin, the way he got excited about things that Will had become so accustomed to was enduring. “Dean saw his first nymph today,” Will informed Nico with a smile at the memory.

“How’d that go?” Nico questioned curiously.

“Not bad, all things considered,” Will replied. Dean was handling it a lot better than Will had that was for sure. But nymphs were so common place for him after living at camp he had completely forgotten that one lived in a tree near the school’s track until Dean spotted her.

“Seeing a girl run into a tree was weird,” Dean stated, not for the first time, before shrugging. “but she was kind of cute.”

Nico hummed thoughtfully for a second before asking, “So how is he handling everything?”

Will shrugged, Dean really was handling all the demigod stuff surprisingly well. At first, it had freaked Will out a little, he thought for sure Dean was hiding how much he was struggling with the world shattering knowledge. After a couple weeks of watching his cousin like a hawk Will realized that Dean was really just fine with all of it. Maybe it was because Dean was a generally open and accepting person. “I’ve had to restrict the number of demigod related questions he asks in a day for my own sanity,” He explained. Dean always had what seemed like an endless supply of demigod related questions if Will didn’t limit them his head might have exploded.

“So lame,” Dean grumbled unhappily. He hadn’t been a fan of the change in the whole “Will would answer all of his questions” arrangement and he tried to get around the set number of questions all the time.

Will ignored him, Dean didn’t have to like it. “But otherwise better than I ever would have thought,” He admitted. There, of course, had been times that Will had thought about telling Dean and he had run through a number of reactions his cousin could have to it but acting like nothing really had changed wasn’t one of them.

There was a long stretch of silence on the other end of the call and Will was about to ask Nico what he had been up to just to keep the conversation going when Nico spoke. “I was actually talking about the other thing,” He questioned in a hushed tone which was rather unnecessary considering they were on the phone and there was no way Dean could overhear him.

“Oh,” Will exclaimed realizing Nico was talking about the whole Felix thing. He shot a concerned look over to Dean. His cousin may have been handling the fact that the Greek Gods were real and Will was a demigod well but the whole situation with Felix not so much.

Actually, Dean wasn’t handling the Felix situation at all- He was more or less acting like nothing had happened although he wasn’t talking to Felix at all. He refused to discuss it when Will tried to bring it up (and Will had stopped trying) but he also would shut down at the mere mention of Felix which considering the scene that had gone down between them the first day back from winter break people were curious what caused the falling out.

What really sucked is that Will had spent months wishing they didn’t have to hang out with Felix and now he couldn’t even enjoy it. He actually found himself feeling bad for Felix, Dean had been the guy’s only real connection to their circle of friends, or friends in general and with Dean not speaking to him Felix was exiled.  

Dean must have caught the concerned look on Will’s face because he frowned. “I’m not leaving the room so you can talk about me so don’t ask.” He stated sounding annoyed.

Will sighed before answering Nico’s question half-heartedly, “Alright, I guess.”

“We’ll talk about it later?” Nico question catching on to the fact that Will had more to say on the matter.

“Yeah” Will agreed. It would be good to voice some of his concerns to someone, and Nico took a genuine interest in Dean’s welfare. If that was because he actually liked Dean as a person or was just concerned about how it all was affecting Will it didn’t matter. Even if Dean wanted to ignore the Felix of the whole thing there was still the fact that he had been attracted to someone of the same sex, Will didn’t think it was healthy that he was pretending like that hadn’t happened, he should at least try to process his feelings.

“Hm,” Nico hummed with understanding. “I miss you,” He stated softly. “I don’t want to wait until my birthday to see you.”

“I miss you too.” Will assured as he tried to ignore the part of his brain that was voting for Nico to shadow-travel to Tennessee for a visit. “But Nic, really all I have in me right now is sleep.”

“I could sleep with you,” Nico offered positively. Will had to grin at that. “Gods that sounded wrong.”

“I wouldn’t say wrong,” Will corrected his grin growing wider. “It certainly sounded sexual.”

“PG” Dean reminded insistently

“I just meant that I could lay with you,” Nico explained and then immediately groaned. “That still sounds sexual doesn’t it?”

“A bit” Will agreed. He could hear a flustered note in Nico’s voice and he could just imagine what Nico looked like. The son of Hades was so cute when he got flustered, his cheeks and tips of his ears would pink and his large eyes would take on a doe-like quality. “But with romantic undertones, I like it.”

“So is that a yes?” Nico questioned his voice hopeful and enticing (he really shouldn’t be allowed to sound so good).

“That’s a soon,” Will stated and at this point he was pretty sure that he was trying to convince himself just as much, if not more, then he was trying to convince Nico. “Your birthday will be here before either of us know it.”

Nico sighed. “You are frustratingly stubborn,” He declared flatly.

Will let out a small laugh, “You’re one to talk.”

Nico echoed Will’s small laugh, although it sounded much better coming from Nico. “I have my….” Nico started but then there was a loud commotion on his end of the call and Will was sure he made out people talking even if he couldn’t make out the words. Nico muttered under his breath in Italian, and Will may not have spoken the language but he was positive Nico had just cursed. “Will,” Nico sighed sounding completely exasperated out of nowhere. “I’m sorry but I think I have to go.”

“That’s alright I should probably at least attempt my homework,” Will replied burying his own disappointment. He would have much rather talked to Nico on the phone all night then do homework. “I love you.”

“Love you too” Nico replied softly before the phone went dead.

 

Nico

Nico walked into the infirmary and immediately knew it was just going to be one of those days. It was bad enough that he was awake before breakfast (he had that damned nightmares with the jars again and just couldn’t go back to sleep) but now he had definitely walked in on Leo and Austin plotting.

As annoying as that was he really had no one to blame but himself. When he had approached Chiron about adding some things to the infirmary’s inventory to better address the needs of all the campers, it had gone surprisingly well (except that the Apollo cabin was now responsible for sex-ed at camp and Nico somehow got lumped in with the Apollo cabin). The unforeseen result was the cabinet where all the condoms and other sex stuff was stored in the infirmary was suddenly far too small to store all the new supplies. Nico figured a larger cabinet would be something Leo could easily make.

What was the saying? The road to hell was paved with good attention. Nico glared at the two demigods who were huddled over a bunch of papers. “We just need a cabinet Leo,” Nico stated insistently. He didn’t need to see the papers in front of the two boys to know what they contained. Ever since he had asked Leo for his assistance, Leo (who was just bored with the idea of just building a cabinet) kept trying to make the project more complicated. “Not an automaton.”

“But this is better!” Leo exclaimed excitedly.

Austin grinned- he had been absolutely no help on the matter, encouraging Leo’s insanity every step of the way. “And it’s really cool!”

“No” Nico stated firmly. The demigods of Camp Half-Blood had been through enough, they didn’t need to be terrorized by an automated vending machine spitting out condoms and single-use packs of lube. Next time Nico needed a cabinet he was just going to Ikea.

Both Leo and Austin looked like they were about to protest when Nico’s phone issued an angry buzzing sound signaling he was getting a call. There was a happy second where he thought it could be Will but one look at the screen killed that dream. Still, it would be better than having this argument (again) with Leo and Austin. He swiped his finger across the screen to answer the call and brought the phone to his ear. “Hey Percy,” he greeted as he turned his back on the other two demigods and started walking toward the other end of the infirmary.

“So, I have an idea!” Percy exclaimed excitedly from the other end of the line.

Nico sighed, he was just too tired for one of Percy’s crazy ideas. “That can’t be good,” He replied.

“That’s not very nice,” Percy replied with obviously fake offense. At this point that was practically their thing- Nico faked an insult and Percy faked offense- it was like how they said hi. “And technically it was Jason’s idea,” He informed.

“That’s better” Nico admitted flatly “but still not great.” He wanted to point out that Jason apparently thought doing Percy was a good idea as proof of the son of Jupiter’s bad judgment but knew Percy would make a joke about Nico thinking the same way at one point. Nico really didn’t feel like explaining he had never actually thought about having sex with Percy (* _Cringe_ *) so he let it go.

“Hey, I’m trying to make up for New Year’s here!” Percy retorted. So Nico may have been slightly more hostile with Percy then normal since New Year’s but he didn’t actually thing that Percy had noticed.

“You invented a time machine?” Nico questioned sarcastically. Percy should have invited Will to his stupid party. The weekend was fine all things considered, and Nico did get to see his beautiful boyfriend, but it still wasn’t right that Percy had excluded Will.

“No,” Percy dragged out the word “but doesn’t Will have some big soccer game coming up?”

“Yeah?” Nico replied confused. He didn’t understand what Will’s soccer game had to do with anything. “His championship game is this weekend in Nashville.”

“You, me, and Jason should go,” Percy stated with clear excitement. He was obviously very proud of his (Jason’s) idea.

Percy didn’t know that he was touching on a sore subject so Nico tried not to hold it against him but it was a sore subject. Nico really wanted to go to Will’s game (of course he wanted to go!). Soccer was a big part of Will’s life at school and Nico had never gotten to see him play. And then, of course, there were the more physical and less innocent reasons. Nico was Italian, he remembered playing soccer when he was young and that may have been when he first suspected he may have liked other boys. The idea of watching Will run around a field (in his soccer uniform-yum) was especially appealing.

Every time Nico offered that he could come Will would tell him not to in a dismissive tone. Will said it was because he didn’t want Nico to get bored but Nico wasn’t completely stupid. He could tell there was more to it than Will was letting on and the fact that Will didn’t feel he could tell him was driving Nico mad. “He told me not to come,” Nico said carefully.

“Did he say he didn’t want you to come or that you didn’t have too?” Percy questioned.

Nico blinked. He thought back to all the times that he and Will had talked about his game before answering uncertainly, “Didn’t have too?”

“Well, there you go,” Percy replied with a finality that Nico didn’t understand at all.

Percy might have been certain but Nico wasn’t. Will had told him not to come and he clearly had his reasons for that. Even if he didn’t feel comfortable sharing those reasons with Nico they still mattered. “I…” Nico wanted to protest but he couldn’t find a reasonable argument.

“It will be fun,” Percy insisted. “And you know you really want to.”

Nico sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he gave in, “Fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have a ton of notes this week, but Will's championship games starts next week!


	41. A Meeting of Worlds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and Happy Sunday,
> 
> I am really fricking proud of this chapter so I hope everyone enjoys!
> 
> Remember my lovelies- Comments and kudos are always appreciated!

After arriving in Tennessee Percy, Jason, and Nico sat on a bench a block from the stadium so Jason could recover from the effects of his maiden voyage shadow traveling. The plan had been to walk to the stadium but Jason still looked a little green so Nico summoned his zombie drive to give them a ride. Thanks to Mrs. O’Leary, Percy was used to shadow-travel at this point but he was still sympathetic. He remembered his first-time shadow-traveling was a bit rough. Plus, watching Jason throw up was not on Percy’s lists of turn-ons so if he could avoid seeing that he wanted to.

Green and unstable on his feet, Jason still questioned if Nico should be summoning zombies after he had shadow-traveled all three of them to Tennessee. Nico shrugged and told Jason not to worry about it which was a more casual and a lot less annoyed response then Percy would have expected. In the son of Hades’ defense, he seemed completely unaffected by the long jump from California (where he had picked up Percy and Jason) or from carrying the two of them. He had said since carrying the Athena Parthenos shadow-travel didn’t affect him like it once had and that appeared to be the case.

Jason didn’t look like he was about to lose his lunch by the time they walked into the stadium. Fifteen minutes later, they stood in front of large directional sign and Jason looked pretty close to losing something else: his patience.

The place was filled with people, far more than Percy had expected. And the stadium itself was huge, there seemed to be at least six different fields partitioned off complete with stands. The three of them had been standing in front of the directional sign for at least five minutes. Nico was standing with his arms over his chest and a sullen expression looking like especially like a grumpy teenager being scolded by a parent. Playing the role of dad (or maybe, in Jason’s case, it would have been more accurate to cast him in the role of mom) was Jason looking completely exasperated. “How do you not know the name of Will’s school?” Jason questioned for what must have been the tenth time.

The directional sign they had been standing in front of listed the various teams and what field they were playing on. Why there was more than just two teams playing the championships Percy didn’t understand and wasn’t going to interrupt Jason and Nico’s amusing back and forth to ask. The problem was, Nico’s complete lack of knowledge meant they couldn’t figure out which field Will was playing on.

Nico shrugged “Why would I need to know?” the son of Hades asked answering Jason’s question with a question.

“He’s your boyfriend!” Jason retorted his voice taking on a bit of a shrill note. Percy had to bite back a laugh because the son of Jupiter and the son of Hades had been snuck in a circular conversation for the last few minutes and Jason was clearly starting to lose his cool.

“So?” Nico replied casually. “It’s not like I don’t know _his_ name.”

Jason gaped at Nico completely dumbfounded. Percy smirked as he interjected “How about we just walk around the place calling Will’s name and shouting inaccurate medical facts until we get a response?”

Both Jason and Nico turned and stared at Percy clearly unamused. They both needed to lighten up because that was pretty funny in Percy’s opinion. After a minute Jason turned back to Nico. “You’re _sure_ you don’t remember the name?” he asked with borderline desperation.

“No Jason, I don’t remember the name,” Nico replied talking extra slowly so Jason didn’t miss it.

“There is like 20 different teams here.” Jason declared pointing toward the sign as evidence. “Do you remember anything? The letter the name started with? School mascot?”

Although Nico looked generally annoyed with Jason at this point he still seemed to give the question some thought. Percy wasn’t really all that hopeful, he had attended several high schools over the years and he was positive he couldn’t remember a single school’s mascot and he had actually attended the places. If Nico didn’t think the name of Will’s school was important enough to learn he doubted he had bothered to learn his mascot. “Their uniform is green,” Nico replied.

Well, that was more than Percy had expected but it made sense. “I bet Will looks good in green,” He commented to Nico. Percy certainly wasn’t looking at Will in _that way_ and this wasn’t like how he thought he didn’t look at Jason _that way_ but actually did and just didn’t realize. I was Will that would just be weird and gross. Still, Percy wasn’t blind, he could objectively see that Will was good-looking (just like Nico or Leo, but again Percy wasn’t interested) and based on Will’s complexion it wasn’t a crazy guess that green was a good color for him. 

“He does,” Nico agreed with a contented hum and a small smile. Well, that would explain why Nico remembered the color of Will’s uniform.

Jason glared at both of them for getting off topic (he definitely looked like he was scolding two misbehaving children). _Damn_ , Percy thought, Jason really needed to loosen up. Maybe he could help him with that later. “Based on the lettering” Jason declared once again pointing at the sign “I would guess at least 10 of these teams have green uniforms.” Percy looked up at the sign glancing at the various team logos and saw Jason was right. All three of them let out a sigh of frustration. Jason looked around, first over one shoulder and then the other, as groups of people- some were clearly soccer players, while others looked like spectators walked past them. “Why are there so many teams here anyway?” He questioned.

“No idea,” Nico replied as he too looked around. There really were a lot of people milling around.

Jason turned to Nico and questioned, “Could you call Will’s phone?” 

Nico shook his head dismissively, “I doubt he has it on him.”

Percy could read Jason’s expression pretty well and he could tell that his next suggestion was going to be ‘ _Let’s just walk around until we find him_ ’ which did not sound at all like fun. The stadium was huge and walking around aimlessly sounded exhausting.

He thought back to his senior year when he was on the swim team and remembered that the judges’ table usually had a roster of players for each team. They may have just been a swim thing but it sounded better than walking around and hoping to stumble upon on child of Apollo. “Maybe somewhere there is a list of players on each team.”

Jason turned and stared at Percy like he was seeing him for the first time. “Percy you’re a genius,” he declared sincerely.

“Bro, you say that like it is a surprise?” Percy retorted with fake offense.

“Trust me, it is,” Nico commented with a humorless grin shot in Percy’s direction.

“That’s not nice,” Percy replied looking at Nico with a grin of his own although his was teasing. “We really need to find Will because if you go much longer without an _injection of sunshine_ you are going to turn into a walking sarcastic comment.”

Nico glared daggers at him but at this point, Percy was so used to that he easily ignored it. Jason just ignored both of them as he looked around but this time with more purpose. “I wonder where we could find something like that.”

“That booth over there looks official,” Nico offered. He pointed toward a large booth toward the entrance of the stadium. Percy was sure that they had walked right passed it on their way in but he couldn’t remember what is was for. Nico was right, it did look kind of official.

“Why don’t you guys go check it out,” Percy suggested as he pointed to the same booth Nico had indicated before jutting his thumb off to the left toward a second booth, this one’s purpose was clearly marked. “And I’ll see what kind of information I can get from the concessions stand right there.”

Jason arched an eyebrow at him. “Really?” he asked incredulously.

“I’m thirsty,” Percy shrugged. “And it really doesn’t take three of us to go see if one booth has team rosters.”

Nico dug in his pockets for a second before holding out a wad of cash toward Percy. “I want fries,” He declared. Percy took the cash, it was enough for Nico to probably have all the fries in the state of Tennessee.

Percy shoved Nico’s cash into his pocket “One order of fries coming right up,” he replied. That, apparently, was all Nico needed to hear, the son of Hades turned on his heels and started toward the booth. Percy turned to Jason, “You want anything?” he questioned.

“Yeah,” Jason admitted sounding resigned (Nico and Percy were handling this whole thing in a very laid back fashion and Percy knew that was driving Jason crazy). “I’ll take a Pepsi,” he stated before turning and jogged to catch up with Nico.

The line at the concessions stand wasn’t all that long. Percy ended up waiting behind three guys that were all wearing purple soccer uniforms and cleats. He peeked at the menu considering if he was hungry since he was already in line and doubted Nico was going to share his fries. He was kind of surprised when he felt someone tap him lightly on the shoulder. “Hey, sorry,” the person stated uncertainly. Percy turned and, for a split second, thought the guy standing beside him was Will. Percy almost shouted for Nico and Jason before he realized his mistake.

The guy that had tapped him on the shoulder was more like Jason’s height which meant he was shorter than Will. His hair was still blonde but not as light as Will’s and his eyes were closer to hazel then blue. The guy was still rocking a killer tan but that was just probably from living in the sunny south. The differences were there but they were subtle and the guy could easily pass as a resident of the Apollo cabin. “Any chance I could hop in front of you in line?” The guy asked pointing to the space in front of Percy. “My game starts in like ten minutes and my coach is going to have an aneurysm if he notices I’m gone.”

Percy was still marveling at how much the guy looked like Will. It was kind of eerie (had he just met an unclaimed child of Apollo?), so it took him a minute to reply. “Go for it,” He answered gesturing to the space in front of himself.

“Thanks,” The guy replied stepping in front of him.

The guys in the purple uniforms had finished gathering their order not long after Not-Quite-Will stepped in front of Percy in line. As the guy ordered Percy noticed the name written on the back of the guy’s jersey (his _green_ jersey): ‘Solace’. For a few seconds, Percy debated the likelihood of that being a coincidence- the guy definitely looked a lot like Will, like they could have easily been related, and he was wearing a green jersey with the name Solace on the back. As the guy waited for the girl behind the counter to retrieve his own order Percy decided to just ask. “Your last name is Solace?”

The guy glanced over his shoulder with a slightly confused expression that Percy really couldn’t blame him for, it was a weird question. “Last time I checked,” He replied.

“Is that a common name around here?” Percy questioned. Hell, his last name was Jackson, there were tons of people walking around with that last name that weren’t in any way related to Percy. He didn’t know if maybe Solace was a ridiculously common southern name.

The guy glanced back at him again and this time he was definitely looking at Percy like he thought he was a complete weirdo. “Not that I’m aware of.” He answered plainly.

Well, if the guy already thought he was weird so why bother beating around the bush anymore. “So, do you know Will Solace?”

The guy blinked at him for a second in clear surprise. “Yeah?” He answered and why he sounded uncertain Percy wasn’t sure. The guy eyed him suspiciously like Percy might actually be a threat. The girl behind the counter returned with the-not-Will-Solace’s drinks which he took and stepped aside and the girl turning her attention to Percy.

Percy placed his order. The concessions stand only had coke products so Jason was just going to have to suffer. The girl headed to the back of the booth to put together his order, and that’s when Not-Will spoke, “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Percy,” he replied quickly before explaining, “I’m a friend of Will’s from camp.”

“Oh,” the guy blinked at him in surprise again “I’m Will’s cousin, Dean,” he held out a hand and Percy and they shook (which felt like a weirdly formal and grown up but maybe it was a southern thing). Dean looked at him for a second before cracking a smile, “So you’re seriously Percy?” He questioned skeptically.

“Ah yeah,” Percy guessed it was his turn to be confused. “Why?”

“Sorry, you’re just not what I had pictured,” The guy explained and Percy could have been wrong but it sounded like he was trying to hold in a laugh. “Like at all,” Dean shook his head dismissively, “I’m seriously going to have to talk to Will about his self-esteem.”

“Huh?” Percy questioned at this point he was beyond confused and that last bit didn’t even make a bit of sense.

“Don’t worry about it,” Dean shrugged although he was grinning like it was a pretty funny joke that Percy wasn’t in on. “What brings you to the great state of Tennessee?” He questioned changing the topic.

Percy let whatever the joke was go (although he planned to ask later) and shrugged. “Trying to get it so Nico doesn’t growl at me every time I call,” He explained. Dean gave him a weird look. Percy guessed if you didn’t really know Nico that was probably a weird statement. Of course, anyone who actually Nico would know how serious Percy was about that, Nico di Angelo did actually growl when he was pissed at someone which he certainly was with Percy. “We’re here to watch the game,” he clarified.

“Cool,” Dean nodded. “So, Nico’s here?” he questioned as he looked around about bit.

“Yeah, he and Jason are trying to figure out which field the game is on,” Percy replied pointing over his shoulder to indicate the direction his two friends had walked off in moments earlier.

“Didn’t see the sign?” Dean asked with a teasing grin as he pointed toward the sign that he, Jason, and Nico had stood in front of for at least ten minutes. The guy wasn’t wrong to ask, the sign was pretty clear if you had the right information to start with.

Percy went to answer when the girl behind the counter of the concession stand gave one of those fake coughs people do when they are trying to get your attention but didn’t want to actually say anything. Percy turned his head to see her placing his order (a small container of fries, and two sodas) on the counter. He thanked the girl and grabbed his food before turning back to Will’s cousin. “Nico didn’t know the name of Will’s school,” Percy informed plainly.

Dean let out a good-natured laugh. “I would wonder what those two talked about when they are alone but I don’t think they talk when left to their own devices.”

“You’re probably right,” Percy laughed “You should have seen them at camp, I’m surprised that we ever saw them outside of cabin 13.”

They shared a good laugh at that which gave the impression that Dean had probably gotten a good taste of how into each other Nico and Will could be when Nico had visited for Thanksgiving. Percy didn’t hear Jason and Nico’s approach which was probably because of all the laughing. Nico was the one who gave them away. “Where are my fries?” The son of Hades questioned demandingly.

Percy turned (French fries in hand) to see Nico and Jason approaching. The brooding expression on Jason’s face told him that their mission to find team rosters had gone down in flames. Jason was going to be so annoyed when he found out that Percy had stumbled upon the answer. Percy figured he would let Jason find that out on his own in a bit.

He held out the counter of fries to Nico. “Right here,” he stated, not that it mattered, Nico had already snatched the fries from his grasp before he got out a syllable. Just for that Percy stole a couple of fries off the top of the stack and bit into them. Nico glared at him but didn’t actually say anything. If that wasn’t proof that coming to Tennessee was a good idea Percy didn’t know what was. Lately, Nico would have bitten Percy’s head off for something like that. Once he swallowed down his bits of fries, he held out a bottle of coke cola to Jason as he informed, “They only have coke products.”

“Of course,” Jason sighed disappointedly as he accepted the bottle.

Nico made quick work of three or four large fries before looking up. “Hey Dean,” he acknowledged the other Solace standing at Percy’s side. Percy had almost forgotten about Dean in Jason and Nico’s arrival. Now that he remembered he couldn’t help but think it was weird that the guy didn’t greet Nico when he first walked up.

“Aaaaw hey?” Dean spoke uncertainly….no, not uncertainly, more like nervously. Percy glanced at the guy and saw him giving the most awkward wave in the history of greetings. His eyes were wide and focused on Nico.

Nico devoured another French fry like he hadn’t seen food in the last century (maybe it was because of the shadow-travel) before tilting his head to one side and eyeing Dean curiously. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Dean stated unconvincingly. “You just……” He stated and then stopped like he thought better of what he was going to say. Percy noticed Dean’s eyes dart between himself and Jason but apparently he didn’t find what he was looking for with them. “Um….. have you always had….. I don’t know …..?” Dean seemed to have some sort of internal conflict for a moment before finally letting out a heavy sigh of resignation “This _run in the other fucking direction_ vibe?” He waved his hands in Nico’s general direction, not that any of them were confused about who he was actually referring to.

Percy and Jason exchanged a look. “Yeah, that’s just part of the child of the underworld thing” Jason informed with a shrug. Percy was so surprised that Jason had mentioned demigod stuff so flippantly he almost dropped his soda. He had to fumble and flail rather ungracefully but he managed to catch it. When he glanced up at Jason to ask _what the hell_ Jason grinned at him for a moment before looking back at Dean. “I’m Jason, we talked on the phone that one time.”

“Yeah, son of Jupiter,” Dean acknowledged like that was a normal thing for mortals to say. “You still own me a question,” He declared.

Percy was agape at the two of them. He had met mortals that have known about the gods (like his mom and Rachel) but those were exceptions, not the rule. Percy always assumed people didn’t know, it was just safer that way. Nico huffed and rolled his eyes as he paused from eating his fries to order, “Keep it down about the demigod stuff, please.”

“It’s cute how much you and Will sound alike sometimes,” Dean retorted in Nico’s direction with a teasing tone.

“Alright,” Percy declared all but physically stepping between them “I’m missing something and I don’t like it.”

“I would think you would be used to that by now,” Nico retorted teasing before biting into a fry with a grin.

“Dean knows about everything,” Jason supplied sincerely.

“Yeah, I figured that out all on my own” Dean replied with a grin. He was clearly very proud of himself over that fact.

“Dean can see through the mist,” Nico added plainly as he continued to attend more to his fries than the conversation. “I’m guessing more so now than before Will told you about everything.” He stated more toward Dean than Percy or Jason.

“Yeah, that is what Will keeps saying,” Dean confirmed before once again looking at Nico like he was seeing him for the first time. Percy guessed that, in a way, the guy was.

Percy’s mother had once explained or, at least tried to explain, what it was like to see through the mist as a mortal. She said before all of it was confirmed it was seeing the real world (the magical one) in a blurry and degraded old photo but once you actually knew everything became vivid and clear. To mortals, Nico probably looked like some snarky kid in black clothes but for those who could see through the mist…. well there were battle tested demigods that still flinched in his presence. “So how does Will…..um….?”

While Dean’s question was clear he was obviously uncomfortable asking. “Deal with the general vibe of death?” Percy supplied, it wasn’t the first time Percy had heard the question and it definitely not the first time Will and Nico would have heard it. “Believe it or not you get used to it,” Percy replied with a shrug. Percy figured that was the truth, for him it had been a bit different. He had met Nico when the son of Hades was so young that while there was a strong demigod vibe around him it hadn’t so clearly been one of death. That vibe Nico had developed slowly over the next few years after they had met so Percy was never as aware of it. He knew that for people who didn’t know Nico back then it was different.

“And,” Jason interjected, “the death vibe drops drastically when Will is around.”

“That’s also true,” Percy agreed as he pointed toward Jason to indicate what the son of Jupiter had said was very true (and a very good point- _Damn, Jason was smart_ ) “This isn’t even all that bad, you should have met him in his really brooding years before Will.”

“It’s rude to talk about people like they aren’t standing right in front of you when they are,” Nico pointed out with a stern glance shot in Percy’s direction. Percy grinned back are him, while Nico could still pull off frighteningly brooding better than most he just couldn’t put the same level of heat behind it as he could before Will. Happiness had done wonders for the child of the underworld and, while Percy had no problem teasing his friend about it, he was genuinely happy for him. Nico pulled a fry off his quickly dwindling pile and pointed it in Percy’s direction in what the son of Poseidon was sure was meant to be a threatening manner, “And don’t think I won’t stab you.”

Percy noticed Will’s cousin had been watching both himself and Nico with special interest. “Alright,” Dean declared like he was admitting defeat (in relation to what Percy had no idea). “I just don’t get it so I’ve got to ask why-” he gestured between Nico and Percy with an expression of clear confusion.

Nico held up a hand, stopping Dean before he could finish his sentence, and shook his head dismissively “I honestly have no idea,” He replied to the questioned that he hadn’t let Dean finish.

“Right” Dean nodded. Percy thought about pointing out how it wasn’t nice to have conversations and not include everyone decided not against it. After all, at least part of this trip was about getting Nico to be at least mildly less annoyed with him for New Years. So it was probably best to keep the teasing comment to a minimum, although he was still pretty sure they had been talking about him.

From somewhere in the stadium there was a rather loud announcement. Percy wasn’t sure if their distance or the sheer amount of static coming through the loudspeaker was to blame but the announcement itself was indecipherable. Dean looked up like he actually understands it, which, who knew, maybe he did. “So we are playing on field 2 and I’m heading that way if you want to tag along,” He offered. Percy noticed a sudden air of urgency around the guy that hadn’t been there before. Maybe the announcement had reminded him that he was actually there to play soccer. “This place is surprisingly easy to get lost in.”

“Sure” Nico shrugged before eating his last French fry. He looked down at the now empty container with clear disappointment for a moment before turning and tossing it in a nearby trash can. Turning back he stated, “Lead the way.”

They let Dean lead the way with Nico not far behind, and Percy and Jason bringing up the rear. Dean was right, the place would have been easy to get lost in. It was large and, while there wasn’t any natural or man-made obstacles in the way, the sheer number of people milling around made it impossible to really get your bearings. Dean took a few large gulps of his Gatorade before looking over his shoulder at Nico with a thoughtful expression. “Any chance we could wait to tell Will about you being here until after the game?”

“Why?” Nico replied in clear confusion.

“I’d like to win,” Dean shrugged as he turned once again to pay attention to where he was walking. “And when you’re around Will’s mind goes to one place and it _isn’t_ soccer.” Dean was probably right, he remembered the one and only time Will had come to Nico and Percy’s sword class. As soon as Nico noticed Will was there he was just completely distracted. The demonstration had gone fine because, like Percy or Jason, swinging a sword was pretty much second nature to Nico but once that was over and the actual dealing with people come into play Nico was useless. Jason had assured Percy (after bonding with Will) that they wouldn’t have to worry about a repeat performance because Will got “flustered” watching Nico sparing with a sword. Maybe Will would get “flustered” knowing Nico was watching too, in which case Dean was right to be concerned. Dean turned his head and grinned back at Nico over his shoulder. “And honestly, I don’t want to have to explain to Aunt Naomi why you two got arrested for public indecency.”

Nico turned the color of a tomato, or at least that was Percy’s best guess based on the blotchy patches that became visible on the back of the son of Hades’ neck. Percy couldn’t help but snicker, Dean totally had Nico and Will pegged. He glanced in Jason’s direction to see if Jason was as amused as he was and found Jason looking a mix of annoyed and uncomfortable. That was when Percy made it his mission to get Jason to lighten up before the night was over.

Nico was likely too embarrassed to say anything and Percy wasn’t a complete idiot, anything that came out of his mouth would be teasing and Nico would probably punch him. Jason was still too busy currently trying to repress any thought of Nico having sex, _ever_.

Honestly, it was impressive how Jason could still do that after walking in on Nico and Will in the showers back at camp. Jason had a genuine talent. Dean was doing a pretty good job of hiding it but the way his shoulders occasionally shook Percy figured the guy was trying to hide a laugh (and was doing a half-way decent job at it). Percy got the feeling that he and Dean would get along pretty well.

Percy figured they had reached the right field when Nico practically bounced on his heels with excitement, although the son of Hades tried to be subtle about it (it was nice- it reminded Percy a little of what Nico had been like when they had first met). A few seconds later Percy spotted Will’s blonde above the crowd (the fact that Will was ridiculously tall apparently came with as one serious advantage when trying to spot him in a crowd).

As they got closer the scene unfolded and became more clear. Will was standing in front of a short, older man who Percy was sure was the team’s coach. The man was wearing a collared shirt that matched the uniform that Will and Dean were wearing, horrible khakis that ‘they’ issued to every high school coach when they first they take the job and had a whistle hang around his neck practically on display. A teenaged guy was standing next to Will, he was a head shorter then Will (at least) which meant in comparison he looked short but he was probably on the tall side of average. He had dark hair and was wearing the same green uniform and that was all Percy could really make out.

Well, actually that wasn’t the only thing Percy could make out- The coach was clearly yelling at both Will and the other guy. That was more than obvious from the way the coach was red in the face and waving his hands around dramatically but even worse, Percy could actually hear the guy. He couldn’t make out the actual words but the tone definitely carried across the open space of the field.

Percy didn’t have to look to know Nico wasn’t happy about what he was seeing. He could practically feel the darkness dripping off the child of the underworld at his side. Percy reached out a hand and grabbed Nico by the arm, just above the elbow, stopping Nico before he could finish taking his first step toward the scene. “Easy there, tiger,” Percy stated. He didn’t put much force in the words because either Nico would listen to him or he would storm out to the field and throttle Will’s coach and there really wasn’t anything Percy could do to stop it.

Still, he glanced over at the son of Hades and was surprised that he wasn’t the only that realized Nico may need a prompt to not get involved and it wasn’t Jason. Dean had a hand resting on Nico’s shoulder, which was a seriously brave move for a mortal that could see the aura of the underworld hanging around Nico. “It’s cool,” Dean assured Nico. “That’s pretty much coach’s conversational tone”

Nico didn’t take his eyes off the field where Will was still getting yelled which really wasn’t a good sign for the life and health of Will’s coach but he also didn’t’ push aside their grips either. “I don’t like it,” Nico growled.

Dean peeked over at Percy and grinned “I see what you mean about the growling,” He stated before patting Nico on the shoulder reassuringly, “After three years Will’s more than used to it.”

Nico didn’t look entirely convinced but he didn’t make a move forward so it seemed like, at least for the moment, Nico wasn’t going to go homicidal. Percy released his grip on Nico’s arm figuring the immediate threat had passed and Dean seemed to take that as a sign and followed suit.

“So there are stands,” Dean declared pointing toward a set of bleachers off toward one side of the field before turning toward Nico. “Listen,” He stated nervously rubbing at the back of his neck, which was totally a Will move “It may be a good idea to wait-”

“Solace!” A voice boomed from the other side of the field cutting Dean off and drawing all of their attention. “Where the hell have you been?!” The coach shouted in their direction “Get your ass over here!” The man pointed at the ground in front of his feet like there was any question what he met.

Dean sighed “Guess that’s my cue,” he declared before turning to go. Percy couldn’t be sure but he thought he heard the guy mutter something under his breath before running off.

They started toward the bleachers Dean had pointed out. Percy kept an eye on the field mainly because Nico obviously was as well. The coach was now yelling at all three of the players standing in front of him in turn. It was interesting to watch because based on the body language alone anyone could tell (even someone as clueless as Percy) clear lines were drawn between Will and the other guy but as for where Will’s cousin stood, it seemed a bit more…… complicated.

Percy nudged Nico to get his attention and when the son of Hades turned Percy pointed between Dean and the brunet. “What’s going on between those two?”

Nico stopped and eyed the pair critically for a minute “Dean and Felix?” Nico questioned. Percy nodded his reply assuming the brunet must have been Felix. Nico seemed to give the question some thought before giving what had to be the world’s most cryptic answer in the history of time, “That remains to be seen.”

“Well, that just clears everything right up,” Percy grumbled. If Percy was to give his opinion he would say there was some lingering tension between Dean and the other guy that seemed almost romantic in nature. But he guessed he could just be seeing things, like now that he was actually aware of this own sexuality (all of it, not just the liking girls part) he could just be seeing gay everywhere.

“Heads up,” Jason said catching their attention. When Percy looked over at the son of Jupiter he was pointing back toward the field. One look and Percy saw Will running toward them with a large grin. So much for waiting to tell Will they were there until after the game (sorry Dean).

“Pretty boy!” Will exclaimed as he threw his arms around Nico's waist in one swift move and literally lifting the son of Hades off his feet with one serious fucking hug.

“Will!” Nico protested weakly. If Nico wasn’t okay with Will picking him up Will wouldn’t be able (and probably wouldn’t even try) and even if that wasn’t the case, if Nico didn’t enjoy the very visible display of affection he probably wouldn’t have wrapped his arms around Will’s neck as he did.

Will put Nico down after a second and loosened his grip (he definitely wasn’t hugging Nico anymore but his hands were still gripping Nico’s hips lightly like he was afraid that Nico would vanish). He looked at Nico with a mix of pure joy and complete bewilderment. “What are you doing here?”

That was a nice response to a surprise visit. What did Percy get? Judo-flipped over Annabeth’s back like a sack of potatoes. Everyone has their own version of romance Percy guessed- what they had worked for Annabeth and Percy. The really cute thing was Nico blushed and averted his eyes like Will’s behavior was so unexpected (it really wasn’t, to anyone). The son of Hades actually looked like he was at a loss for words so Percy jumped in, “We’re here to cheer you on to victory.”

Will didn’t release his grip on Nico’s hips but he did turn and look at Percy and Jason like he was just realizing they were there (and he probably was, the child of Apollo was known around camp for having a singular focus for most things). “Um…..”

“Percy is making up for New Year’s” Jason explained plainly. Percy thought about arguing that point because, yeah sure he was the one that hadn’t invited Will to the bachelor party but he certainly wasn’t alone in that storage closet.

Will grinned at Nico for a second before turning back toward Percy and Jason. “That really wasn’t necessary,” Will assured backing up what Jason had told Percy several times over the last few weeks. Percy wasn’t just in Tennessee to make things up to Nico, he did genuinely feel bad about not inviting Will to the bachelor party.

Sure, Will joined the group because of Nico but the same could be said about Calypso (and in some ways the Calypso situation was way weirder). Over the summer Will had really become part of the group and Percy was being a little selfish not inviting him. He really liked seeing Nico happy and everything but sometimes Nico and Will could be hard to be around because they were just so into each other and yeah, for his bachelor party Percy didn’t want to have to compete for his friend's attention. In hindsight, he recognized that had been pretty dumb.

Will turned to Nico still smiling but also looked a bit uncertain. “I told you didn’t have to come,” Will stated sounding like he chose his words very carefully.

Something very dark flashed across the son of Hades’ face for the briefest of seconds and Percy wondered if he wasn’t missing something about the whole situation. “I wanted too,” Nico stated firmly.

Will finally released his grip on Nico’s hips to hold up his hands in defense. “I’m not complaining” Will offered quickly (read: too quickly), “It’s so good to see you” he moved one hand in and grazed a finger across Nico’s cheek. It was such a romantic gesture, Annabeth would have probably broken Percy’s hand. “But why are you here now?”

Nico blinked hard like he had imagined Will’s response to his arrival a million different ways but that question wasn’t anything he prepared for. “To watch your game?” The son of Hades answered uncertainly.

“Yeah, but today’s only the first round of qualifying games,” Will stated, “The actual championship game isn’t until Sunday.” The son of Apollo looked around nervously before adding. “If we make it that far.”

Next to Percy, Jason groaned audibly. “How did you not know this?” the son of Jupiter asked Nico in the same exasperated voice he had had when they were standing in front of the directional sign a bit ago.

“How was I supposed to?” Nico questioned back defensively

“So,” Percy interrupted before Jason could say anything back as he rummaged in his pocket for his own cell phone. He honestly didn’t see what the big deal was. So they had planned their visit to Tennessee to be more of a day trip and not an all-weekend thing but it really wasn’t that big of a deal. It could be like bro’s weekend 2.0. And it wasn’t liked the girls would have any problem occupying themselves for the weekend. He pulled out his phone and pointed at it to indicate his intent. “I’m going to let Annabeth and piper know we are staying in Nashville for a couple days.”

Percy took a few steps away so he could call Annabeth. As he pulled up her contact information he could hear Jason sigh, and he wasn’t sure if it was one of resignation or relief that someone else had just made a decision. Either way just as Percy pressed his phone to his ear he heard Jason ask, “I’m guessing there is no chance that we would be able to find a hotel with vacancies nearby.”

“Probably not,” Will admitted. Percy wasn’t really surprised considering the number of people milling around the stadium. While Percy’s swim team hadn’t made an championships (in spite of Percy’s best efforts) he had heard in years passed when they had the whole team would get put up in a hotel and he figured since Nico had already said the Will lived at least an hour away Nashville that was probably the case. With so many teams here plus all the spectators, all the nearby hotels were probably booked. As Annabeth’s phone continued to ring on the other end of the line Percy really wasn’t worried about finding somewhere to stay, it wasn’t like Nico, Jason or himself hadn’t had experience sleeping outside unexpectedly (thanks to quests). Sure, it was winter but winter in the south which really was nothing compared to winters in New York.

“But my room is pretty big,” Will informed before adding, “You guys can bunk up on my floor if you want.”

“So, you’re okay that we stay?” Percy heard Nico question sounding uncertain but hopeful.

“Yeah, I just….” Will stammered which was still a weird thing to hear from the confident healer, it Percy’s opinion. He had mentioned that to Annabeth once and she had laughed, pointing out that around Nico, Will did it a lot. “Well, I hate the idea of losing in front of you so I guess I better make sure I win.”

Gods, Nico and Will were the cutest little couple (Percy still didn’t get how those two hadn’t ended up on the bead the past summer). Whatever cute response Nico had for his boyfriend’s insecurities Percy missed it as Annabeth’s phone finally stopped ringing kicking him to her voicemail. He left a quick message explaining that it looked like he and Jason were going to stay in Tennessee a bit longer than they had originally planned and that the girls should have fun while they were gone.

Voicemail left, Percy hung up his phone, slipped it back in his pocket and rejoined the group. “So we’re bunking up with Will,” he summarized what he overheard before grinning at the son of Hades, “Some of us more so than others.” Nico tried to glare at him but it lost his intimidation factor when he was blushing. Percy chalked that one up as a victory. “Problem solved.”

“Let the girls know?” Jason questioned.

“No answer” Percy replied with a shrug “I left a message”

“They are probably at the play,” Jason reasoned “Or was it a museum?”

Percy was pretty sure the story Annabeth had told him about their plans for the weekend had changed at least three times. Who knew what the girls had ended up setting on but he did hope they were having fun. He grinned at Jason playfully, “Or my apartment is currently the site of hot girl on girl action.”

Nico and Will both make a visible face of disgust and Will actually shuddered. Percy couldn’t help but laugh a little at that. “Gods, you two are so obviously gay.”

Nico glared at him not seeing the humor but Will grinned, “Oh good” the son of Apollo stated sounding relieved “There really is nothing worse than getting mistaken for straight.” Percy had to give Will create for that one because not only did it get a laugh out of himself and Jason but also a smirk out Nico.

“Solace!” Will’s coach’s voice seemed to cut across the field like glass, and all four of them flinched. “And what is this!?!”

Percy noticed that Nico and Jason both turned to look toward the voice but Will very carefully did not. Instead, he had his eyes locked on Nico. “He’s still yelling at Dean, right?” He questioned. It was obvious while he was hopeful he already knew the answer.

“I don’t think so,” Jason informed sympathetically.

Percy watched as the middle-aged guy moved toward that at a brisk pace. “He’s coming this way.” He informed.

“Great” Will groaned before turning on his heels to face the man. He put on one of the smiles that Percy was one-hundred percent sure only children of Apollo could pull off. It was friendly and reassuring and didn’t seem at all fake or forced even when it was (like now). Will could probably get away with murder if he wanted with that smile. Percy made a mental note, next time he did something crazy and potentially criminal he would bring Will along. “Yeah coach?” he questioned sincerely.

The coach stopped short in front of Will. His whistle took a second to realize that they had stopped moving and it continued to bounce. “What is this!?!” The man asked loudly clearly gesturing to Percy, Jason, and Nico standing at Will’s back. “These ….people?”

“Friends,” Will replied plainly.

“No, this is championship weekend!” The coach shouted. The man seriously needed to take it down a notch, or twelve. Percy was kind of exhausted watching the guy. “You don’t have friends on championship weekend! These-” he pointed accusingly at Percy, Jason, and Nico “-are distractions!” So the coach was definitely not the type of mortal that could see through the mist because if he was he probably would have stopped talking as the air around them darkened (thanks to Nico) and seemed to crackle (thanks to Jason). The coach was oblivious, his eyes stayed locked on Will as he questioned, “What are there supposed to be none of during the _championships_?”

“Distractions,” Will replied without any real emotion. Percy got the impression Will had heard that speech one too many times.

“That’s right.” The coach nodded because that was apparently the right answer although he still sounded a bit loud and angry. Dean had said something about that being the guy’s conversational tone so Percy tried not to read too much into it. The coach looked around Will taking a second to examine each one of them in turn. He looked pointed between the three of them. “Now are one of you the …“ friend”-” _Did he actually just use air quotes_ , Percy wondered. He didn’t think people actually did that “-that broke my star quarterback’s nose?”

That was so unexpected there was just no way Percy could have contained the laughter that burst out of him. It took him a second to cough it back before he turned to Nico, “You broke someone’s nose!?!”

“Technically, the wall broke his nose,” Nico replied with disinterest. He clearly didn’t think the memory was worth talking about based on the way he had crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke. “I just drove him into the wall,” He explained which immediately got a nod of understanding. During sword practice, both Jason and Percy had been the victim of Nico using their own weight against them, he was very good at it. If some dumb jock was stupid enough to actually try to start something with the son of Hades they wouldn’t have stood a chance, and in all reality should be happy they walked away with just a broken nose. “And, more importantly, he deserved it.”

The coach’s face was completely priceless he blinked so hard it was like he had just gotten slapped and when that didn’t do it he blinked again. “You?” He questioned with clear skepticism as he pointed at Nico. Nico’s reply was to glare and nod which didn’t seem to be enough to cast away the coach’s disbelieve and he turned to Will and questioned. “Him?”

“Yeah coach,” Will assured like it wasn’t a big deal.

It took a few more hard blinks before the coach seemed to accept that the skinny looking goth kid that was maybe 5 foot 5 had kicked some likely beefy football players ass (and knowing Nico he probably didn’t even break a sweat). “Huh,” he puffed as a sign of acceptance. The man leaned to look past Will and eye Nico more directly. “Well, none of that!” He stated firmly.

Nico’s response to that was to grin and shrug which Percy translated into Nico wasn’t planning on fighting anyone but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t if he felt he had to, which really was the best the coach could hope for. The coach didn’t really seem to care about Nico’s response because his eyes started darting suspiciously between Nico and Will, and then his fingers began waging between the couple. “And no hanky-panky, you understand?”

At that comment, the son of Hades when from grinning badass to blushing and horrified teen in about two seconds, Honestly, Nico turned so red Percy wasn’t sure he would survive. The son of Poseidon wasn’t a complete idiot, he knew if he laughed Nico would definitely hit him so he slapped his hand over his mouth to stifle it. From the corner of his eye, Percy could see Jason biting his lip and looking up at the sky like he was praying to hold it together. Will, who was blushing almost as badly as Nico, managed to stammer out a complaint, “Oh _gods_ coach.”

“Ay,” The coach seemed unfazed by Nico or Will’s embarrassment as he poked Will in the chest with one finger, “Get all the play you want in the offseason but this weekend all your energy goes to soccer, got it?”

Percy clapped his hand over his mouth harder. He had no idea how Nico had stopped himself from shadow-traveling far away because he really looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. Will was staring down at the ground like he was hoping it would open up and swallow him. “Yeah, coach,” The son of Apollo muttered.

“Good,” the coach gave another curt nod before jutting his thumb back at the field, “Now, go find the rest of teammates it’s time to huddle up.”

“Right,” Will acknowledged with the briefest of nods. He turned and placed a quick peck on Nico's cheek before turning and running off toward the field with the coach close behind. It may have been the most chaste exchange of affection Percy had ever seen pass between Nico and Will but after the embarrassing speech from his coach Will probably wouldn’t dare do anything more.

Will was halfway to the field before Nico apparently got over his embarrassment enough to find words. “Good luck!” The son of Hades called after his boyfriend.

With Will (and his coach) gone Percy finally figured it was safe to let himself laugh.

“That was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while.” He admitted.

“He’s like Coach Hedge on steroids,” Jason pointed out. Well, Percy hadn’t even realized that but now that Jason said it out loud he wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it. Percy just had to laugh, the surprise was that Nico laughed too.

For a few minutes, all three of them were catch up in a fit of laughter. Eventually, Percy managed to weakly nudge the son of Hades’ shoulder, “Looks like no play for Nico this weekend.” He teased.

“Shut up Jackson,” Nico retorted without much heat in his words as he pushes Percy back.

Jason stepped between them even though Nico and Percy weren’t really fighting (and if they were, stepping between them wouldn’t be the safest idea). “Let’s go watch the game you two.” He offered as he gestured toward the bleachers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So while working on this chapter I was watching a lot of Teen Wolf (the tv show) with the occasional episode of Red vs. Blue- so Will's coach turned out to be this weird combination of the coach in Teen Wolf and Sarge which is a little terrifying but also fun. I hope you all enjoyed him as much as I did.


	42. Knowledge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone!
> 
> I'm back! So let me tell you all a little story- Last Sunday I was so sick I pretty much slept through the entire day which for someone that never naps that is weird. Monday I was still feeling awful so I actually called into work (I haven't missed a day of work due to illness in two years). So later on Monday I finally felt with it enough to look at a computer so I checked my email and was just so confused. Between Ao3 and Tumblr I had close to 30 emails which never happens. So when I saw the the concern and wishes for my well-being it really warmed my heart. So thank you to all of you for being so kind and wonderful.
> 
> I am feeling much better now and I'm glad to be back posting.
> 
> PLEASE Read the note at the end of this chapter!

The game was amazing. Nico didn’t know why he hadn’t come to one of Will’s game’s sooner or at least watched one of his practices. A practice would have been easy to watch for a bit when he had visited in November but he hadn’t really thought about it and Will had never suggested it so he just hadn’t.

It was truly a shame because Will looked amazing on the field. Will, with his glorious thighs, running around, all sweaty in rather short shorts would have made watching more than worth it but it was more than that. Will was a truly amazing player: He was aggressive when he needed to be but also observant of everything (and everyone) around him. He coordinated his teammates with quick nods and brief gestures. It was a lot like watching Will in the infirmary when it was really busy except now there was an element of competition to it. In a word it was spectacular.

Percy and Jason were distracting, or at least they were at the beginning of the game. They asked questions and made comments. But after Nico identified all the players on Will’s teammates (or the ones Nico knew- two of them were a complete mystery) in a curt tone they seemed to become more interested in each other and left Nico alone (more or less) to watch the game.

Not that Percy and Jason started making out in the bleachers or anything- they weren’t that obvious. Actually, if Will wasn’t putting on such a memorizing show Nico could have been pretty amused just watching them. They were both clearly trying to make a move on the other and both had very different styles. Jason was subtle, sitting a little too closely to Percy to really be called just friends, letting his knee bump Percy’s. Percy was so obvious it was laughable (honestly, how Percy ever managed to get Annabeth was beyond Nico). At one point Percy actually tried the fake yawn and reach thing that up until that point Nico had thought was the type of cheese-y move that people only tried in movies. Nico was so glad he had turned in time to see it because the look on Jason’s face was great. The son of Jupiter looked like he was about to cut Percy’s arm right off.

Nico really couldn’t really complain about Percy and Jason too much. When a completely ridiculous call was made Will’s team and Nico yelled something at the field in Italian rather than English Percy clearly wanted to say something but one look for Jason and he shut up. Maybe Annabeth was giving Jason lessons, or maybe it was a blond hair, blue eyes thing (Will had certainly mastered the power of one pointed look).

Will won, well his team did, but if you asked Nico he would say that was primarily because of Will. It wasn’t that the other team didn’t put up a good fight or anything but Will (and his team, Nico guessed) was just too good.

Nico resisted the urge to rush the field when Will’s team won which was probably for the best because Will’s coach seemed like he was in a hurry to rush the team to their bus. Dean barely had time to shout the hotel name at them before the coach was pushing them all on the bus.

The look on Jason’s face when Percy suggested that they just shadow-travel to the hotel was pretty priceless. Nico felt fine from the first jump but he didn’t want to worry Will by shadow-traveling again so soon. Jules-Albert turned out to be a much better option, and with the way he drove they easily beat Will’s team to the hotel.

Will’s coach didn’t look exactly pleased to see them in the lobby but didn’t tell them they weren’t allowed and he could call Nico a distraction all he wanted for all Nico cared. The whole team seemed in good spirits. Actually, they all seemed pretty energized. Nico guessed that made sense, victory could have that effect (even if they should have been physically exhausted). Wash and Watts left them at the elevator once they hit their floor but not before making plans to come by Will’s room (technically it was Will’s and Dean’s room) a little later after everyone had showered.

Will’s room was big (and technically it was two rooms); it had a tiny sitting space with a few couches and a television, and the bedroom (with two full beds) was just past that behind a second door. It was nice and cozy without being too overdone (which would have risked reminding Nico of the Lotus Hotel, which was not a memory Nico wanted to revisit ever).

Nico didn’t pay the hotel room much attention at first but when Will excused himself to shower after Dean got out he spent more time paying attention to the details. For once he wasn’t the main target of Dean’s many, many questions. So while Jason and Percy answered question after rapid fire question regarding what it was like to be a demigod (Have you ever met a god? What was the scariest monster you ever fought? Coolest mythical creature you’ve ever dealt with? Wait, your brother is a what? And he’s dating a what?) Nico took in all the details of his surroundings.

It seemed like everything about the room was designed to look comfortable but not necessarily be comfortable. Take the high back chair Nico had claimed for instance, it was elegant and plush looking but felt about as comfortable as laying naked on the coast of the river Styx (not that Nico had ever done that). Percy and Jason had snagged the far-to-small couch (Nico wanted to call it a loveseat but Jason still seemed a little unsure in the whole arrangement with Percy and didn’t think it would be right to spook him) and that didn’t look much better.

Jason and Percy answered all of Dean’s questions without much protest, which was probably a nice enough change for Dean but Nico could tell they kept expecting them to stop. Nico understood that expectation, when Will had first told Dean about being a demigod Nico figured his questions would come at a trickle considering whole overwhelming the information was. No such luck with Dean, he handled even the most outrageous information with grace and a very quick follow-up question.

Nico had had the pleasure of being on the phone with Will when Will let the year Nico was born slip. Nico had thought for sure that bit of information would have given Dean pause but it didn’t. If Nico remembered correctly Dean’s exact response was, “Damn, so are you like immortal since your dad is the god of the underworld or is it more complicated? Holy shit! You haven’t like died or anything have you?”

When Wash and Watts showed up at the room Percy and Jason were clearly relieved because it signaled the end of their interrogation (Will had mentioned to Nico that Dean wanted to be an investigative journalist and Nico had no problem believing it). Wash, Watts, and Dean had a weird exchange that Nico didn’t quite understand but had a sneaking suspicion what it was about (or who). Whatever it was Dean left claiming he would be back in a minute. Nico had wanted to protest on his boyfriend’s behalf since Will was still in the shower but Dean was gone too quickly (and maybe Dean needed to figure that whole situation out on his own).

Wash and Watts were perfectly happy to entertain them in Dean’s absence. They were in the middle of a completely outrageous (and unbelievable) story about last year’s championship game when Will finally exited the bathroom (why Nico was surprised he had no idea. He knew Will took long showers. Of course, Nico had always figured that had something to do with them showering together most of the time).

Will stepped out of the bathroom looking like sin personified (he didn’t remember much about his childhood but the glimmer of memories he had of catholic school- he was pretty sure that Will was the sin the nuns kept going on about). The son of Apollo was still dripping wet and in nothing but a towel his tan skin practically glistened (and of course he was still tan). “Alright, what did I miss?” Will asked as he shook out his hair in a second towel- Will needed a haircut and Nico was really hoping Will ignored that because the thought of Will doing the whole man-bun thing was sexy.

“Oh we were just-” Watts turned to answer and then immediately covered his eyes, shielding himself from Will’s almost-nudity. “Hey, dude!” Wash protested “Put on some clothes!”

Will smirked and made no move toward his bedroom proper. Nico was completely fine with Will walking around just as he was. He wondered if Will would do that when they lived together, just walk around in a towel for a while after a shower all drippy and gorgeous. Well, that would be something to look forward to. “You’re in my room,” He pointed out with a genuine chuckle.

“Still,” Watts hissed back, his hand still blocking his view. “No one wants to see that!”

There was a chorus of snorts around the room. Nico even saw Percy move to hide his face behind Jason’s shoulder. There was no point in glaring at Percy he wouldn’t learn, so Nico let him have his laugh.

Wash grinned and nudged Watts' arms. “Dude” He stated, the word sounding completely loaded. That wasn’t even mentioning the way he tilted his head in Nico’s direction when he caught Watt's eye.

Watts huffed before correcting, “No one but your boyfriend wants to see that.” Watts dropped his hand but still didn’t look directly at Will. Instead, he used the hand to shoe Will toward the bedroom door.  “Please, stick to private showings.”

Will’s grin widened, “Happily.” He started for the bedroom door but made a show of pausing with his hand on the door. He glanced on over his shoulder and looked right at Nico, “Interested in a private showing Pretty Boy?”

Will actually wiggled his eyebrows at him. _He’s completely impossible_ , Nico thought to himself. Unfortunately, with Will standing there with drops of water making their way down his muscular back, the offer was delightfully tempting. “Oh dèi, Will non mi tentano” Nico rejected the invitation with a grumble, not aware it was coming out in Italian until it was too late to change course.

Percy grinned at him but didn’t get a chance to tease him for it because Jason exclaimed “Dude!” with clear outrage in Will’s direction.

Will’s shoulders slumped a bit, it probably wasn’t noticeable to anyone else in the room but Nico recognized it for what it was. It was the part of Will that was serious about the offer realizing it wasn’t going to happen. Will gave Jason an apologetic look, “Sorry, Jason” He offered before turning his full attention back on Nico with that wickedly sinful grin. “Later,” He offered like a promise. Gods, he even winked suggestively in Nico’s direction like Nico didn’t already know his exact meaning.

Nico had to avert his eyes because looking at Will just made it worse. He could feel himself blush crimson and hear Jason groan and Percy snicker. Will didn’t even hang around to take in his handy work. Instead, he slipped into the other room without another word.

The room fell silent in Will’s absence (and Nico’s embarrassment). The son of Hades expected Wash or Watts to chime in with some comment but he was starting to realize they weren’t as talkative as Nico remembered. It was actually Jason, of all people, how broke the silence. “Are all of your rooms so big?” The son of Jupiter questioned looking around the room curiously.

“Nay,” Watts replied with a shrug “Will gets the big room because he’s the teams center-forward.” Watts leaned back on his hands and stretched out his legs so he was lounging rather than sitting on the hotel room floor. He looked around the room absently for a second before adding, “It's tradition.” There was a hint of something in the way Watts said that it wasn’t exactly annoyance but it wasn’t really joy either. Will never really talked about getting any special privileges compared to his teammates but knowing Will he probably wouldn’t notice if he did.

“Center forward, is that like team captain?” Percy inquired.

 _Didn’t Percy go to a mortal high school at some point_ , Nico wondered. Soccer was a pretty popular sport from what Nico knew and it really wasn’t that complicated of a game. Percy really should have picked up the basics. “Center forward is the most important player on the team.”

“That’s…. debatable,” Wash corrected rather diplomatically. Nico really hadn’t thought about his phrasing but he guessed Will’s teammates probably didn’t appreciate Will being called the most important player. Nico had just meant that the center forward was the player that most often scored. Too late to correct that mistake now, Nico thought regrettably.

Even though Nico was glancing down at his eyes he didn’t miss Percy grin in his direction, and he definitely couldn’t ignore when Percy reached out and slapped his knee. Out of reflex more than anything Nico glared at him. “It’s cute how you’re all proud,” Percy teased him “At least your back to English.”

“Shut up, Jackson” He hissed back at Percy in an attempt to hide any signs of embarrassment. Nico was used to losing the ability to use English functionally in the heat of passion but he usually had enough control not to do it in public. It was really all Will’s fault, looking so amazing while playing the only sport Nico actually liked.

“And we don’t actually have a team captain,” Wash stated and just from the number of qualifiers he had managed to cram into that one sentence Nico could tell there was a story behind that. “Technically.”

“Not that coach hasn’t tried,” Watts added casually pretty much confirming Nico suspicion that there was a story there.

Will talked plenty about soccer; he complained about the long practices, and Felix, he talked about the games and his teammates, but he never actually talked about the team. Nico’s curiosity won out and he had to ask, “Why is that?” If nothing else it gave them something to talk about while Will was still in the other room getting dressed.

Watts and Wash exchanged a look before Wash started to explain. “It would be Dean since he has been on the team longest but he would rather just play and not worry about all that leader stuff.”

“And there was the year he failed bio so his grades weren’t great,” Watts added “There is a rule about student’s grade point average and their ability to participate in extracurricular activities like sports. We’re pretty sure the coach was already making an exception for Dean that year so making him team captain would have been pushing it.”

“Next would be Will,” Wash continued “but he always misses summer training camp and…..” Wash seemed to be thinking over his words and as he did Nico tried to think of a reason why Will wouldn’t take on a leadership role on the team. At camp, Will always seemed like a natural born leader.

“Well, Will wasn’t always as …… put together as he is now,” Watts supplied. Nico kept his expression neutral although the knowledge that Will struggled with the things he had been through as a demigod was still new to him. When Dean had first mentioned it he had been so shocked, and he could see from the confused and surprised looks on Percy and Jason’s face that they were having a similar reaction. Now wasn’t the time or the place for Nico to explain, and it really wasn’t for Nico to explain anyways. He gave Percy and Jason a look he hoped conveyed that, and neither said a word so he guessed they knew enough to not say anything.

“So Will has said no every time the coach brought it up,” Wash continued oblivious to Nico’s silent exchange with Percy and Jason which was for the best. “And neither of us wanted it so we captain-less.”

Will emerged from the bedroom just then in a pair of dark gray sweats and a dark t-shirt. Will didn’t wear dark colors often and Nico never really thought Will would look right in something that wasn’t bright but he was wrong. The near-black of his t-shirt seemed to bring out the spray of freckles across his cheeks and accented his light eyes. His hair was still wet but no longer dripping and tussled messily. Will looked completely stunning, the mere sight of him made Nico completely forget what they had been talking about.

 _Why were other people there_ , Nico wondered mournfully.

Will looked around the room at all of them sitting around for a second. “Alright, what did I miss?” he questioned. Will gave another look around the room and the furrow of his eyebrows deepened. “Where’s Dean?”

Wash and Watts exchanged a suspicious look before Wash just shrugged. Watts took a sudden interest in picking at his nails as he answered in a barely audible mumble, “He went to get a thing.”

Will looked at Wash and Watts critically for a second, which Nico completely understood. The two were acting so suspicious you would have thought they had just robbed a bank. “What thing?”

Wash and Watts were both clearly trying to avoid actually looking at Will which just made them look guiltier. Considering how guilty they already looked that was actually an impressive feet. They both remained silent and shrugged ambiguously as a reply.

Will gave them one last frustrated look before trying his attention toward Nico. He didn’t have to say anything Nico could see the question marks swirling around in his concerned expression. “I don’t know” Nico informed. He had his suspicions about where Dean had slipped off to, but if he said anything to Will he would freak out, and he didn’t really have proof. And….as much as Will didn’t like Felix, Dean did or at least he had before and Dean had a right to figure that out, maybe get closure, on his own (without Will helicoptering in with the best of intentions).

Will turned back to Wash and Watts. “He didn’t say?” He questioned shortly. From his tight body language and his curt tone, it was evident that Will had already come to his own conclusions about where Dean had gone.

Watts seemed to be the braver of the two. He glanced up at Will for a second before shrugging and looking away. “Don’t worry about it.”

Wash laughed which seemed out of place but still managed to light the mood of the room which had been growing more tense by the second. He gave Watt’s shoulder a light nudge with his own before speaking, “Dude, it’s Will. That is pretty unlikely.”

Watts nodded with an expression of realization like Wash’s statement actually reminded him of something. “Good point,” Watts admitted. He looked toward Jason and Percy before pointing at Will and explaining. “Will’s the group mom.”

Will huffed and rolled his eyes but didn’t actually say anything to deny that fact. Nico ducked his head a bit to hide his own knowing smile. Will was just a nurturing person, it was what made him such an effective healer but he couldn’t really shut it off so at times he could come across kind of mothering. Nico was sure that all the responsibility thrust upon him at such a young age hadn’t helped with that. The first time they had met they were both eleven-years-old and Will was already working in the infirmary and was quite good at it (minus the clumsiness). He had only been twelve or thirteen when he became head of the Apollo cabin. Will was just too accustomed to taking responsibility for people’s health and safety and he had lost too many people to not take that responsibility seriously. It was one of Will’s fundamental traits that Nico adored.

On the small couch…no, it really was a loveseat so that was what Nico was going to call it. On the loveseat, Nico saw Percy reach out and slap Jason’s knee softly to get the son of Jupiter’s attention before gesturing between Jason and Will. “So that’s why you two get along so well,” The son of Poseidon declared. He then looked toward where Wash and Watts were still sitting on the floor as he pointed toward the son of Jupiter sitting next to him, “Jason’s our group mom,” He explained plainly.

“I am _not_ the group mom.” Jason objected with clear offense.

Nico glanced toward Will to see his boyfriend biting his lower lip to hide a grin (and largely failing to do so). When he caught Will’s eye he could tell that Will was having just as hard of a time holding in a laugh as Nico himself was. How could Jason no know?

Percy made no attempt to hide his own amusement at Jason’s denial. “That would have been more convincing if you didn’t _literally_ say that in your mom voice.” He pointed out with one of those annoying Percy-Jackson-grins. Nico was ninety percent positive that that grin was the reason half the gods wanted Percy dead at one point or another. It was slightly cocky, overly confident, a bit teasing, and still somehow enduring (or as Nico thought of it- annoying).

“Every group has one,” Watts interjected. Nico was pretty sure he was trying to be helpful but that didn’t mean Jason might not zap him out of frustration. “If it’s not you, who is it?”

“I…….” Jason started but almost as quickly as he did a look of understanding (mixed with a little horror) came over him. “I don’t know, I don’t think we have one,” The son of Jupiter offered sounding numb and uncertain.

“Oh Jason,” Percy chuckled and threw his arm around Jason’s shoulder and gave him a bit of a squeeze.  The gesture was a combination of affectionate and mocking and Nico was genuinely surprised that Jason didn’t punch the son of Poseidon (Nico definitely would have). “You are _soooo_ lucky you are cute.”

Jason gave Percy a dirty look but didn’t shrug off the son of Poseidon’s arm before shooting a nervous look toward Will. If he was looking for some sort of reassurance that Percy’s teasing lacked truth Nico’s boyfriend wasn’t the person to look to as he was still clearly trying hard not to laugh. Shock and understanding were already taking over Jason’s features but that didn’t stop him from looking in Nico’s direction in a last-ditch effort to find someone who didn’t agree with Percy’s assessment of his role in the group. Nico forced his features into a neutral expression and avoided meeting the son of Jupiter’s eyes, it was the best he could do. “Oh, my gods!” Jason exclaimed apparently moving past denial and into anger “I’m the mom!?!” Nico dared to look up and found Jason looking between himself, Will, and Percy. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“We thought you knew,” Will noted in a sympathetic tone. All the time spent dealing with emotional campers and doing on the spot conflict resolution showed in Will’s voice. The way Will could do that had always impressed Nico and now that he had spent so much time helping in the infirmary it only impressed him more. Not every child of Apollo had that skill and it certainly was not a skill Nico had managed to pick up but Will slipped into so easily. It was kind of amazing.

Percy wasn’t handling the situation with anything that even remotely resembled sensitivity. It took him a minute and a few false starts before he could really speak through his own laughter. “What did you think Leo meant when he called you Nico’s mom all those times?” He questioned.

That was apparently Jason’s line because he finally shrugged (more like pushed) Percy’s arm from around his shoulder but didn’t actually say anything to the son of Poseidon. Instead, Jason turned toward Nico with a serious expression. “Didn’t you say you’d stab him?” He inquired.

Nico didn’t actually remember threatening to stab Percy recently but he probably had, not that he would ever actually do it. Threatening Percy was his way of telling Percy he was about to cross a line- it only stopped the son of Poseidon about half the time but it was still the most effective method he had found. Nico shrugged and asked Jason sincerely, “Would that make you feel better?”

The son of Jupiter seemed to give the question serious consideration for a second, why Nico wasn’t completely sure. It wasn’t like Jason wasn’t capable of at least holding his own against Percy in a fight. Apparently coming to a decision and shrugged, “Maybe”

Percy made a dramatic show of rolling his eyes before bunting Jason’s shoulder with his own. “I’d say don’t pout,” Percy told Jason with a grin. “But it looks cute on you so go for it.”

Nico rolled his eyes before looking toward Will and exchanging a meaningful look. He wasn’t sure which was worse- watching Percy trying to flirt, or watching Jason trying to hide how it made him blush. Honestly, the two were so ridiculous to watch. The way Nico heard people at camp (read: Austin) tell it, Nico and Will had been just as bad when they first started dating. Nico sincerely hoped that wasn’t true because if it was true Nico didn’t know how anyone could have stood being around them.

Nico had been aware of a whispered back and forth argument between Wash and Watts as the rest of them had talked. It had started out quiet with a few questioning glances in Percy and Jason’s direction but as it continued (and likely as the scene between Jason and Percy unfolded) their whispering got louder until Nico could just make out what they were saying.

“You ask,” Wash whispered insistently to Watts.

“No, you ask,” Watts retorted.

“Why do I have to ask?” Wash questioned and from his tone, Nico was positive he wasn’t going to ask whatever it was.

“Fuck, fine,” Watts hissed as a signal to his defeat. He huffed before turning toward Percy and Jason. “So are you two… a couple?” he questioned.

Oh, that was a valid question, and Nico understood where it was coming from. Watching Percy and Jason since they had arrived in Tennessee they definitely acted like a couple, although looking back on it Percy and Jason’s “bro” behavior in the past could have been interrupted as couple-y as well.

No matter why they asked, Nico had to feel bad for Wash and Watts. They asked what they probably considered a simple question and ended up getting three different answers from four different people.

Jason was the first to speak, if only by a couple seconds, and his answer was simple (and wildly inaccurate). “No.”

Nico didn’t even hear Jason’s reply before giving one of his own. He hadn’t looked toward Will but Will had apparently been thinking along the same lines because he gave the same answer at the same time. “Yes,” the couple spoke in unison.

Percy was the last to weigh in on the topic and probably the most casual, but it was Percy so that wasn’t a surprise. “Kind of,” The son of Poseidon shrugged.

Jason's eyes darted from Nico to Will (with a look of betrayal) before settling on Percy in shock. Percy’s response was to once again shrug like it was nothing. Jason wasn’t the only one stuck looking around the room in confusion, Wash and Watts had no idea what was going on and it read on their faces. There was a long stretch of silence as Will’s two friends looked from demigod to demigod in confusion before Wash broke the silence, “So” he hummed nervously “Which is it?”

Percy and Jason exchanged a look, and this time it was them that spoke in unison (which just made them seem more like a couple), “It’s complicated.”

The whole arrangement Percy and Jason had with Annabeth and Piper could be called a lot of things but he wasn’t sure if complicated was accurate. Sure, when Percy had first told Nico about it Nico had a bit of a hard time processing the idea but that had more to with not being about to imagine himself and Will being in the same situation. Once Nico had gotten passed that it was actually pretty simple.

It was like Will had read Nico’s mind because he let out a bit of a sigh and stated: “It’s really not.”

Wash and Watts looked from Will to Percy and Jason. Nico knew that his fellow sons of the big three weren’t going to explain things so for the sake of moving on to more interesting conversation he figured he at least get the ball rolling. “Percy is engaged to this girl named Annabeth,” Nico explained plainly.

“Remember the girl in the wedding dress?” Will interjected questioningly.

“The one from New Years?” Watts asked to which Will just nodded. Will had mentioned that the girls had bombarded him with pictures when they had gone dress shopping on New Year’s and that Nora and Ruby had enjoyed giving their input. Nico didn’t know why Wash or Watts would remember.

“She was hot,” Wash stated with a nod of approval shoot in Percy’s direction “Nice.”

Percy smiled like he was somehow personally responsible for Annabeth being attractive. “Thank you.”

Nico just gave both Will and Percy a disapproving look for interrupting before turning back to Wash and Watts to continue with his explanation. “And Jason is dating this girl named Piper.”

“You know the actor Tristen McLean?” Will interjected questioningly. Nico glared at the son of Apollo for interrupting yet again. Will was really just making the whole thing take far too long to get through. Will just shrugged.

Watts and Wash exchanged a look. “Yeah,” Wash stated remorsefully.

“Ruby and Nora were obsessed with him before they became obsessed with your boyfriend,” Watts added jutting his thumb at Nico as he directed the statement to Will.

The casually amused expression Will had been wearing faltered slightly like it normally did when anyone brought up Nico modeling (or really whenever he remembered that that was, in fact, a thing Nico did). He didn’t groan or roll his eyes so Nico was counting it as a win. “Well Jason is dating his daughter,” Will explained.

“Is that relevant?” Nico directed the question to his boyfriend with mild annoyance.

“I don’t think so,” Jason interjected. Nico knew Piper wasn’t one to tell people her dad was famous so it wasn’t much of a surprise to him that Jason would be defensive on about it on Piper’s behavior.

“Context,” Will offered with a casual shrug

“Also pretty cool,” Watts added as Wash gave Jason two thumbs up as a show of approval.

“Anyways,” Nico resisted the urge to call them all idiots as he continued “The four of them have this arrangement so Percy and Jason also dating each other,” he explained (see, simple) “And so are Annabeth and Piper.”

“We’re not dating,” Jason stated insistently as he gestured between himself and Percy.

Nico couldn’t help but sigh heavily in the face of Jason’s denial. “You guys hang out together,” Nico pointed out very aware of how Percy had decided to remind silent on the topic at least for the time being.

“Because we’re bro’s,” Jason retorted.

Will gave Jason a sympathetic look before asking, “And sometimes you fool around?”

Jason actually looked like he had forgotten about that for a moment. “Um…..” the son of Jupiter hummed with nervous energy.

Percy apparently decided that this was the right moment to speak up. “That’s the plan,” He admitted proudly as he stretched his arm along the back of the loveseat so it rested behind Jason.

Jason turned on Percy and protested, “Dude!”

“What?” Percy questioned innocently “It is.”

“That’s dating,” Will pointed out plainly. Nico was pretty sure that hanging out and fooling around was the definition of dating, and if it wasn’t it was pretty close.

Watching Jason’s face the son of Jupiter appeared to go through about seventeen emotions in the span of a minute before settling shocked sort of awareness. “Oh, my gods!” He exclaimed before turning to Percy. “We’re dating!”

“Yeah, kinda,” Percy agreed with a shrug this clearly wasn’t news to him.

“What is this camp you go to!?!” Wash exclaimed looking toward Will with an amused grin. “Is it like the opposite of one of those ‘scared straight’ camps?”

“Do you have any straight friends besides us and Dean?” Watts asked as he gestured between himself and Wash.

Will shifted slightly, Nico doubted anyone else noticed. Whatever Dean’s sexual preference was, it wasn’t straight (exactly) and while Watts and Wash may not have been aware of that or any of what went on during New Year’s Will did. Nico knew Will was worried about the general state of denial Dean had seemed to be walking around in since then so the mention of Dean (especially in regards to his sexuality) stirred Will’s uneasiness. “A few,” Will replied quickly (maybe too quickly). “Not as many as you’d expected.”

“There are totally straight people at camp,” Percy stated “Like Clarisse.”

Will gave Percy an uncertain look “Are you forgetting about Silena?”

“Well, that was never confirmed,” Percy argued.

“Leo,” Jason suggested.

“Are you forgetting Percy’s bachelor party?” Nico asked with a bit of a laugh. Sure, unlike some people (read: Percy and Jason) Leo didn’t end up groping some guy in a storage closet but he still seemed especially flattered when guys tried to flirt with him.

“Um……” Percy hummed thoughtfully for a moment before declaring “maybe I was wrong, there aren’t any straight people at camp.”

Nico tried to think of someone but he was drawing a blank. There was Mitchell who had thought he was straight until he started dating Austin. There was Austin who was definitely NOT straight. There was Kayla, who had thought she was gay until she started dating Malcolm. Nico actually had no idea what Malcolm was but if he had to guess he would have said omnisexual. Lou Ellen was bisexual... “Cecil!” Nico declared more loudly than he had intended but he was a little proud of himself for actually being able to think of someone they knew at camp who was completely straight “Cecil is one-hundred percent straight.”

“How did I forget Cecil?” Will shock his head with disappointment in himself. “Travis Stoll too.”

“What about Connor?” Percy questioned with genuine curiosity.

Nico was able to stifle a laugh but Will didn’t even try to hold back. “Absolutely not,” Will declared.

“Huh” Percy huffed with a bit of surprise before musing, “I guess you really do learn something new every day.”

“Isn’t one of the Gardner girls straight?” Jason questioned.

“Right,” Will nodded as it came back to him “Miranda, not Katie.”

“Oh!” Percy bounced excitedly “Jake Mason and Chris Rodriguez, they both seem straight.”

“Yeah, Chris is definitely straight,” Nico agreed although he didn’t have any reason to think that except his own instinct. He didn’t know about Jake, he stuck to the forges so Nico hadn’t had a lot of interactions with him.

“Jake’s not,” Will stated definitively “I’m pretty sure if you look up future bear you will find a picture of Jake.”

“What about Butch?” Nico questioned curiously. The son of Iris was actually a pretty nice guy, very personable, even to Nico. In spite of the fact that his mother was literally the goddess of rainbows Nico never got a gay vibe (if there was such a thing) from him. Of course, Nico was pretty sure he wasn’t giving off much in the way of gay vibes so he didn’t want to go by that. Plus, like Will pointed out (sort of) bears were totally a thing.

“Before Butch dated Nyssa he dated Jake,” Will informed. Well, that answered that question.

Jason made a bit of a face “Really?” He questioned disapprovingly. Nico kind of understand considering that Nyssa and Jake were siblings. If Nico and Will ever broke up (which if Nico had any say in it they never would) Nico was positive that he would never be able to look at another son of Apollo romantically, it would just be too weird. “That’s awkward”

“Alright,” Watts interrupted holding his hands up in the air and everything, “We-” he gestured between himself and Wash “-have no idea who you are talking about.”

“It’s still pretty hilarious,” Wash interjected with a grin “Honestly, this camp sounds amazing!”

“It sounds like a reality TV show,” Watts pointed out sounding a little appalled.

“Yeah, one worth watching,” Wash retorted “I want to meet all these people. How do I sign up for this camp?”

Wash had clearly meant the question to be a joke but that didn’t stop the Nico, Jason, and Percy from looking nerves and shifting uncomfortably in their seats. Will didn’t even flinch, he grinned at Wash teasingly “Dude, you wouldn’t survive a day,” he stated without actually saying anything. “Plus, it’s sort of only open to certain families, you know, my dad and everything.”

Sometimes Nico forgot that out of all of them Will probably had the most experience lying about being a demigod. Nico would have thought with all that practiced Will would have been a better liar but Will was in fact a truly terrible liar it was no wonder Dean figured out that something was up. Still, watching Will now Nico got how the rest of Will’s friends were completely in the dark. Will was awkward and obviously uncomfortable with the topic at hand but one mention of the absentee dad and it all was easily explained away.

            And even if Wash or Watts wanted to question Will (or any of them) they didn’t get a chance as the sounds of people talking in the hallway just outside the door caught everyone’s attention. Nico couldn’t make out the words but he was sure he heard two voices and they didn’t sound to be moving which meant they were literally standing right outside the door. It seemed odd, who stands outside a random hotel room talking? Nico wanted to think it was nothing but with monster activity on the rise, and the fact that there were currently four demigods in the room (three of whom were children of the big three) it would be foolish to not at least worry a little. Nico was clearly not the only one to think that way, both Percy and Jason had sat up a little and were watching the door nervously.   

The talking seemed to subside and there was the soft click of the door’s lock disengaging paired with the quick beep sound of someone swiping their key in front of the electronic lock. The door pushed open and Nico all but sighed with relief when it was Dean who walked through the door, “I better not have missed any of the really funny stories,” Dean exclaimed as he entered the room. Any sensation of relief Nico had at the sight of Will’s cousin was short lived because walking into the room behind him was Felix.

Dean’s words were lost with the sight of the person he had in tow. Nico noticed Wash and Watts exchange a look like they were disappointed but not really surprised by this turn of events. “Felix” They greeted in unison with almost no enthusiasm.

Felix did that thing that was apparently supposed to qualify as a greeting where he lifted his hand but didn’t actually wave and nodded his head a little. It was one of the few modern rituals that Nico still just couldn’t understand (his mother would have murdered him for being so rude) but apparently was considered acceptable.

One glance at Will and Nico could tell his boyfriend was in complete shock (or maybe it was denial). The door closed with a remarkable heavy thud and the sound seemed to snap Will back to reality. “What the fuck!?!” he sneered as he took a few large steps forward closing much of the space between himself and the new arrivals.

Nico almost flinched at the sound of Will’s voice, he didn’t really sound like the Will Nico knew. That was actually the problem, it took his brain a minute to process that it was Will that had spoken. It wasn’t that Nico had never heard Will angry before, they had had their fights, but then Will didn’t sound so….hostile. Similar to how he could get in the infirmary when they fought Will sounded more stern than anything. Also, Will rarely cursed, although if Nico was being honest when he did hear his boyfriend swear it was usually was somehow related to Felix.

Felix clearly wasn’t all that impressed with Will’s anger, although that might have had something to do with Dean standing between him and Will like a human shield. He actually had the nerve to roll his eyes which made it difficult for Nico to stay seated and silent. He really didn’t know how this whole thing was going to play out and in the end, it really was between Will and Dean. Still it was Will and Nico wanted to do anything to protect him which included punching people in the face when they were being disrespectful. Mentally Nico had to remind himself that Will was more than capable of taking care of himself.

Felix crossed his arms over his chest. “I told you,” he declared clearly speaking to Dean.

A flash of emotion (frustration?) crossed Dean’s face before he did something surprising. Dean turned and smacked Felix on the chest, hard if the sound it made was any indication. “Not helping.”

“Ow!” Felix protested bringing a hand up to rub at the abused spot on his chest. “Well, I did,” He stated stubbornly as he gave Dean a slightly wounded look.

“I will hit you again.” Will informed heatedly as he pointed a finger at Felix.

Nico caught the questioning expressions shot in his direction by both Percy and Jason and all he could think to do was shrug. It wasn’t that Nico didn’t know about Will hitting Felix it was just the situation was so complicated Nico wouldn’t really know where to start. Also, he was positive there was no way he could communicate any of it through gestures.

“You hit him before?” Wash asked staring up at the scene with amusement. Both he and Watts were still sitting on the floor, but because of where Will, Dean, and Felix all ended up standing the two looked a little like children waiting for story time. Probably not the best place to be if the situation turned violent but neither looked like they planned to move.

“How do we not know this?” Watts questioned looked less amused and more annoyed at his lack of knowledge than his counterpart.

Both guys’ questions went unanswered as Will’s eyes stayed lock on Felix. His usually tranquil sky blue eyes seeming to burn with a fury that would rival the sun. Dean ignored them as well, his attention seemed focused on Will. He sighed before stating, “You’re not helping either.” Nico wasn’t sure exactly what Dean had expected to happen with that statement but Will looked completely dumbfounded. It may or may not have been the result Dean had been hoping for but he clearly had no problem taking advantage of it. He turned back to Felix with a serious, almost pleading expression. “We talked about this,” he reminded with a nod in Will’s direction.

Felix let out a bit of a laugh before questioning, “You were serious?”

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose with clear frustration. Nico was pretty sure that was the look he got whenever he did a sword fighting class with Percy and Jason was there because it always broke out into a “who’s better” debate and if they weren’t stopped (usually by Nico) they would do something incredibly stupid. “Felix!” Dean groaned sounding completely and utterly done.

Felix sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fuck, dude fine.” He surrendered before looking passed Dean to where Will was standing still looking pissed. “I’m sorry,” he declared in what had to be the least sincere and angriest apology Nico had ever heard.

“That’s nice,” Will replied through clenched teeth. “Now, get out of my room,” Will declared insistently as he pointed toward the door for extra measure.

Nico had actually adjusted to how much Will and Dean looked alike and with a little time, he came to see the differences between the two more and more. Still, every once and a while Dean would do something and it would be such a Will thing to do that how much they looked alike came rushing to the forefront of his mind. The serious expression that Dean focused on Will, the intensity of his stare, the furrow of his eyebrows, the small frown were all so familiar it was strange seeing them on someone else’s face. “Dude, it’s _our_ room,” Dean stressed. “And I’m not complaining about the pack of male models you hang out with coming to visit,” He declared pointing toward where Jason and Percy were sitting on the loveseat. “That you invited to bunk in our room without asking me, I might add.”

“Actually,” Jason began as he shifted on the couch uncomfortably “only Nico models.”

“Dude,” Percy groaned. Nico looked to see Percy staring at Jason and shaking his head disappointedly, “just say thank you.”

Jason and Percy’s little exchange went more or less ignored and the two Solace’s remained focused on each other. “Is it a problem?” Will questioned clearly referring to Nico, Percy, and Jason staying in their room for the night.

“No” Dean replied, his words weren’t containing the same heat they had before “That’s not what I’m saying.”

“Oh my god!” Wash exclaimed excitedly, loud enough to draw everyone’s attention including Will and Dean’s. “It was New Year’s, wasn’t it?” At first, Nico had thought he was looking between Will and Dean but once he started talking he realized he was actually looking between Will and Felix. “The whole hitting thing, it was New Year’s?”

Felix groaned, which made Nico realize how quiet he had been up until that point. Nico didn’t really know Felix well, although sometimes the amount Will complained about the guy he felt like he did. Either way, he knew enough to know that quiet wasn’t really a trait commonly associated with Felix. The fact that he was staying silent and allowing Will and Dean to talk things out meant something but Nico wasn’t feeling very inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt in the light of New Years. “Could we not?” Felix questioned with an actual wince, like the mere mention of New Year’s caused him pain, And, yeah, the more petty side of Nico sincerely hoped it did. “As far as decision making goes that wasn’t my best night.”

Nico knew he should just let it go but the thought of anyone trying to take Will from him was upsetting. Felix may never have had a chance, and Will wasn’t the cheating type but just knowing that Felix had tried made Nico think about things he had been carefully not thinking about since he and Will started dating. What if Will decided he didn’t want to be with the weird Hades kid after all? What if he found someone else, someone more like himself? Nico couldn’t stand the thought of losing another person he loved so those thoughts spinning around in his head made him anxious.

Anxiety wasn’t exactly a foreign emotion to Nico but he still hadn’t mastered exactly how to handle it, especially when other people were involved. He just couldn’t sit still and do nothing, he certainly couldn’t stay quiet. “Or we could,” Nico stated. He tried to keep his tone neutral to hide his own insecurities. The memory of smelling another guy on Will’s clothes which was running through his mind wasn’t helping, and his words came out sounding vaguely ominous.  

Felix turned and actually looked surprised for a second. “Fuck,” he declared as he raked his fingers through his dark hair rather ruthlessly. “I forgot you were here.”

“Not the first person to make that mistake” Percy commented with what Nico assumed was fake sympathy.

“Definitely a big mistake,” Jason agreed casually.

Felix looked toward Jason and Percy were they sat on the loveseat for a second before they turned back to Dean and questioned seriously, “Who the fuck are they?”

“Friends of Will’s” Dean explained before pointing first to the son of Jupiter, “Jason-” he slid his finger over slightly to indicate the son of Poseidon “-Percy.”

Felix tilted his head to one side curiously as he looked at the two demigods “So you’re Percy, seriously?” he questioned. The amusement in his voice seemed out of place with the tension that still hung thickly in the air.

“Yeah?” Percy replied uncertainly before asking “Why does everyone keep asking me that?” Nico wasn’t sure if everyone kept asking Percy that but he did know that was more or less Wash and Watts reaction to Percy. He was just as in the dark about the reason as Percy was so when the son of Poseidon looked at him questioningly all he really could do was shrug.

“No offense,” Felix offered in a tone that told Nico whatever he said next was likely going to be offensive “But fuck you a little dude.”

Percy and Jason both looked completely stunned which was incredibly funny. Percy actually seemed so taken aback that he was speechless which may have been a first. Nico really tried not to but it was just impossible not to grin a little at their reaction. He noticed the slightly disappointed look Will gave him when he noticed but Nico chose to ignore it. He was pretty sure he could get Will over whatever little bit of betrayal he may have felt over Nico grinning at something Felix had said.

Will probably had something to say, Nico could all but see the scolding Will was ready to give him written across his boyfriend’s face. Dean groaned (once again) and gave Felix a look that was so similar to the one Will gave Nico when he over did the shadow travel or got a tattoo without telling him first it was eerie. “Felix.”

“Oh, come on!” Felix retorted defensively “I can’t be the only one who thought it or did the rest of you enjoy dealing with Will acting like an insecure nut bag.”

Dean’s jaw worked for a second before he seemed to give up on whatever he was going to try to say. That was almost as telling as the slightly guilty but all too knowing looks exchanged by Watts and Wash. Nico wasn’t the only one who noticed if the expressions that crossed Percy and Jason’s faces were any indication. Percy looked between Nico and Will with a look that could really only be described as amused confusion “What?!?”

The disapproving look Will had been casting in Nico’s direction vanished and was replaced by something like embarrassment. Nico’s boyfriend clearly had no intent of answering the question but Nico really didn’t have that problem. “Will was being an idiot.” He explained plainly. It may not have explained the whole situation but Nico thought it summed up Will’s irrational jealousy of Percy rather nicely.

“I had my reasons,” Will defended quickly. “Anyone in my position-”

Nico held up a hand dismissively before interrupting, “Will, you were being an idiot,” He assured. He turned back to Percy because Nico was pretty sure based on the various expressions of everyone else in the room that Percy was the only one in the dark about the situation being discussed. “He thought we were going to…I don’t know, fool around or something on New Year’s.”

Percy actually shuddered which Nico was pretty sure more than made up for the “not my type” comment. “Gross,” The son of Poseidon stated seriously “No offense” He stated looking at Nico as he continued “It’s just you’re like my kid-brother, that would be so weird.”

Nico rolled his eyes, why Percy and Jason just insisted on still considering Nico a kid he just didn’t get. It was annoying, he had been through just as much, if not more than the other two sons of the big three, the fact that he was technically a couple years younger shouldn’t matter. “You are not that much older than me,” Nico grumbled because it was really the principle of the thing. “But yeah, I agree, gross.” He added with more conviction. Any romantic feeling he had had for Percy were very much in the past, and while he didn’t agree with the kid part he could echo Percy’s sentiment that their relationship was more familial than anything else. “That’s what I meant by Will was being an idiot.”

Will clearly wanted to protest or maybe just defend his ridiculous insecurities but he didn’t get a chance. “Whatever,” Felix interjected dismissively. “It was still a solid two months of Will with PMS.”

Will’s face turned to stone, any thought of attempting to defend his previous jealous clearly gone. That was for the best because if Nico had to hear about how he and Percy had a history one more time he was going to scream. Will turned to his cousin with a serious expression, “Yeah, Dean I don’t know what’s going here but I’m hitting him.”

“Fuck you dude,” Felix huffed dismissively with distasteful look shot in Will’s direction.

Will seemed unaffected by the challenge, actually if anything it only seemed to fuel the dark emotions that were swirling behind his light eyes. Nico knew the comment meant nothing but it bothered him never the less because it was directed at Will, his Will. No one was allowed to talk to his Will that way ever. Nico didn’t even really know how much it bothered him until he was on his feet “Excuse me?” He directed the question toward Felix and this time any ominous or vaguely threatening vibes were intended.

Felix turned toward Nico. Their eyes meet for a second before Felix looked away. Nico really didn’t know the guy well enough to label the emotion that was visible on his face but if he had to guess he would have to go with disappointment, or maybe guilt. “Fuck, you’re still here,” Felix declared, where he thought Nico had gone was unclear. He raked his fingers through his dark hair once again as he took a deep breath like he was trying to prepare himself. “Alright, you I actually owe an apology, I guess.”

Nico had no idea what he had expected Felix to say but it hadn’t been that. He blinked in shock because to spite the noncommittal phrase tacked onto the end of the statement Felix had sounded sincere. A sincere apology didn’t really line up with the majority of Felix stories Will has told him since September. “What?” he questioned in confusion

Felix sighed. “For the record, I was fucking hammered,” he explained quickly, clearly just wanting to get the words out “but yeah fucking horrible decision making on my part.” Felix shook his head like he was trying to shake away the memory or maybe it was a sign of disapproval at his own actions. “It probably doesn’t matter but it completely fucked my life for like the last month.”

Nico had to take a minute to process his words. Unlike the forced and fake apology, he had directed at Will before Felix really had seemed to mean it. And Nico couldn’t help then find it a little sweet that Felix was so affected by Dean not speaking to him for the past month (Nico was assuming that was what had “fucked his life” for the past month). He wasn’t sure if he actually forgave the guy, but the urge to bury him in an unmarked grave had subsided.

Nico crossed his arms over his chest and made sure to keep his expression serious as he spoke- this wasn’t him accepting Felix’ apology, this was him allowing Felix to exist as long as he followed Nico’s rules. “If you even think about making a pass at Will again they will never find your body.” He promised darkly

“WHAT!?!?” Chorused Percy, Jason, Wash, and Watts. Percy’s eyes darted between Nico and Felix before setting on Felix as he clearly tried to calculate why Nico hadn’t killed the guy already (Nico wouldn’t lie, he had seriously considered it). Jason looked between Nico and Will with a questioning expression, Nico guessed Will had never told Jason about what happened New Years either. Wash and Watts focused their curiosity on Will and Dean.

“Nico!” Will exclaimed disapprovingly. Will was clearly still of the mindset that Felix was horrible, and Nico felt a little bad for not backing Will up on that completely. But he also knew Will too well, he could hate Felix with a firey passion but he would still try to make nice with him eventually if Dean had forgiven him so Nico was just getting ahead of him by a few minutes (maybe half a day).

Felix held up his hands as a show of surrender and smirked, which was a first for Nico- must people didn’t grin at him when he had just threatened their life. “No worries,” he promised sounding almost amused with the idea. “I wasn’t actually interested in the first place.”

“How are you still alive?” Percy questioned Felix as he looked at the guy like he was a modern marvel. Felix gave a shrug, clearly not getting the sincerity in Percy’s question. The son of Poseidon turned to Nico with clear disbelief. “You really didn’t kill him? Not even a little?”

Nico rolled his eyes as he replied, “My first response to conflict isn’t always violence.”

“Next time you threaten to kill me I going to remind you that you said that,” Percy stated.

“Alright,” Watts declared sounding like he had gotten over the initial shock “I have just so many questions.”

“Like when did this happen!?!” Wash exclaimed looking for more shocked and surprised than Watts.

“Will you two shut up!” Dean shouted, which made Nico realize how long the other Solace had been quiet. Nico felt like he had a good handle on Dean, partially just from exposure. Of all the people Will knew in the mortal world Nico had had the most contact with Dean. But more so he felt he understood Dean because at times he could act so much like Will. “Everyone just needs to stop,” he stated firmly. Everything from Dean’s tense shoulders to stern tone was so much like Will in a crisis.

It reminded Nico of Will in the infirmary when there were lots of patients brought in at once- there would be other children of Apollo asking Will for directions and patients demanding his attention. Will always said he hated when the infirmary got like that, that it was so stressful but he always held it together in the moment. That was clearly what Dean was doing, he was holding it together for the moment being.

Wash and Watts actually fell silent and Dean focused his attention back to Will who still looked angry and disapproving. “Can we just move past this and be good?”

Will looked completely shocked by the question. “NO!!!” Yeah, Nico could have told Dean that would be the answer, Will could be shockingly stubborn at times. It was like Nico wanting to get his tongue pierced, it didn’t matter how he presented the idea or explained all the precautions he would take before and after Will would still say no. It wasn’t that Nico needed Will permission but he would prefer not to do something that would upset his overprotective boyfriend because that always started a fight. And, sure make-ups sex was good but fighting was not.

Felix threw up his hands as he stated, “I’m just going to go.” He took a half a step back toward the door. “Let you guys talk or whatever.” The distinct note of disappointment was clear in his voice.

“No,” Dean stated insistently as he turned back to Felix and caught him by the wrist “Dude, stay.”

Felix stopped, he didn’t pull his hand from Dean’s grasp but he did look down at where Dean’s fingers remained locked around his wrist like he wasn’t sure that it was real “But…?” he started weakly.

It was probably because Nico had spent so much time on the outskirts, avoiding people and definitely avoiding being touched but he learned you could tell a lot about people’s relationships to one another by the way they touched. Like when someone went to stop a friend from walking away or to get their attention people usually grabbed the near the elbow and they typically let go once they had the other person’s attention. The only people Nico had ever seen grab each other by the wrist and hold were couples. “Oh,” he exclaimed with understanding as he looked between Dean and Felix.

Dean and Felix seemed to realize they had revealed more than they had probably intended. Dean released his grip on Felix’ wrist and Felix pulled his hand back to his side. They both looked around the room at the others with a nervous energy. Nico cast his gaze toward the one person in the room who’s reaction actually mattered, at least to him, and probably Dean: Will. The color had completely drained from the son of Apollo’s face, it was the first time Nico could honestly describe his boyfriend as pale. His mouth was agape as he stared at his cousin in complete shock. He was speechless so long Nico was starting to worry. “No, no, no” Will finally spoke shaking his head insistently like if he denied what was clearly going on hard enough he could actually make it not true. “This is not happening.”

“Wait, what’s not happening?” Wash asked sincerely.

“What’s going on?” Watts questioned before adding with an edge of annoyance in his voice “Seriously, sick of being out of the loop here.”

“They’re banging,” Percy declared plainly as he gestured between Dean and Felix, “Which I totally called by the way.”

“WHAT!?!” Wash and Watts exclaimed as one.

“Percy, that really wasn’t helpful,” Jason pointed out slightly disapproving which was a huge under-reaction in Nico’s opinion.

“Well, I did” Percy pointed out defensively which really wasn’t the point.

“It’s….we…..” Dean stammered to find something to say.

“It’s really none of your fucking business” Felix declared angrily. Sure, he sounded overly defensive but Nico knew Felix was completely right. Whatever happened or was going to happen was between him and Dean and no one else needed to know.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Will stated in all seriousness. He actually did look a little ill, which was concerning.

Will’s declaration seemed to be enough to push Dean past whatever awkwardness he was feeling about being outed (was it still an outing if the person wasn’t completely gay?). He glared at Will for a second but clearly saw that Will wouldn’t be easily convinced. Giving up on Will almost as quickly as he tried Dean turned to Nico with a look a desperation. “Nico,” he sighed “Could you just…..I don’t know help me out a little,” he asked and it almost sounded like a plea. “Do whatever it is you normally do that mellows him out and makes him see reason.”

“Um…” Percy hummed clearly trying to hold in a laugh, “I think we all can guess what Nico does that makes Will more mellow and I don’t think he will be doing any of that in a room full of people.”

Nico was hesitant to get involved but letting things continue down the path they were on didn’t seem like a good option either. He sighed and started to move across the room toward where Will was still stood leaning against the wall. He shot the son of Jupiter a serious look. “Jason, do something about him” he ordered more than requested as he gestured toward Percy. He slid his hand into Will’s and tried to pull him toward the bedroom door. “You come here.” He asked softly. It wasn’t that he had any intention of doing what Percy had clearly been referring to but he did have a better chance of talking some sense into his boyfriend if they could talk in private.

Will looked surprised and a little betrayed which was heartbreaking (Nico would make it up to him later). “Nic…” he protested weakly.

“Wait, what?” Jason declared confused, “Since when am I responsible for Percy running off at the mouth?”

Nico pulled Will’s hand with a bit more insistence and he actually started to move. Nico had to all but push him into the bedroom but he was moving. He shot Jason an exasperated look over his shoulder as he followed Will. “Since you started dating him and Annabeth isn’t here,” He explained although he thought that was obvious.

Nico went to shut the door behind him. The door was halfway closed when he heard Percy call after him, “Bro, you’re not just leaving us out here with the awkwardness?”

Nico peeked around the door and grinned at Percy. “You said you wanted to make up for New Year’s” he reminded. Yes, he had been annoyed that Percy hadn’t invited Will to his stupid bachelor party but he had been more bothered that he had then just left him in an uncomfortable situation so he and Jason could fool around in a closet. “Unlike you two I’ll keep my clothes on.”

Nico shut the door behind him but that didn’t stop him from hearing Percy shout after him. “Lies, bro, lies!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who are interested, I do plan to give Dean and Felix a few chapters of their own in Outtakes. I at least plan to cover their first kiss (New Years) and what happened in the hotel that resulted in them being together. Since they are both OC I don't feel comfortable giving them chapters in the main story where the main characters aren't present. For those of you that couldn't care less about Dean and Felix, the chapters will be clearly marked so you may skip them.


	43. Distraction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday All,
> 
> SMUT WARNING: This chapter contains Jercy smut, you have all been warned.
> 
> Notice: I am changing my update schedule to every other Sunday. It is very sad but I am working on some other projects and I think we all can agree that there needs to be more Solangelo fics out there so I'm looking at this as a positive.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter- Comments and Kudos are always loved.

When Jason had suggested the trip to Tennessee he wasn’t completely sure what he had expected. Honestly, he just thought it would be a good way to make up sneaking off on Nico during Percy’s bachelor party while at the same time having a chaperone for his time with Percy. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be alone with Percy, it was just a lot of pressure being just with Percy with no one else around. Tennessee was supposed to be a win-win situation.

He certainly didn’t expect to be the awkward witness to the drama that unfolded. At one point Percy leaned over and whispered in his ear that the scene was like one of those telenovelas Leo had forced them to watch (really he only had to force them to watch the first one, the rest they had watched voluntarily). The whole thing had been shockingly uncomfortable, and clearly none of Percy’s or Jason’s business but there really nowhere for them to go. It was worse when Nico and Will disappeared into the bedroom, then Jason really felt like an intruder on something that was meant to be private.

Dean was a lot like Will and seemed pretty good at trying to make everything as comfortable as possible. That may have been for his own sake but it was still was appreciated the effort until Nico and Will re-emerged from the bedroom. That took about ten minutes, and in spite of what Percy and Nico joked Jason doubted the couple had been fooling around, every once and a while Will’s voice would carry into the room and he clearly wasn’t happy.

When Nico and Will did re-emerge from the bedroom Will still didn’t look particularly content but he didn’t look ready to throw a punch which was an improvement (and it was weird seeing a usually calm Will look aggressive). Things were still tense and Wash and Watts excused themselves not long after and Jason really couldn’t blame them for that.

Wash and Watts leaving actually seemed to relieve some of the tension in the room or at least it did until Dean said he was going to stay in Felix’ room. The tension shot right back up until Nico grabbed Will by the arm and pushed him toward the bedroom declaring he was tired and they were going to bed. Will didn’t necessarily look happy about it but he let Nico pull him into the bedroom and shut the door behind them. Dean and Felix were gone as soon as the door closed behind Nico and Will.

With Dean and Felix gone Percy and Jason were left alone sitting on the tiny couch next to each other. The tension still lingered in the air like an afterglow and Jason didn’t know how to break the silence. He was thankful when Percy did. “Well, that was eventful,” he declared with a bit of amusement.

Percy really did have a talent because with four little words he completely drove away the awkwardness. Jason found himself grinning as he replied, “That is a pretty big understatement.”

Percy pushed off the couch and moved across the room where Will and Nico had left a stack of blankets earlier. “I didn’t think Will was capable of being so hostile,” Percy commented as he began to rifle through the blankets, why Jason wasn’t sure.

“Me neither,” Jason agreed although he wasn’t as surprised as Percy might have been. After all, Will had survived two major demigod battles, no one does that without the capability of violence. Will may have been less impulsive than Percy or Nico or Jason himself but it was still there but it was more focused. Jason always figured if anyone messed with someone Will cared about Will’s response would be almost surgically precise and terrifying. It made Jason feel a little bad for Dean and Felix, Will clearly had an opinion on the situation and Nico wouldn’t always be there to play interference. “Makes my whole outing look a lot better.” Sure, having his girlfriend and everyone else act like he was the last to know something about himself which had been a bit embarrassing, to say the least, but it really could have been worse.

Percy laughed “Tell me about it.” Now that Jason actually thought about it Percy had it worse than he had. At least Jason had come to the realization that he was bisexual on his own, and everyone else just adamantly confirmed it. For Percy, it was everyone told him he was bisexual and he just confirmed it later. That must have sucked, not that Percy ever acted like it bothered him. “How do you want to do this?” Percy questioned holding out a blanket in each hand like that somehow clarified the question.

Jason had absolutely no idea what Percy was asking him. He was sure he was staring back at Percy dumbly as he asked, “Do what?”

“You could take the couch and I could take that chair or the floor,” Percy explained quickly gesturing toward seriously uncomfortable looking chair Nico had been sitting in earlier and the tiny sofa Jason was still sitting on as he talked. “We could switch tomorrow if you want.”

Jason looked around the room at the various pieces of furniture. The chair looked like it was designed as an instrument of torture, and the couch was tiny, both Percy and Jason were too tall to reasonably sleep on it. Jason looked back at Percy who was still holding the blankets with a questioning expression. “Or we would conserve our blanket supplies and sleep together,” Jason offered. It wasn’t until the words left his mouth and he saw Percy try to hide a lopsided grin that he realized how that sounded. Jason could feel his face turning redder by the second, he really needed to think more before he spoke. “I mean next to each other on the floor,” Jason corrected keeping his voice as even as he could manage.

Percy shrugged and tossed the blankets on the ground. “Works for me.”

Jason sat up, walked across the room, and grabbed another blanket and a few of the pillows. Together, he and Percy set up the floor as a bed and Jason had to say it looked pretty good. He had certainly slept on worse thanks to various quests, and he was sure Percy could say the same. When everything was said and done Jason was pretty proud of their work.

Jason threw down the last pillow before looking over at Percy and found him frowning down at their makeshift bed. “I didn’t think we would be staying the night,” Percy declared seriously.

“Yeah, who knew soccer championships are three days,” Jason agreed. “I don’t think it’s like that for track,” he pointed out “Was it like that for swim?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Percy admitted with a bit of a shrug “Never made it to championships.”

Jason couldn’t help but grin. Percy could be so cocky about somethings and the water was his domain. “How did you not make championships for swim?” He questioned teasingly “You’re a child of Poseidon.”

Percy rolled his eyes and huffed slightly, “It’s a team effort and not everyone on the team was pulling their weight.”

“Sure,” Jason offered in fake disbelief. He didn’t doubt Percy’s claims, and he had seen Percy swim before so he had no doubts regarding his abilities. Still, Percy so often teased everyone else, it was good for him to be on the receiving end once and a while.

Percy clearly saw through Jason’s charade. He grinned, reached over, and shoved Jason’s shoulder playfully. This was the first time he and Percy had been alone since they had all come to their weird little arrangement and Jason had been expecting it to be weird. It was surprisingly _not_ weird, it was actually so much like it always was with them if he hadn’t known better he would say nothing had changed.

Jason actually felt pretty relaxed but one look at Percy and he could tell the son of Poseidon wasn’t. Percy was staring at him with the same serious expression he had been giving their makeshift bed moments before. “I didn’t bring a change of clothes,” Percy declared seemingly out of nowhere.

“Neither did I,” Jason admitted. “Wouldn’t be the first time either of us spent a few days in old clothes,” he pointed out before adding, “And at least this time neither of us are covered in monster dust.”

Percy looked down at the makeshift bed for a moment. “Or mud, or blood,” he agreed before looking up and focusing that serious on Jason once again. “How do you plan to sleep?”

Was Percy acting weird? It seemed like he was acting weird which was odd because of late Jason pretty much had a monopoly on acting weird. He had absolutely no idea what Percy was talking about so he just looked back at him curiously and gave him the only answer he could think of “Soundly?”

“Like clothing wise,” Percy clarified. Percy was definitely acting weird. “At home, I just sleep in boxers.”

Jason nodded, “That was my plan.”

Percy looked back at him questioningly for a second before speaking. “So it’s cool if I….?” He asked gesturing to himself awkwardly.

Jason tilted his head to one side and examined Percy for a second before he just gave up and asked the question that already driving him crazy. “Bro, what’s wrong with you?”

“Dude,” Percy sighed and threw up his hands in exasperation “I’m trying to make sure you’re comfortable.”

Jason almost laughed but figured that would be the worse reaction and managed to hold it in. “By acting weird?” He questioned.

“Jay, I’m still figuring this whole thing out too,” Percy declared. Jason hadn’t thought about it that way probably because Percy had acted so calm about everything up until this point. It was actually reassuring to know that at least on some level Percy was a little freaked out by all of this too. “I don’t know, I suck at making the first move.” Percy admitted before adding casually, “You, Annabeth, and Rachel can share a laugh about that.” Percy eyed him for a moment before shrugging. “And, well, you seem more comfortable making the first move so…..”

“This is you making sure I’m comfortable making a move?” Jason questioned, trying and mostly succeeding at sounding annoyed. In reality, it was kind of sweet that Percy was trying to make him comfortable and Jason did appreciate it. Percy was right, Jason was far more comfortable being the one to make the first move.

“Yeah,” Percy shrugged almost bashfully “Pretty much.”

Jason shook his head dismissively. “I don’t know how Annabeth puts up with you,” He nudged Percy’s shoulder playfully, “Now take your clothes off.”

The look that spread across Percy’s face was amusing, it was shock mixed with childlike delight. “Really?”

“Dude, I meant sleep in your boxers,” Jason corrected as he shucked his own t-shirt and threw it at the son of Poseidon for good measure. What had he been so nervous about, Jason wondered to himself. Nothing really felt all that different between them. “Seriously, how does Annabeth put up with you?”

“You should ask her,” Percy suggested as he kicked off his shoes. “Maybe she could give you lessons,” He added before tugging off his own t-shirt.

 _Oh, right_ , Jason remembered as he worked hard not to let his eyes linger too long on Percy’s bare chest, _things were a bit different between them now_. It really wasn’t far that Percy just insisted on staying in such good shape. Why couldn’t he do what most people did when they went off to college, get flabby. If Percy caught Jason looking he just knew he would never hear the end of it. As a distraction as much as a response Jason picked up the nearest pillow and threw it at Percy. The brunet had been focused on unbuckling his pants so he didn’t see the projectile in time to dodge and the pillow hit him square in the face. Jason smiled with satisfaction at that, “Think she’ll be alright if I smothered you?”

Surprisingly, Percy didn’t make a move to throw the pillow back. Instead, he toed it back on to their makeshift bed. He took a second to rub absently at his face before returning to his pants, quickly removing them and tossing them in the direction of his shirt. “Bro, it’s Annabeth” Percy pointed out with a certain amount of affection in the way that he said his finance’s name. Anyone that heard Percy talk about Annabeth could easily tell how in love with her he was. “She always has a backup plan.”

Annabeth Chase was always a strategist so Jason had no doubt that was true. “Oh really?” He questioned half-teasing. In reality, Jason was just trying to keep the conversation going if for no other reason than it served as a distraction for his own nerves. He turned his attention to taking off his own pants and while the idea of doing that in front of Percy made him feel weirdly anxious (it wasn’t like they both hadn’t seen each other practically naked before) it was preferable to being caught staring at Percy in nothing but his boxers (and yes, he was absolutely staring).

“Yeah,” Percy shrugged before moving to sit on the floor and making himself comfortable. “Something happens to me she’ll just marry Piper,” he explained teasingly at least if his grin was any indication. Percy pulled a blanket over himself which obscured much of his mostly naked body which should have been a good thing, less of a distraction. Jason still felt distracted and slightly flustered, they were going to sleep next to each other. _Who had suggested that_ , Jason thought before remembering that he had suggested it. Jason discarded his pants and stood rather awkwardly in just his boxer as Percy continued to talk oblivious to Jason internal dilemma. “Her mom would be so happy,” Percy joked before his grin widened “If you’re lucky maybe they’ll keep you as a pet.”

Jason shrugged as he eyed the space next to Percy on the floor. “I could think of worse things,” He admitted his mind a million miles away.

“Like laying down apparently,” Percy replied.

Jason looked away from the spot next to Percy among the blankets and back up at the brunet. “Shut up,” Jason retorted without any real heat in his words. He still didn’t move to lay down on the makeshift bed.

“Oh come on bro,” Percy said as he patted the space next to him invitingly “You can even be the big spoon if you want.”

“You’re a dick,” Jason declared although he was grateful because Percy’s teasing was the nudge he needed. He sat down on the nest of blankets and worked under the top comforter, although he was careful to keep a respectable amount of distance between himself and Percy. He was certain not going to spoon with Percy. “Are you so chivalrous with Annabeth?”

“You could call it that,” Percy replied in a way that made Jason positive there was a story there.

“What do you call it?” Jason questioned curiously.

“Annabeth is a strong, independent women” Percy explained, “And if you think she is anything other than the big spoon in our relationship you’re crazy.”

Jason managed to stifle the laugh that threatened to get out. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, the demigod that had fought Titans, and giants, and had even survived Tartarus was the little spoon. “So you’re just used to it?” He asked sounding more amused than he had wanted.

“Hey, don’t knock it to you try it, dude,” Percy stated clearly not taking offense, but that was one of the good things about Percy he didn’t seem easily offended “It’s actually pretty comfortable.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Jason replied before letting out a rather dramatic yawn.

Percy took that as a cue to hit the lights and the sitting room was cast in thick shadows. In the dark, they both fell silent for a long moment. In spite of the fact that he and Percy were lying together in nothing but their boxers the silence wasn’t awkward, it actually felt surprisingly comfortable. It wasn’t the only thing that was surprisingly comfortable, the makeshift bed Jason and Percy had arranged wasn’t half bad. It may not have been as comfortable as an honest to goodness bed but it was a lot better than the hard ground.

The silence stretched on and Jason’s eyes began to fell heavy. The floor could have been as hard as a rock, it wouldn’t have mattered Jason would still fall asleep. He was a few heavy blinks away from dreamland, Jason could tell, when Percy sighed drawing him away from sleep. “Today was actually pretty fun,” Percy declared thoughtfully.

Jason agreed with that assessment more or less. “Except for the awkwardness at the end,” He pointed out. He left out the unpleasantness that was shadow-traveling but that hadn’t seemed to affect Percy as much as it had him.

“Except for that,” Percy agreed. Jason looked in Percy direction but couldn’t really make out much more than his silhouette in the darkness. Still, he could picture the thoughtful expression of the son of Poseidon’s face as he listened to the silence. “Ya know I never went to a school-related sporting event that I wasn’t participating in before,” Percy explained the faint rustle of fabric suggesting the brunet had shrugged with the declaration. “I was never in one school long enough to really care.”

Jason gave that some thought. He knew Percy had bounced around a lot between different mortal schools and that he most often got kicked out for being a trouble maker. He guessed after having that happen a few times it would be hard to get invested in the latest school’s athletics, especially if you doubted you would be there very long. Jason hadn’t experienced anything like that, he grew up in the legion so he always had a place. Of course, the legion wasn’t exactly known for practicing sports for leisure. Everything was life or death and there were no spectators. “This is my first year going to a mortal school,” Jason stated, “so I can relate.”

“It’s weird the things we’ve missed out on because we’re demigods,” Percy declared getting far more philosophical that Jason was really was used to.

Again Jason’s mind was brought back to his own childhood. He knew Percy’s had been far from perfect but sometimes Jason envied Percy’s childhood or at least parts of it. Jason wasn’t about to start a debate on who had the crappier childhood thanks to being a demigod. “Grew up in the Roman legion, so yeah you don’t know the half of it.”

“Well at least we’re not missing out on everything,” Percy stated as he shifted onto his side so he was facing Jason.

The words were true and the way Percy said it was innocent enough but Jason felt….. well, maybe he just didn’t really know what to say in reply. He hummed as a sign of agreement and after a long stretch of silence Jason said the only thing he could really think of, “Night, Perce.”

They fell back into comfortable silence. Jason wasn’t really as tired as he had been mere moments before but the silence was still nice. Of course, it didn’t last long and this time it wasn’t Jason or Percy that broke it. From the bedroom came soft sounds, and at first, Jason didn’t really think much of them. The hushed and breathy quality of them could be explained by a whispered conversation. Nico was an admitted night owl so it was unlikely that he was asleep and Will would likely try to stay awake for at least a little while so they could talk and enjoy each other’s company, Jason didn’t think anything more into it.

The noises stayed hushed but began to take on a more insistent quality and Jason found it hard to come up with an innocent excuse for that so he tried to ignore the noises altogether. He wasn’t exactly successful but he didn’t completely fail either until a sharper sound pierced the silence- the sound of shifting weight? Moving furniture? Maybe the squawking protest of a bedspring.

“What’s that noise?” Jason questioned nervously. Was it bad he was kind of hoping for a monster?

“You really have to ask?” Percy replied. Jason still couldn’t make out his face but he could hear his amused grin all the same.

Jason was completely aware that as a couple Nico and Will had sex. Thanks to Will’s serious problem with oversharing he knew that shy Nico who didn’t like people touching him most of the time was always an enthusiastic participate and often the instigator. In the abstract, Jason could accept that Nico was an adult who was capable of making his own decisions. In practice, Jason couldn’t help but remember the kid near death they saved from the jar in Rome, the terrified and angry kid at Eros’ palace. Jason couldn’t help the part of him that felt protective over the son of Hades, and he was more than happy leaving all knowledge of his sex life in the abstract. “You don’t think they’re actually …..?” Jason questioned. There was another sharp noise, this time clearly the sound of the bed shifting slightly under moving bodies, was heard from the other room punctuating Jason question.

Percy laughed at the question before Jason could even finish it. “Yes, absolutely,” he stated. Jason didn’t know how Percy could do that. Percy had known Nico longer then Jason had, he had actually meet Nico was he really was just a kid, but Percy never seemed to think of him as one.

The noises from the other room seemed to be getting louder although Jason was pretty sure it was just his imagination. Now that he was aware of them, of what they were, Jason’s brain couldn’t _not_ hear them. Jason would have paid good money for someone to knock him unconscious in that moment. “What do we do?” he questioned uncomfortably

“What do you mean? Percy replied sounding confused.

Jason shifted and pulled at the blankets to get better situated even though he had been fine before. He didn’t get what had been so confusing about the questioned. “Should one of us knock on the door and let them know we can hear them?” He asked half-hoping Percy would volunteer to do it.

“No,” Percy replied dismissively. “Dude, they’re not even being that loud.” A breathy sound that Jason just knew was a moan came from the other room which seemed to pointedly contradict Percy’s assertion. “Just ignore it.”

Jason really wanted to argue about how stupid and awful advice that was but swallowed the urge only huffing indignantly as a show of his distaste. Try to ignore it, that couldn’t be as hard as it sounded, Jason thought. Even if it was unpleasant how long could it actually last?

Jason had no idea how much time had passed, it had probably only been a couple minutes but it felt like an eternity. The only thing that marked that passage of time was a repeated thud noise (headboard banging against the wall?) and the muffled breathy sound that Jason KNEW were moans. Jason was seriously considering wedging his head between two pillows in hopes that it would help when he heard a definite moan. “I can’t ignore it,” He admitted before turning his head to look in Percy’s direction “Do something” He stated desperately.

“What do you want me to do?” Percy asked sounding amused but willing to help.

Jason thought about it seriously. At this point he didn’t think knocking on the door was an option, the question of why hadn’t they knocked earlier would be too weird. Gods, they had to be almost done, right? Jason didn’t think he could take that chance. “Don’t know,” He admitted with frustration “Distract me.”

“And how would you like me to do that?” Percy asked curiously.

“I don’t care,” Jason admitted. It was the truth, if Percy could distract him from what he knew (and could hear) going on in the other room, Jason was for it. Normally, Jason would be uneasy giving Percy a behavioral equivalent of a blank check but at this point, he was too desperate to care.

Jason expected some witty retort from Percy or at least a joke but instead, Percy fell silent. The noises from the other room were definitely getting loud. Jason bit back a whine as he internally cursed Will and his child of Apollo stamina. How were they still going at it? It had been like an hour!

Jason couldn’t just lay there one more second when he felt Percy’s calloused fingers grip his chin gingerly. The touch was so unexpected and Jason had no idea what Percy was doing so he did nothing and if he was holding his breath that was from surprise, nothing more. Percy grip was so light it could easily be called gentle. Still, when the calloused fingers on his chin urged Jason to tilt his face toward the son of Poseidon he felt like he had no choice to comply, not that Jason wanted to do any else.

Some part of his brain wanted to question what was going on but before he could get the words out of his mouth he had Percy’s lips pressed against his own. Jason’s first thought was Percy needed chapstick, which was quickly chased away by ‘Wow’. Percy was kissing him softly, his lips were chapped and he tasted fresh but salty like the ocean.

It took Jason a half a second to process what was happening and react, responding to the motions of Percy’s lips with his own. It was soft and slow and so much different than it had been on New Years’. When Percy and Jason had been fumbling around in the storage closet of Gladiators things had been frenzied. They had both been caught up in the moment and more than a little drunk so things had moved so quickly and felt a bit….sloppy?.....rushed? It had all felt so good at the time but there hadn’t been a lot of time to enjoy one sensation before experiencing the next.

As they lay there on the hotel room floor Percy seemed so much different. There was no frenzy, now his kisses were slow but sure. Jason had asked for a distraction, and Percy’s lips were certainly distracting.

The position was awkward, with Jason laying on his back so his head had to be pulled to the side at an extreme angle to meet Percy’s lips. Jason was too afraid to pull away, he didn’t want to break the energy that seemed to hang between them and he really didn’t want to stop kissing Percy. It took some thought and was more tricky than it really had any right to be but Jason was able to move so he was laying on his side facing Percy without ever breaking away from the son of Poseidon’s lips.

Percy moved closer until their legs became entangled in one another and their chests were so close together Jason could feel the heat of Percy’s skin against his own. That wasn’t the only heat Jason could feel, the heat of arousal coursed through him. For someone who claimed to be bad at making the first move, Percy had done a fine job.

Percy’s lips became more insistent, which Jason was happy to match. Their kissed deepened and Jason found himself pressed firmly against Percy’s chest. As Percy’s tongue teasing ran across Jason’s bottom lip, he felt Percy’s hand glide slowly down his body before coming to rest on the small of his back.

Jason met Percy’s tongue with his own and his hand began to wonder over Percy’s form. At first Jason moved slowly, using his fingertips to map out the curves and dips of muscle, the smooth raised lines of long healed wounds. As their kisses continued to deepen, as his own arousal grew and everything become more heated he found himself gripping and pulled at flesh, roughly messaging muscle as he explored Percy’s body.

If the little noises Percy issued as they kissed and the hard length that Jason could feel pressed against his leg were any indication Percy was enjoying Jason’s somewhat rough treatment which was all the encouragement he needed. Jason moved his hands down Percy’s body until he could slide his fingers under the waistband of Percy’s boxers.

Maybe it was the darkness, the room was much darker than the closet at Gladiator, or maybe it was the little noises Percy was making, or his hand pressed firmly on the small of Jason’s back- whatever it was Jason felt far bolder (and far less nervous) then he expected. Still, as Jason slipped his hand under the thin fabric to run of the firm curve of Percy’s back side he felt unsure….and then Percy pulled away from his lips and moaned “Jay”

Suddenly Jason regretted the darkness of the room because hearing Percy moan for him was hot but he imagined seeing Percy’s face as he did so would have been even better. With his palm, Jason kneaded at the firm flesh of Percy’s backside which earning him another moan, this one wordless but deep.

The confines that the fabric of Percy’s boxers presented was too much. Jason wanted to touch without restraint. “Perce, can I take off your boxers?” Jason requested breathlessly. Once the question was asked he thought it sounded strange- Maybe he should have waited for Percy to think to undress on his own. He hoped he didn’t disturb the mood, the heat, that had been building between them.

It was too dark to make out Percy’s expression but Jason could still picture the cocky grin on Percy’s face when he heard the son of Poseidon chuckle. “You don’t have to ask Jason,” he assured at the same time he pivoted his hips away from Jason and off the bed enough to start shimmying his boxers off.

Jason appreciated Percy’s enthusiasm but he really wasn’t moving with the urgency he felt the situation called for so he ended all but ripping Percy’s boxers off in an attempt to help. While the darkness of the room made Jason fell less nervous it was unfortunate that he couldn’t see Percy’s naked form. It wasn’t that Jason didn’t remember what Percy looked like bare (not that he had thought about it or anything). Jason could make due in the darkness, that was what his hands were for and he was happy to use them.

He gripped Percy by the hip, pulled him close, and pressed their lips together. Percy seemed content, even eager, to kiss him back. They quickly became entangled once more, their bodies pressed together so tightly Jason wasn’t sure if the overwhelming heat he was feeling was Percy or himself or a combination of the two.

They kissed passionately as Jason’s hands roamed Percy’s form possessively enjoying the newly bared skin as he slid his hands over one of Percy’s muscular cheeks before giving it a bit of a squeeze. Firm flesh tensed in his grip and Percy actually moaned, or at least that was what the noise sounded like to start. Toward the end, the sound turned a bit more growl-y at the end and before Jason could really think beyond ‘ _Oh my gods, I just made Percy moan like that._ ’ he was on his back with Percy straddling his laps.

Jason had to admit the speed and efficiency with which Percy had changed their position was impressive. As for the position itself, Jason wasn’t sure but the weight of Percy on top of him was certainly interesting. He definitely wasn’t okay with Percy pulling away and breaking their kiss. If he whined and pushed up a bit to try to chase Percy’s lips well, he really couldn’t be blamed for that.

Percy sat up so Jason was more aware of his weight on his thighs. Jason tried to follow, to once again press his lips against Percy’s but froze when Percy rested his hands on Jason’s chest. For a moment they were both still and in the silence, Jason became painfully aware of how hard his heart was pounding. Honestly, Jason didn’t think his heart could beat any faster and almost as soon as that crossed his mind Percy’s hands started sliding slowly down his chest and he realized he was wrong.

He could hear his own labored breathing and all he could think to do was lay there as Percy slowly explored down his body. Percy’s fingers were strong and rough and it was one of those moments that he couldn’t help but be aware of how different Percy’s touches were than Piper’s (or any girl’s really, not that he had experience with that) but that wasn’t a bad thing.

Percy’s touches seemed to linger on certain spots as he went, tracing a scar here and there, running along the curve or dip of a muscle. Jason had no idea how long it went on before he felt Percy’s fingers run across the top of his boxers. “These have to come off,” Percy declared his voice low and practically dripping with desire.

 _Fuck_! If Jason wasn’t already painfully excited he wouldn’t have been just from the sound of Percy’s voice. “Right,” Jason agreed his voice having a husky quality he hadn’t actually expected but couldn’t really be surprised by. He lifted his hips and Percy stripped him of his boxers before he could even offer to help.

The room was so dark Jason knew Percy couldn’t actually see him but the way Percy hummed approvingly after tossing his boxers aside made him wonder and shudder with desire. Percy leaned back down and pressed his lips against Jason’s once again. Jason moaned with joy at the return of Percy’s lips and was happy to kiss the son of Poseidon back but Percy pulled away before Jason could deepen it like he desperately wanted.

Jason tries to sit up but Percy pressed him down and started kissing down his body. First, he kissed along Jason’s jaw before moving to kiss down his throat humming contently as he did. Jason could do little more than sigh at the feeling of Percy’s warm lips pressing against the pulse point of his throat. Jason let his head fall back exposing more skin for Percy’s treatment which the son of Poseidon wasted no time taking advantage of.

Percy was halfway down Jason’s chest when Jason felt Percy’s hands run up his bare thighs. Percy didn’t touch Jason where Jason was aching for him to but he came close enough that Jason realized where Percy was kissing down to. He twitched with excitement at the mere thought of it, and if Percy’s skill with his hands were any indication he would be amazing with his mouth.

Gods, Jason really wanted to feel Percy’s mouth around his hard cock, feel his tongue lap at his sensitive head but he didn’t want it to be out of some sort of weird obligation from New Years. “Perce,” He groaned. Jason wasn’t particularly happy with how desperate he sounded even if it was accurate to how he was feeling.

“Oh yeah,” Percy hummed with approval not bothering to pause in his descent. He placed a particularly lingering kiss just above Jason’s naval before adding, “You can definitely keep doing that.”

“What?” Jason questioned panting. Why was he panting, Jason chided himself, it wasn’t like Percy was blowing him yet.

Percy snickered, Jason felt his hot breath on his skin as he did. “Saying my name,” Percy replied cockily.

Jason gave a halfhearted attempt to kick Percy in response to that. Percy easily dodged his foot laughing while he did so. “Isn’t there better things you could be doing with your mouth right now?” Jason huffed.

“That’s the plan,” Percy admitted with amusement before he placed a kiss low on Jason’s stomach so close to his erection Jason could feel the heat of Percy’s skin, of his breath, on the sensitive skin.

Dear gods, hearing Percy admit that knowing, feeling how close his mouth was, was almost too much. Jason pressed his head back against the pillows and focused on his breathing, the pounding of his own heart, anything that would keep him grounded so he didn’t cum at the slightest touch.

The first touch of Percy’s lips on erection was light and uncertain and Jason still moaned wantonly from it but managed to at least not lose complete control. Percy started with placing light kisses at Jason’s head and along the length of his shaft. The touches were so maddeningly light, Jason didn’t know why they were driving him to edge of reason so quickly.

Jason bit viciously at the inside of his cheek in an attempt to keep quiet. It wasn’t hundred percent effective, he still meowed and whimpered but at least he wasn’t moaning shamelessly. Or he wasn’t until Percy got a bit more bold, running his tongue up Jason’s length before swirling it around the head. “Perce!” Jason all but cried as he gripped a clump of blankets in one hand while tangling the fingers of his other hand in Percy’s hair.

“Yum Jay,” Percy hummed and gods his voice sounded like pure sex. He was very grateful for the darkness because Jason was positive if he could see Percy stationed between his legs while hearing that voice he would lose his control.

Percy’s lips wrapped around his girth and Jason gripped the bedding and Percy’s hair more tightly as an anchor against the sensation. Percy’s mouth was warm and wet and he kept swirling and flicking his tongue over Jason’s cockhead.

“Perce,” Jason moaned. He didn’t understand how the room had become so hot all of a sudden or why it only seemed to get hotter.

Percy started at the tip, licking and sucking. It all felt so good Jason didn’t really realize Percy had been taking a bit more of him in with each shift or motion until he felt himself hit the back of Percy’s soft palette. “Awwww….”

Jason threw his head back as Percy began to move up and down his length. Percy was just naturally good at all things related to sex which seemed unfair. Also, they weren’t underwater but Percy still seemed to be able to hold his breath for a really long time. It was all so good and so much and Jason could feel his orgasm building, a hot pressure deep in his core. “Perce,” Jason moaned. The idea of reaching climax to what Percy was doing with his mouth was appealing but other thing seemed even better. He didn’t want Percy to stop, he couldn’t think of anything he wanted more than for Percy to keep doing exactly what he was doing, but at the same time, he didn’t trust himself to let Percy keep going. If he did Jason knew he would give into the pull building within him.

“Percy,” Jason moaned desperately. He tugged roughly at Percy’s hair to punctuate his point. “Oh gods, wait!”

“Um,” Percy pulled off Jason’s erection with a lewd popping sound that Jason just knew would forever be etched in his memory. “Dude, I was just getting the hang of it,” Percy complained sounding breathless.

“That’s an understatement,” Jason laughed as he sat up. He let his hand fall from Percy’s hair to rest on the back of his neck and pulled Percy into a kiss.

Jason had been expected Percy to protest a little, it was Percy after all, he usually didn’t seem to really know when to stop talking. Instead of continuing to complain about Jason making him stop Percy moaned into Jason’s mouth and moved himself closer until he was practically sitting in Jason’s lap.

Jason let his hands roam down Percy back and over the supple curve of his ass as they kissed eagerly. Some tiny part of Jason’s brain was aware that one of his best friends was currently sitting in his lap naked while they were making out (with another friend doing things he was NOT going to think about in the next room) and that all should have freaked him out. That part of his brain was far outweighed by the rest that couldn’t stop thinking about how hot everything was and how much he wanted to feel Percy’s body closer to his own.

Groaning and desperate for contact, Jason gripped Percy’s hips and pulled him closer but it still wasn’t enough. Tightening his grip on the flesh of Percy’s hips he lifted Percy off his lap and moved him on to the bedding before shifting so he was the one on top straddling Percy’s legs. He released Percy’s hips in favor of moving his hands up to his sculpted chest to assist in urging Percy to lay back.

Jason was more than a little proud of himself for managing all that motion without every releasing Percy’s lips and he was more than a little annoyed when Percy pulled away. Jason moved to kiss at Percy’s neck as he continued to press him down on the bedding. Percy didn’t resist laying back as he sucked in a few ragged breaths. “Jay,” Percy panted “if you wanted to return the favor you could have at least let me finish you off first.”

Oh, gods that was a tempting thought. Jason nipped at Percy’s earlobe playfully and could have sworn he felt Percy shudder slightly under him. That was definitely hot and he definitely wanted to feel that again. “I have a better idea,” he admitted in a whisper.

Jason shifted his hips once and it felt good to rub up against Percy’s smooth skin but he knew it could be better. He took a breath, repositioned himself, and rolled his hips again. “Jay!” Percy cried out under him his hands tightly gripping Jason’s biceps.

Jason moaned wordlessly at his own success, at the feel of his own practically aching length rubbing against Percy’s erection. Jason had always thought frottage looked strangely hot when he saw it in porn but it felt so much hotter than he had ever imagined.

Jason reclaimed Percy’s lips as he continued to move trying to find a rhythm as he did his best to ignore the coiling heat pooling in his groin. Percy moaning beneath him wasn’t really helping with that.

He felt one of Percy’s hand slip from his biceps and down his side, before coming to rest on his hip. Percy turned away breaking their kiss again, Jason groaned as he tried to chase Percy’s lips, Percy really needed to stop doing that. “Um, Jay wait a sec,” Percy stated.

Reluctantly, Jason stopped and pulled back, “What’s wrong?” He questioned sounding desperate, and he was honestly too desperate to care. Gods, he hoped Percy didn’t want to stop. But what if he did, what if he had changed his mind about the whole thing?

“Nothing,” Percy assured and they were so close that Jason could make out the slight shift in Percy’s features, a cocky grin, Jason was sure of it. Under him, Jason could feel Percy move rather awkwardly to one side. He had no idea what Percy was trying to do so he sat up a little to give Percy more space. It wasn’t until he heard the rustle of fabric and the subtle metallic sound of Percy’s belt did he realize Percy had grabbed his pants. Dear gods, Jason prayed Percy wasn’t planning to put his pants back on yet. He definitely felt relief when he heard Percy toss the pants aside. “Just want to make it better,” Percy declared holding something up. It was too dark for Jason to clearly make out what Percy was holding besides its general shape: long rectangle.

Jason’s first thought was a condom which made him a little nervous. Jason was definitely good with what they had been doing but he wasn’t sure if he was ready for anything that would really require a condom. But the shape of the package Percy had in hand didn’t make sense for a condom. It took Jason longer than it really should have to figure it out for which Jason blamed the fact that all his blood was flowing south for that. “You brought lube?”

“Yeah well...I wasn’t _expecting_ something to happen,” Percy admitted nervously. “I just wanted to be prepared if something did.”

Jason couldn’t help but smile a little. While for a large part the fact that Percy acted so casual and confident about their arrangement was nice it was still reassuring to see him nervous every once and a while. “Perce, sometimes you’re a genius,” He mused before leaning in and kissing Percy lightly.

Jason could feel Percy’s smirk as they kissed so he wasn’t surprised to hear him chuckle when he pulled back. “Bro, you say that like its news,” he declared before ripping the package of lube open with his teeth.

Jason wanted to make a joke about Percy being eager but then Percy was pouring lube on his cock and using his hand to help coat his whole length and it took him a minute to remember how to breathe. “Gods Perce!” Jason moaned, it started as pleasure but ended with disappointment as Percy released his grip on him.

“Gods, dude you sound so hot,” Percy declared before leaning in and pressing his lips hard against Jason’s. Jason kissed him back, swallowing all Percy’s little moans and whimpers as the brunet applied the lube to himself.

Jason wasn’t sure if it was more him pushing Percy back on the bedding or Percy pulling back on top of him but either way, Percy ended up laying on his back with Jason laying on top of him. They kissed feverishly as Jason shifted his hips. Percy had been right, the lube had made it so much better. Percy’s fingers tangled in Jason’s hair while his other hands gripped Jason’s hip tightly. It was easier to find a rhythm thanks to slide of the lube although the growing pleasure was making it difficult to maintain.

Jason wasn’t sure when Percy’s hips started shuddering upwards to meet his own motions but when he noticed he moaned shamelessly. Between the moaning and the desperate need to breath continuing to kiss became impossible, but they still stayed close sharing each other’s breath as the both panted.

“Jay,” Percy sighed as Jason felt his fingers tighten their grip until it almost hurt. Under him, Jason felt Percy’s motion become arrhythmic and sporadic for a moment. “JAY!” Percy cried again before throwing his head back. Jason felt Percy trembling below him then a warm splash of something hit Jason’s stomach.

 _Oh,_ _gods Percy just came_ , Jason realized a millisecond before the cold fire of his own orgasm overwhelmed him. “ _Perce_ ” he choked out a cry as he came on Percy’s stomach.

It took Jason a moment before he came back to reality. The world rematerialized out of the fog of pleasure slowly; the sound of his pounding heart mixed in with his and Percy’s labored breathing, the feel of Percy’s warm skin pressed against his own and his muscles twitching and quacking with exertion.

Jason rolled off Percy and fell rather gracelessly onto his back. “Wow,” He exclaimed staring thoughtlessly up at the ceiling, “That was great!” Jason was grinning so widely his face hurt a little and he didn’t care. His toes were tingling and he was exhausted in all the best ways. Percy was silent except for his labored breathing and as that silence stretched on Jason got a bit nervous. He turned his head in Percy’s direction and cursed the darkness because he couldn’t make out Percy’s expression so he couldn’t figure out what the son of Poseidon was thinking. “I mean I thought it was great,” He stated uncertainly before asking the question that was running around in his head. “Was it….for you?”

“Dude, that was amazing!” Percy declared with an amused laughed like the question was completely absurd. “This weekend is going to be fun,” he stated before leaning in a giving Jason a quick kiss. It was sweet and affectionate without really being sexual and Jason was shocked that that didn’t seem weird coming from Percy but it really didn’t.

Next to him, Percy sat up, there was the sounds of rustling fabric again before Percy climbed to his feet. “I’m going to clean up,” he stated.

Jason let Percy walk off to the bathroom as he found his own boxers and slipped them back on. He was suddenly completely exhausted, it was like he had spent the entire day fighting monsters. He was surprised that he didn’t doze off in Percy’s absence but he didn’t and there was probably because there was one question still nagging at him.

He waited until Percy was lying next to him on their makeshift bed, “Perce?” he questioned the darkness.

“Huh?” Percy replied.

“Out of curiosity,” Jason began “did that count as sex to you?” He and Percy clearly had different ideas what counted as sex. In Jason’s opinion, they had had sex in the closet of Gladiators but Percy hadn’t seen it that way and it was weird to have such different thoughts on something so intimate.

“Hell yes,” Percy answered quickly and with enthusiasm. Percy leaned over and kissed him again which really was nice.

There was a knocking sound followed almost immediately by the creak of hinges as a door pushed open. “Hey, guys” Will’s voice came from around the door to the bedroom. In the darkness, Jason could just barely make out Will’s blonde hair sticking out from behind the door. “Are you two…umm….done? Kinda need to get to the bathroom.”

 _Oh gods, could they hear them_? Jason wondered with sheer horror. Percy chuckled “Yeah, we’re decent, have at it.”

“Awesome, thanks!” Will exclaimed happily.

The door creaked open but Will wasn’t the one to walk through it. This time Jason could just make out Nico’s pale skin as he passed through the door and walked toward the bathroom. “You two are loud and it was gross.” The son of Hades grumbled before disappearing into the bathroom.

“You are really one to talk bro,” Percy called after him with amusement.

“Hey, we did a pretty good job of keeping it down,” Will defended from the doorway where he was leaning.

“Will!” Nico’s disapproving voice carried from the other side of the bathroom door.

“Well, it’s true!” Will defended with a bit of a chuckle “Especially considering the position we were in, you usually get kind of loud.”

“OH MY GOD WILL!” Nico exclaimed, “Stop talking!” Jason could not agree more with that sentiment. Wedging his head between the pillows was suddenly seeming like a good idea again.

Next to him, Percy snickered “Hey, you two don’t worry about it,” he declared sounding downright cocky “You can be as loud as want, I’ll happily distract Jason for you.”

And just like that Jason was back to liking the darkness because it served as an effective mask to hide how hard he was blushing.


	44. Distraction Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday Everyone,
> 
> So I want to again thank everyone for being supportive of the new update schedule, it means a lot.
> 
> This chapter was originally going to be in Outtakes but due to popular demand and the fact that it really has been a while since I wrote Nico and Will being intimate I decided to put it in here instead.
> 
> SMUT WARNING: This chapter contains smut
> 
> Also because of a request all Italian is translated immediately following the quotations in {}

Nico all but had to drag Will into the bedroom still protesting Dean's sleeping arrangements. Will was the protective type, that wasn't news to Nico. Usually he found it sweet but with the whole Dean/Felix situation Will was taking it too far. Nico was clearly not the only one who thought so if the look that flashed in Dean's eyes when Will declared Dean absolutely was _NOT_ sleeping in Felix' room was any indication.

Nico understood where it came from, more so than most. Will had lost two older brothers along with several other siblings during the Titan War and while he didn't talk about Lee or Michael often from the little he did Nico could tell that Will had been close to both of them. From Nico had heard both Lee and Michael had been capable fighters and yet they still died and that had left Will shaking. Dean was about as close to being Will's brother as anyone could be without actually being his biological brother so the idea of him getting hurt obviously terrified Will.

Just because Nico understood it didn't mean it made any sort of sense. Nico had listened to Will talk about how worried he was about Dean and how Dean not dealing with the questions around his sexuality that were raised on New Years' wasn't healthy. Well, Dean was clearly dealing with it now, just not in the way Will wanted, or more accurately not with who Will would wanted.

Nico didn't exactly like Felix either, and he definitely hadn't forgiven him for making a pass at Will (whatever his reasons were). Still, Nico felt like he could relate a little with Felix and there was just something about the way he looked at Dean. Nico swore Felix looked at Dean like he was in awe that he even existed and completely confused on what to make of him. Those were feelings Nico was definitely familiar with. He figured that both Felix and Dean had the right to at least try to figure things out on their own.

Will was still stuck on Felix being the devil incarnate and couldn't really see past that, at least not yet. Honestly, Nico was more than a little surprised that Will stopped protesting the minute Nico kicked the door to the bedroom shut behind him. Nico had no doubt that Dean and Felix had taken advantage of their exit with a swift one of their own.

The room itself was so similar to the sitting room that it was almost impossible to remember that the two rooms were different. While the furniture in the bedroom was different for obvious reasons but all of it, the two queen beds, the large nightstand, the dresser were made in the same style. It was comfortable but a little too generic to really be called inviting. Of course, the idea of he and Will sharing one of those beds while the other was very empty was extremely inviting.

With the door shut and the ability to argue with Dean gone (more or less) Will dropped onto the second bed still fully dressed, crossed his arms over his chest, and proceeded to pout. Nico had actually never seen that expression on Will before. Sure he had seen Will fake a pout when he didn't get his way but even then it was more teasing than anything else.

Laying on the bed, Will's whole body was tense, his face was stone, his eyes were cast up and away from Nico, and his lips were pulled down at the corners. The whole expression didn't look right on Will's normally bright and smiling face. Nico wanted to kiss it away, and then maybe kiss down Will's sculpted chest or nibble on his ear or….. Nico may still have been a little worked up from watching Will play.

Nico stood about halfway between the two beds unsure of what to do. As it was Nico had never really been in this position before, Will was usually the one breaking him out of a mood. "Will?" he questioned in hopes of gaining his boyfriend's attention so he could at least attempt to improve his mood.

Will didn't turn to look at him and his face remained stony as he spoke, "What?"

"You don't look…… happy." Nico admitted. It felt like a complete understatement but Nico didn't know what else to say or how else to describe it. Will looked miserable and angry and the insecure part of Nico wanted to ask if Will was angry with him. Nico did his best to ignore that part of himself, this situation really wasn't about him.

"I'm not," Will replied in a rather curt tone. The tone, like the expression Will was wearing, didn't match up with the Will Nico knew and loved.

Nico sighed heavily, "Will" He all but pleaded. He understood the Will had been surprised that Dean had shown up with Felix in tow and that Dean deciding to stay with Felix could seem like he was choosing Felix over Will. Just like Will's anger wasn't about Nico, Dean's choices weren't about Will. Also, and this was a slightly selfish thought, but with Dean sleeping elsewhere they had the hotel room to themselves, more or less. Pouting didn't seem like the best use of that gift.

Nico wasn't even sure if Will heard him or if the son of Apollo was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to register Nico's voice. "Why would Dean want to stay in Felix' room?" Will questioned critically. He still didn't turn his head to look directly at Nico but his pout turned into a more puzzled expression.

Nico didn't really think as he tilted his head to one side and stared at his boyfriend confused. Will really couldn't think of any reason why Dean and Felix might want to spend the night together alone in a hotel room? That seemed unlikely, Will wasn’t that naïve. "I can think of a few reasons," Nico commented offhandedly.

In truth, he hadn't given it a whole lot of thought, not that it actually required all that much. The way Nico saw it Dean's absence meant that he and Will got a little privacy for the night, and he really didn't want to question that.

"Oh gods!" Will exclaimed as he finally looked in Nico's direction an expression of complete horror on his face. "You don't think they're…. _you know_ , do you?" The level of Will's denial was becoming increasingly evident in his choice of words. Historically speaking, Nico was the one that typically had difficulty saying words like sex out loud, not Will. He didn't wait for Nico to respond before speaking more to himself then the son of Hades. "No, whatever is going on between them it just happened that would be really fast." He reasoned not sounding entirely convinced but hopeful.

Oh, Will, Nico thought sympathetically although he was careful not to voice the sentiment. To Nico, it was pretty obvious what was going on between Dean and Felix and he knew the word "Dating" was in Will's vocabulary so he should really just start using it. "Do you remember what happened the night we started dating?" Nico questioned sincerely. He hated to burst Will's bubble but……

Will looked at him and it took a second before Nico saw recognition flash in Will's bright blue eyes and a small smile play across his kissable lips. Clearly, it was a good memory but it didn't last as Will quickly understood the meaning behind Nico reminder and the look of horror returned. "Oh gods!" Will exclaimed before burying his face in his hands.

"Will," Nico sighed. "How about we talk about something besides Dean and Felix?"

Again, Nico wasn't completely sure Will had heard him. Will groaned and dropped his hands away from his face. "I shouldn't have let him go," Will declared with the utmost certainty.

Nico wanted to throw up his hands in defeat or maybe growl with frustration. "That really wasn't up to you," He pointed out firmly. He loved Will and everything but he was really taking this whole thing way too far.

Will gave him a look of complete betrayal that made Nico's stomach drop with guilt before turning his head and staring off while pouting. Nico was really tempted to apologize just to make Will happy but he really didn't want to spend the next half hour talking about Dean and Felix either. Letting out a small huff he decided to at least try to change the topic of conversation. "Don't you want to get undressed for bed?" He questioned hopefully.

"I'm not all that tired," Will answered flatly. He didn't turn to look at Nico while he spoke but he did reach out and grabbed his golden iphone off the nightstand.

Nico went to protest as Will started tapping at his phone's screen but caught himself before a sound past his lips. Trying to talk Will into seeing reason on this was clearly pointless but Nico knew it wasn't completely without hope. He would just have to change his tactics and he had a much, much better idea. "Well, I'm getting ready for bed." Nico declared.

Will hummed as an indication he had heard Nico speak but continued to tap at his phone's screen with a scowl on his face. As casually as he could Nico took a few steps closer so that he knew Will wouldn't be able to miss his movements. Once he was properly placed Nico shrugged off his leather jacket and tossed it toward the other empty bed.

Nico heard a pause in the rhythmic tapping of Will's fingers against the glass screen, it was slight but it was enough to let Nico know he had at least some of his boyfriend's attention. Will was carefully not watching him when Nico turned back around but Nico still felt like Will’s eyes were on him, watching somehow.

Nico tried to ignore that feeling, it made him nervous, as he grabbed his t-shirt by the hem and slowly stripped it off. Honestly, Nico felt only one bad disco-tech song and some strobe lights away from being the entertainment at a gentlemen’s club.

He tossed his shirt with his jacket, turned back toward Will, and was instantly rewarded. Will was openly staring at him now. His phone was still in his hand but was clearly all but forgot based on Will's weak grip. Nico could feel himself blush a little under Will's intense gaze and he hoped it wasn't too noticeable. Nico wanted to come across confident, and why shouldn't he be? Will had seen him naked before. He didn't want his blushing to ruin the effect.

As he moved on to undoing his belt he had to keep reminding himself to go slowly, that it wasn't a rush. The whole allure of a strip tease was the anticipation that came with going slow.

 _Wait_ , Nico thought with a bit of panic, _was he actually doing a strip tease_? Like did taking off his clothes slowly count as a strip tease? Or did there have to be music or dancing for it to count? Nico didn’t have music and he had no intentions of dancing so what he was doing, whatever it was, was going to have to do.

Nico chose not to think about what to call what he was doing and focus on actually doing it or he might have actually died of embarrassment. He finished with his belt and moved to his pants. Of course, he had just had to wear the extra skinny jeans that were getting to be so tight Nico really needed to just get rid of them. It was quite a feet to shimmy out of such tight pants gracefully but Nico managed and tossed them with the rest of his clothes.

In nothing but his briefs, Nico moved to the foot of the bed, and crawled slowly up Will's body, Will's eyes on him the whole time. When he reached Will's torso and couldn't go any further Nico sat back on Will's thighs. He carefully took Will's cell phone out of his hands and was surprised when Will let him. Nico placed the phone back on the nightstand before turning his attention back to Will placing a long, slow kiss on Will's jaw and then another on the soft spot just below his ear.

Nico smiled against Will's skin when he felt his boyfriend shiver at his touch. "You looked amazing out on the field today," He whispered into Will's ear. He couldn’t help but grin at the memory.

"I did?" Will questioned uncertainly, although when Nico peeked at Will's face he saw a bit of a smile dancing on the corners of his lips.

"Ah-ha" Nico replied placing another kiss on Will's skin. "It was very arousing," Nico all but purred the confession.

"It was?" Will questioned. This time Nico could hear the smile in his boyfriend's voice.

Nico tilted his head downward and placed another kiss on Will's skin, this time kissing lower along the curve of his throat. Will sighed at the touch of Nico's lips and honestly there couldn't have been a more beautiful sound. "Ah-ha," Nico replied in the affirmative as he moved his hands from where they rested on the bed to the hem of Will's t-shirt.

Nico continued to place lingering kisses along the curve of Will's throat as he slowly slipped his fingers under the dark fabric of Will's shirt. His fingers grazed the hard planes of Will's stomach and his skin felt so warm and perfect Nico didn't know how he survived without Will's touch for so long.

As Nico's touches became more desperate and his lingering kissing started leaving marks on Will's tan skin. Will let out a happy little hum. "You heard the coach," Will stated and Nico could hear more than just the smile in his voice he could also hear the teasing quality Will was trying to hide. "No sex."

Nico pulled back and looked at Will doubtfully. He couldn't actually remember a time when Will had seriously said no to sex. "Is that so?" Nico questioned not really hiding his disbelief.

Will clearly wanted to play serious but he couldn't stop himself from smiling so it wasn't really working. "Yeah," Will replied so unconvincingly it was laughable. "I'm supposed to conserve my energy."

That was pretty much what Will's coach had said right before he had called Nico a distraction. Or maybe it had been right after? It really didn't matter, sometimes a distraction was needed and since Will was a child of Apollo Nico was sure Will would have plenty of energy come morning, maybe even have a little to spare. Nico leaned in and placed one hungry kiss on Will's lips before pulling away. "And what if I did all the work?" He questioned his voice even huskier than he had expected.

Will's eyes went wide and he pulled in a shaky breath, "Oh…Yeah, I guess that could work," Will replied nodding eagerly.

Nico couldn't help but smile brightly at that. If he was being really honest, he had wanted rip Will's clothes off since he had watched the game. "Good," he declared as he once again brought his hands back to the hem of Will's shirt. This time he wasted no time teasing the skin underneath instead pulling it up and off quickly and a bit roughly.

Nico tossed the wad of black fabric aside thoughtlessly as he once again pressed his lips against Will's. Something about the energy between them had changed, it had been sexually charged before but it increased tenfold. Nico's hand roamed Will's bare chest and stomach desperately while one of Will's hands dug into his hip and the other kneaded possessively at the flesh of his backside.

There were nothing more than clashing lips and pressing bodies for he wasn't even sure how long, everything was too perfect to be subject to the constraints of time. When Will pulled away from Nico's lips they were both breathless. Nico still whined indignantly at the loss of Will's lips before latching on to his throat.

"When you said you'd do all the work," Will panted as Nico sucked on the skin just below his collarbone. Nico probably should have been more careful but Will's jersey would likely cover any marks he had left there in the morning. "What did you mean exactly?"

Nico paused in his efforts and blinked up at Will through long lashes. It took him a moment to find the words in English but he managed "What do you think I mean?"

The words were barely voiced before Nico latched on to a new spot on Will's throat to mark. Will hummed at the attention as his hands still rubbing and gripping at Nico's hips and backside. "I don't know," Will admitted his breathing still labored "But I'm really hoping it means you're going to ride me."

"Si," Nico admitted with a hidden grin before running his tongue over the new mark he had left. Will shivered as Nico's tongue dragged across his skin. "Vado a cavalcare come uno stallone." {I'm going to ride you like a stallion}

"Gods," Will moaned. "I must be the luckiest man alive because you are truly the most perfect man ever!"

Nico chuckled, he couldn't help it. He was far from perfect but he did enjoy lavishing Will with his affection. "Permettetemi di mostrarvi come perfetto penso di essere," {Let me show you how perfect I think you are} He replied before recapturing Will's lips as he moved his hands down his perfect torso.

Nico let his fingers curl around the waistband of Will's sweatpants and started to shift his position so he could pull the offending item of clothing off. Instead of lifting his hips to allowing Nico to disrobe him Will let out an unhappy whimpering sound that caused Nico to pause. He pulled back although his hands still gripped the top of Will's pants and gave his boyfriend an inquisitive look as he searched for the words in English. After a moment of silence, Nico managed. "What's wrong?" He questioned breathlessly.

Will shifted slightly under him before letting out a small puff of air. "We don't have lube," Will admitted dejectedly.

Nico laughed, he didn't mean to but Will just looked so sullen that he couldn't help it. Will looked up at him with confusion. "What?" he questioned sincerely.

Nico swallowed down the last of his laughter before leaning in and pressed a long kiss on Will's lips before pulling away and hopping off the bed. "Wait," Will protested immediately as he reached out and just missed Nico's arm "Where are you going?" He questioned as Nico grabbed his own pants off the other bed and started rummaging through his pockets "We could still do other stuff." Will offered desperately.

Nico found what he was looking for in one of his back pockets. He grabbed two of the four rectangle packets stashed there realizing as he did that he really should have brought more than four packets. Two was enough, for now, he reminded himself, as he tossed them on the bed next to Will.

Will pick up one of the packets and examined it for a moment before looking up at Nico with an expression of complete awe. "You brought lube?"

"Ovviamente" {Of course} Nico replied. He knew Will wouldn't have brought any with him so if he wanted to have sex (and he did) that he needed to bring the right supplies with him. Will gave him a confused look and it took Nico a minute to realize Will probably had no clue what he had just said so he simplified it. "Si."

Will smiled on of this million watt smiles. "Sexy and smart, you really are perfect."

Nico just smiled and shook his head, more or less dismissing the compliment as he crawled back on the bed with Will. This time Nico stationed himself between Will's legs before reclaiming his grip on Will's waistband. Will was more than eager to assist and it took less than a minute for Nico to strip him of his sweatpants and boxers.

The only source of light in the room was the lamp resting on the nightstand. Its soft yellow light cast long shadows which accented all the dips and curves of Will's perfectly sculpted body. Nico took a moment to let his eyes wonder Will's form as his fingers followed lending light touches to warm skin as he worked his way downward. Between Will's legs, his manhood already stood fully erect, resting thick and heavy against his stomach.

Nico hummed to himself as he let his fingertips run along the taut skin of Will's shaft grinning with satisfaction as it twitched at his touch. Will shifted his hips slightly, more like a squirm than anything else. Nico could feel Will's eyes on him but he kept eyes on his work as he ran his hand along Will's length again, this time using his palm and the flats of his fingers.

Will sucked in an unsteady breath at the increased attention to his swollen and likely sensitive erection. Feeling Will squirm under him, hearing the effects of his touch just emboldened Nico to touch more, to feel more, to give more. He wrapped his fingers around the base of Will's erection and started moving his fist up and down Will's length.  

"Oh, Nic," Will sighed with pleasure. The fabric of the sheets rustled as Will grasped them in response to his motions.

"Mi piace la sensazione di te in mano," {I like the feel of you in my hand} Nico admitted as he watched his own motions, his hand slide along Will's substantial length.

Will whimpered and whined at all of Nico's touches. The sounds were intoxicating and watching Will’s length move in his grip was fascinating. Nico lost track of everything that wasn't Will until expectantly, Will grabbed him by the wrist stopping his motions. "You are really too good to me," Will declared with a dizzy smile. Gently, he pulled Nico's hand off while reaching out with his other hand and clasping it behind Nico's neck before pulling him into a hungry kiss.

Nico allowed it although he didn't understand why Will wouldn't want him to keep touching him. Will must have heard Nico's thoughts because he broke the kiss and provided a reasonable explanation. "So good, but if you kept that up I wouldn't make it to the main event."

Nico was a strange mix of proud and embarrassed by that bit of knowledge, although Will didn't give him much time to think about it. His hands wandered to Nico's waist before one hand slid behind him so Will could grip Nico's cheek roughly while the other continued downward to palm at the clothed bulge of Nico's erection.

He really hadn't been playing much mind to his own desire but Will's touch brought it screaming to the forefront of his mind. Nico moaned wantonly and gripped at Will's chest to keep himself upright. Will leaned into him and nipped playfully at his earlobe as he pressed his palm more firmly against Nico's clothed erection.

Will's touch felt so good, Nico couldn't stop his hips from pushing forward into Will's warm hand. Will hummed approvingly and rubbed Nico’s clothed erection with increased vigor. "Why don’t we get you out of these tight briefs so I can really get hands-on?" Will whispered the suggestion, his hot breath spilling against Nico's skin causing him to shiver.

Nico nodded enthusiastically and started pushing his briefs down before Will could really move to help. There was some awkward fumbling, they were both too wound up and desperate to even attempt to be graceful, but they managed. Nico ended up kicking off his briefs the rest of the way as Will pulled him into another searing kiss.

Will's arm wrapped around Nico's waist and pulled him in until Nico had no choice than to climb into Will's lap, not that Nico minded. Even after Nico was situated Will kept his arm there, his hand splayed on the small of Nico's back keeping them pressed tightly together. Nico buried his fingers of one hand in Will's hair while he gripped the back of Will's neck with other for leverage.

It took some doing but Nico managed to get enough of a grip to roll his hips and was rewarded with the delightful sensation of skin sliding against skin. Nico moaned into Will's mouth from the pleasure of it. Will pulled him in even tighter before pulling away from his lips, they both panted and gasped for breath. "Eager?" Will teased with a shit eating grin.

"E tu non sei?” {And you're not?} Nico questioned back mockingly. He couldn't for one second believe that Will didn't want it just as badly as he did.    

Will placed two or three quick kisses along Nico's jaw, the hand not on Nico's back started running up and down his thigh affectionately. "I know you said you would do all the work but-" Will paused, placed another kiss along Nico's throat, and stopped rubbing Nico's thigh long enough to grab something off the bed. He held up one of the packets of lube Nico had retrieved before. "Can I?"

Nico nodded, giving Will permission before he really understood the question. It really didn't matter, Nico trusted Will more than anything. Nico figured it out when Will dropped his hand from the small of his back as he ripped the packet of lube open with his teeth. Nico watched as Will poured most of the package's contents on two of his fingers before he buried his face in the crook of Will's shoulder. Nico busied himself kissing and licking at Will's throat as he prepared for the sensations to come, trying to relax.

Will hummed contently at the attention Nico was lavishing on all the spots Nico knew were sensitive as he returned one hand to the small of Nico's back. As the feeling of Will's slick fingers sliding between the crease of his backside had Nico quaking with anticipation, Will began to kiss at Nico's neck and shoulder purring what Nico knew were praise and encouragement even though he couldn't quite make them out against Nico's skin.

Nico sighed at the sensation of Will's fingers finding his entrance and began messaging at the tight ring of flesh. He was pretty sure if there was a textbook definition for the phrase ‘gentle and thorough' lover right next to it would be a picture of Will. His touches were always firm but tender, and he could be excruciatingly patient. Nico really didn't want it any other way.

Will slid the tip of one finger inside, it wasn't deep or thick but Nico still whimpered at the sensation of being penetrated. Nico continued to whine in spite of his best efforts to hold it in as Will made slow working the single digit further inside him until Nico couldn't take it anymore. "Will, ancora, per favore" {more, please} he begged.

Will picked up the pace after Nico pleaded although he still going maddeningly slow. When Will managed to bury the second finger inside up to the second knuckle Nico started feeling the sting of being stretched open. It wasn't necessarily a bad sensation, Nico had actually grown to like it a little because it always signaled the start, and Will always made him feel so amazing by the end. Still, he took a deep breath and reminded himself to stay relaxed. Will seemed to know somehow and pulled his fingers back.

"Will," Nico whined frustratedly.

Will placed a few sloppy kisses on his neck and shoulder as he patted the bed next to them blindly. "Patience is a virtue darlin'" Will proclaimed. If Nico didn't have other things on his mind he would have laughed. He didn't know why but for some reason Will's southern accent seemed to come out with greater intensity when they were intimate, but not at camp, only when they were in the south. It would be cute if Will didn't insist on calling him darling when he did it.

Nico tugged Will's hair to accent his annoyance, "Le virtù sono sopravvalutate.” {Virtues are overrated}

Will chuckled as he apparently found what he had been looking for on the bed, the half used package of lube. He squeezed the remaining contents of the package into one hand as he spoke, "You know one of these days I'm going to figure out a way to understand the dirty things you say to me in Italian and then you're really going to be in trouble."

Unless Will was secretly taking Italian classes that was never going to happen which was probably for the best. Although, maybe sometimes, not often but sometimes Nico wondered what it would be like. Will didn't really give Nico a chance think about that let alone comment before pressing his newly slicked fingers back inside Nico's tight channel. He slid in two fingers as deep as they could go. "Will!" Nico moaned with both surprise and pleasure at the sudden rush of sensation. There was still the slight sting of being stretched but that sensation was all but lost in everything else, everything better.

Will hummed happily as he curled his fingers and stroked the stop inside Nico that made his body burn with pleasure and fireworks play across his eyelids. This time when Nico moaned it was wordless and much louder than intended. Will kissed his jaw as he began to twist and wiggle his fingers within him. "You know I love it when you get loud but if you keep that up our friends in the other room are definitely going to hear you."

 _Merda_ , Nico had completely forgotten that Percy and Jason were in the other room. He bit his lip and buried his face in Will's shoulder to muffle any sounds that might have escaped him. Of course, Will was definitely trying to get him to moan, and cry, and beg the way he kept curling his fingers and stroking Nico's insides. He swallowed down the noises building within him as long as he could but Will was lighting him up and making him burn with overwhelming pleasure. When he just couldn’t hold it in any longer he tightened his grip on Will as he cried against Will’s caramel skin, "Will, per favore, per favore, prego, fretta." {please, please, please hurry}

Will seemed to get the message even if he didn't understand the words, or maybe he was just getting as impatient as Nico felt. Nico felt himself stretch further as Will worked in a third finger. One hand still buried deep in Will's hair, Nico managed to release the grip he had on Will's arm and reach over to run his hand along the sheets in search of the second packet of lube. It took Nico longer than he would have liked but even as Will seemed more focusing on opening him up instead of teasing him his motions were still distracting.

Once he did manage to find the wayward package he worked as quickly as he could manage to rip the package open. Reaching between them Nico found Will's member still standing erect, and poured the contents of the small package on to it. Nico tossed the empty packaging aside quickly before wrapping his hand around the base of Will's manhood. With each stroke, his hand glided with greater ease as he spread the lube from Will's tip all the way to his base.

Will moaned his name at the motions before burying his face in Nico's shoulder and pistoning his fingers with increased vigor. Nico's legs began to quack at the intensity of pleasure that just Will's fingers were giving him. A large part of him wanted to get lost in the feeling and didn't want Will to stop. The only thing that prevented him from giving into that desire was knowing that it was only the start and it was only going to get better.

"Will," Nico managed (barely) to pant out "'m ready."

It took Will an extra second to respond before Nico felt him pull his fingers back leaving Nico feeling a bit hollow in their absence. Reluctantly, Nico released his grip on Will's erection so they could both shift their positions a bit. Will moved down the bed some so he could lay down more and Nico moved so he was straddling Will's waist rather than his thighs. The rearranging was a bit awkward but the fact that they were exchanging desperate, sloppy kisses and pawing at each other was probably largely the cause of that.

Once they were both in place Will pulled Nico in for one last searing kiss before laying back with a grin spread ear to ear. Will’s large hands went to Nico's thighs which Nico hoped he wouldn't notice were still trembling slightly and rubbed them reassuringly.

Will's eyes were focused solely on him, and even after all the times they had been together intimately Will's blue eyes focused so intently on him, so filled with lust, without the distraction of physical pleasure could make Nico blush. Already feeling his face burn Nico ducked his head so he wouldn't have to meet Will's gaze as he reached behind himself and wrapped his still lube slicked hand around Will's hard member.

Will hummed at the simple contact but Nico tried to tune that out as he lined him up, feeling the head of Will's erection press against his rim. With one deep steadying breath, Nico pressed his hips back slowly, not releasing Will from his grip until he felt the widest part of Will's cockhead breach him. The sensation was both intoxicating and overwhelming at the same time and Nico couldn't help but let out a low moan as he took more of Will in.

It seemed like the most beautiful eternity before he had taken Will completely into himself. Once fully seated Nico took a moment to adjust to the stretch from Will's girth and the delightfully full feeling of Will inside. As he did he looked down at his boyfriend and took him in his disheveled appearance. Will was no longer rubbing Nico thighs reassuringly, instead he was gripping Nico right above the knees like he was trying to anchor himself to something. His gaze was no longer fixed on Nico, his head was tossed back, his hair thrown this way or that and he was biting his lip in an apparent effort not to cry out. Will looked good.

When Nico had acclimated he carefully shifted his position so he could lean back enough to rest his hands on Will's thighs. Once he had some leverage Nico pulled his hips upwards feeling Will length slid within him as he came almost all the way off before pushing his back down taking all of Will's hard manhood back in again. Nico cried out with pleasure at the sensation of Will moving within him and the feeling of Will’s tip hitting him in just the right spot inside. It was almost embarrassingly loud, the only thing that saved his dignity was the fact that Will moaned even louder. 

The next time Nico moved he was more prepared for the flood of toe-curling stimulation and was able to swallow most of the sounds he wanted to make in response. Will was either unprepared or didn't care if he was heard if the equally loud moan he let out was any indication. Nico actually found himself giggling as he found a rhythm that had him feeling hot and tingly but still in control. "Sentirsi bene?” {Feel good?} he teased more than questioned.

"Gods, Nic!" Will's hands slid up Nico's thighs and around his hips to grip the cheeks of his backsides firmly. Clinching on to Nico, Will's hands urged him to take on a faster rhythm which made every wave of pleasure Nico was feeling increase tenfold. "You look so good right now, Nic."

"Will," Nico whined in response to Will's praise. He felt like he was burning up and his insides were filled with fireworks. In a word, it was perfection but at the pace Will was setting Nico couldn't last long.

"Pretty boy, you feel _soooo_ good" Will moaned sounding desperate. "Gods, I'm so…..ah….Nic!"

Nico really wasn't sure if that was supposed to make sense and he really couldn't think of anything but how overwhelmingly incredible Will was making him feel and how close he was to climax, he just needed…..

Will seemed to read Nico's mind before he even finished his thought. One of Will's hands released Nico's backside in favor of gripping Nico own erection. Will's tight fist started moving up and down Nico's swollen length. That was exactly what Nico needed, that tight, hot feeling of impending orgasm sat low in his groin and seemed to grow with each stroke. He felt himself tittering on the edge of ecstasy and was trying everything in his power to hang on just a bit longer. He pushed all the ways Will was flooding his being with pure ecstasy beyond words to the back of his mind, tried to ignore how Will was practically chanting his name like a pray or a plea, and focused on something (anything) that would help him hold back the heat that threatened to consume him.

Will's chanting lost its rhythm and came in burst for a moment, breaking with long pauses as Will seemed to gasp for air. Then beneath him, Will's hips thrusted upwards to meet Nico as he pressed back. The motion had been unexpected and the ecstasy of it ripped through Nico's body like a wildfire. It was too much, Nico couldn't hold back the tidal wave of pleasure any longer but before the levy broke he felt Will shudder under him, felt Will’s hard manhood pulse deep within him.

The cold rush of climax made Nico blind and deaf as he spilled his seed on Will's hand and across his chest. He wasn't sure if he moaned Will's name but the way his chest burned and his lungs heaved for air he felt like he had been screaming. As the last ripples of pleasure passed Nico felt like his whole body was singing.

It took a few seconds to get his limbs to respond to his efforts to move before he managed to shift. He brought his hands to rest Will's chest, careful to avoid the mess he had caused. Pushing his hips up to move off Will's softening length, Nico's shaking arms didn't provide as much support as he would have liked but enough.

They both whimpered rather pathetically as the last of Will passed through Nico's slightly abused rim. Dismounted, Nico promptly dropped himself onto his back on the bed next to Will and stared up at the dimly lit ceiling. As they both lay their panting Will's hand found his and he interlaced their fingers. "I'm so glad you surprised me this weekend," Will managed sounding breathless and tired.

Nico turned his head and took Will in for a second. His chest was heaving and face was still flushed, his hair was tossed every which way, and he was visibly grinning. "Is that so?" Nico questioned teasingly.

"Yes, and it's not about the sex," Will assured before correcting himself. "Well, it's not just about the sex." Will turned his head to meet Nico's gaze, his bright eyes seemed to twinkle in the low light. Will's grip on Nico's hand tightened momentarily as he spoke softly, "I always want you with me."

Gods, that was sappy, Nico thought as he felt himself blush. Instead of ducking his head to hide he leaned into Will slightly and placed a soft kiss on Will's lips. When he pulled away Will actually sighed which was so sweet Nico couldn't help but smile. "I love you too Will." Will may not have said the actual words but Nico knew what he meant.

Will's lazy smile turned into a huge grin, "I'm going to cuddle you so hard Pretty Boy," he declared rolling onto his side and throwing his arm around Nico in an attempt to pull him in.

Nico placed one hand on Will's chest, attempting to push him away as he squirmed in Will's grasp. "Will, you're all sticky," he protested. Sticky was actually an understatement, they were both covered in a layer of half-dry sweat, Will still had …fluids on his stomach and probably his hand, and then there was the lubricate which might as well have been everywhere.

Will didn't let him go but didn't pull him in closer. He let out a good-natured laugh. "And whose fault is that?" He questioned teasingly.

"Yours," Nico replied flatly. The more he thought about it the more he felt like they both needed a shower before they dared go to sleep.

Will was completely unaffected by their current state. "I think you played a pretty important part," Will stated playfully, leaning in for a kiss and when Nico turned his head away as a sign of protest he kissed Nico's cheek instead.

Nico made one more rather futile attempt to free himself from Will's grip before he sighed. "Will, I need to go clean-up."

If anything Will's grip on him tightened. "Pretty boy," Will whined in protest.

If Will had his way they would just cuddle naked without thought or worry about waking up covered in dried….. Sometimes Nico was just tired and too blissed to care and Will would win, tonight was not one of those nights. "Really quick," he promised.

Will grumbled but let him go. Nico climbed to his feet and walked around the bed to retrieve his briefs from where he had discarded them earlier. He pulled on his briefs ignoring the approving hum Will made or the feeling of Will's eyes on him when he bent over to do so.

Nico walked all the way to the door ignoring the feeling of Will watching his every movement and forcing himself by the sheer power of his mind not to blush. He was all the way to the bedroom door, hand reaching for the doorknob when he first heard it. It wasn't completely clear at first but it was enough to give Nico pause.

His first thought had been monster which was less than ideal. The last thing Nico wanted to do was fight off a stupid monster while he smelled like sex.

A few seconds past as Nico stood there frozen before there was another noise. The noise was louder the second time, or at least it seemed that way, maybe Nico had just been listening more carefully. Either way, there was no denying what the sound was: a moan. Nico pulled his hand back from the door like the knob might actually burst into flames and took a large step back from the door. "Oh gross," he hissed disapprovingly.

"What?" Will questioned curiously from the bed. Nico peeked over his shoulder to see Will sprawled out in the disheveled sheets draped over his lap and not much else. Gods, Will was nothing but muscles, tan skin, and freckles! He looked so tempting, maybe Nico could just crawl back into bed with him. "What's wrong?"

Nico blinked and even after he was able to push aside the tempting thoughts of the warm bed and Will's strong arms he was still hesitant to answer the question. He didn't want actually say it out loud because that would make it more real, and hearing it was bad enough. But Will was looking at him expectantly, Nico couldn't say nothing. He looked back at the door in disgust as he replied, "I think Percy and Jason are……." He actually wasn't sure what Percy and Jason were doing exactly. As if trying to figure that out wasn't bad enough, he heard another moan come from the other side of the door. Nico took another large step back from the door, "Gross!"

"Wait," Will chuckled. The bed springs creaked in protest as Will sat up on the bed. "Are you saying that Percy and Jason are fooling around out there?"

"That's what it sounds like," Nico admitted with disgust. He was extremely glad Will had phrased it the way he had rather than suggesting they were having sex. That was a mental image Nico did not need floating around in his head.

Another sound came for the other room, it still sounded like a moan but it sounded different somehow. If Nico had to guess why that was he figured he was hearing a different person moan. He looked at Will over his shoulder and whimpered desperately, "Make it stop."

Will was sitting all the way up in bed, the sheet resting in his lap was covering almost nothing. His shoulders were shaking slightly as he tried to hold in a laugh. He managed to choke it down enough after a few seconds to speak. "How am I supposed to do that?" he questioned making no move to get out of bed and help.

Nico huffed and stomped his foot lightly against the floor. Will really needed to take the whole thing more seriously. "Will," he whined.

They was a moment where they were locked in silence, Will looking amused and Nico looking desperate he was sure. There was another moan from the other room, it sounded more desperate. _Yuck_ , Nico was about two seconds away from jamming his fingers in his ear when Will finally caved. "Fine," Will sighed as he reluctantly climbed out of bed.

Will came to the door after a small detour to grab a few tissues off the desk in the corner (Why do hotels always have desks? Who needs a desk when staying at a hotel?). He dabbed at the mess on his stomach as he came to stand next to Nico at the door. He listened for a moment, he didn't have to wait long before there was another moan. Nico shuddered and took another half step away from the door. The longer he listened and the more he heard the more he picked up on and Nico was pretty sure it was Percy he just heard moan.

Will shook his head regrettably. "Oh, yeah I'm not interrupting that," he stated simply before tossing the used tissues in his hand in the general direction of the trash can. He reached for Nico's hand but settled for wrapping his fingers around his wrist. "You'll just have to come back to bed."

Nico pulled his wrist out of Will's grip as he protested. "Will!"

Will huffed slightly as he likely realized it wouldn't be that simple to get Nico back in bed. "What?" Will questioned defensively. "I can't cock block, Jason."

"Seriously?" Nico questioned corking his head to one side as he did. He thought, not for the first time, that the fact that Will and Jason had weirdly bonded was obnoxious. He concerned pointing out how much Will sounded like Austin when he said stuff like that but didn't really see how that would help his current situation.

"Yes," Will replied with conviction "We're friends! That would be _very_ not cool of me."

Nico huffed as he pulled his arms tightly over his chest. "If the situation were reversed Jason would totally do it to you." He grumbled under his breath. Why he was even arguing about this he wasn't sure, he was starting to think he would be better off crawling back into bed.

"Probably" Will shrugged like it meant nothing "But that's because in Jason's mind I'm banging his little brother."

Nico glared at Will and pulled his arms tighter around himself. Why did everyone insist on acting he was a kid? He was pretty sure he had just proofed he wasn't a kid. He opened his mouth to complain when there was a noise from the other room and whatever he was going to say was lost. He shifted uncomfortable on his feet as he grumbled, "I can't believe they are going at it with us in the other room."

Will chuckled, Nico glared at him but he didn't seem affected. "We just did the same thing." He pointed out with clear amusement.

Oh, Nico hadn't thought about it that way. "That was different," Nico muttered defiantly. After all, it was different. He and Will had been dating for almost year. They were planning to live together come fall. Percy and Jason were whatever they were for all of five minutes, and it was Will's hotel room. Well, it was Will and Dean's hotel room but Nico was pretty sure Dean was happy in Felix' room.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Will agreed casually. "I doubt they're doing anything more penetrative than oral out there," he pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Oh, gods Will!" Nico hissed slapping Will on the chest as a show of disapproval. "I don't need that mental image." Nico had to work very hard to not envision that. Gross, Nico wanted to scrub his brain with water from the Lethe.

"They can't last that long," Will stated like that was supposed to be reassuring, it really wasn't. He lifted his hand and ran his hand down Nico's arm letting only his fingertips graze Nico's skin before clasping Nico's hand in his own. Will took half a step back pulling Nico's hand gently in an attempt to get him to follow. "Just come back to bed and cuddle with me."

"Will," Nico whined. In truth, Nico was considering it. The bed would be warm, and Will would be warmer (because he was always warm). He was still naked too and looked like a piece of art, an incredibly tempting piece of art.

Nico heard the creak of hinges and saw a brief splash of light spilling under the doorframe before the distinctive sound of a door being pulled shut. "See," Will gestured toward the door (and the sound Nico guessed) like it somehow proved something.

Nico frowned with confusion at the door for a second before looking back at Will. "What do you think that means?" He asked.

"That they finished," Will answered like it was nothing, Nico didn't catch his meaning right away but once he did it took all he had not to gag at the thought. Will didn't seem to notice and didn't seem bothered by the fact that Jason and Percy had apparently had sex in the next room. He smirked a bit before adding with amusement, "Probably literally."

Nico did NOT want to talk about that. "Do you think they're still…..naked?" he questioned. The fact that Jason and Percy had finished what they were doing didn't completely solve Nico's problem.

"No idea," Will replied.

Nico considered the door for a moment, he still wanted to clean up before bed but….."I have no desire to see Jason or Percy naked," He admitted.

"Just given them a few minutes," Will suggested. It was said casually enough but Nico knew his boyfriend too well to not see his alternative motive.

Still, Nico thought about it for a moment. It really only took a couple minutes to get dressed so things should have been safe but….."And what if they're like you and simply refuse to wear clothes after……ya know," Nico questioned. Will had a tendency to lay around naked post-coital which Nico whole-heartedly approved of when it was Will.

"Oh yes," Will chuckled, his voice laced with sarcasm and he wasn't trying to hide it. "Because that's _just_ me."

"Well, which one of us is standing here naked?" Nico questioned rhetorically looking Will up and down to make his point clear- That was a mistake, Will looked really good…. _Stupid, sexy boyfriend!_

"I'm flashing back to you sprawled naked on my mother's kitchen table," Will mused teasingly. The sound of the bathroom door once again opening and closing only seemed to punctuate his point in some strange way.

Nico blushed slight, he wanted to snap back that that had been Will's fault. After all, it was Will who had decided that having make-up sex on the kitchen table was a good idea. Okay, Nico may have been acting especially eager but still, that was mostly Will's fault. He was the one that had picked a fight and then came home all sweat in his sexy little soccer uniform.

Nico said nothing, instead shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot as he seriously contemplated admitting defeat and crawling back into bed. Before Nico could really decide Will let out a soft sigh, "Would it make you feel better if I checked?" He offered.

"Yes," Nico replied quickly. He, of course, could have done that himself but it would be such a relief if Will took care of it.

Will nodded before looking down at the floor. Nico didn't understand what he was doing at first and was about to question it when Will took a few steps toward the bed and scooped his boxers off the floor. Will stepped back into his boxers as he walked back to the door. He rapped his knuckle against the door just hard enough to be heard. He didn't wait for a reply before moving his hand to the doorknob. He pulled the door open slightly and stuck his head through the newly created gap. "Hey, guys," Will called into the other room. "Are you two…umm….done? Kinda need to get to the bathroom."

"Yeah, we're decent, have at it," Replied an amused sounding voice with a bit of a chuckle. Even if Nico hadn't been able to recognize the voice he still would have known that was Percy, Jason would have had at least some shame over being overheard.

"Awesome, thanks!" Will exclaimed happily before pulling away from the door. He gestured for Nico to go ahead.

Nico hesitated, he wasn't exactly reassured by Percy's proclamation but he had made such a fuss he couldn't really just go back to bed. He slipped past Will and through the door moving as quickly as he dared in the dark to the bathroom door. "You two are loud and it was gross." He chastised Percy and Jason while being extremely careful not to actually look in their direction before slipping into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. Why had he brought Percy and Jason along in the first place?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will is a bit of a whiny bitch in the beginning, sorry about that.
> 
> Currently working on the next Outtakes chapter which I hope to have up soon.
> 
> As always I love to hear from you guys so comments and kudos are always welcome!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	45. Game Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and Happy Sunday :)
> 
> I have missed all of you!
> 
> A new chapter of Outtakes is coming I promise, life has just been a little crazy the last few weeks.
> 
> This chapter contains mild references to sex.

Will really had been nervous about the idea of Nico watching him play soccer which after a game or two seemed silly. He knew if he admitted the reason for his nerves out loud Dean would probably tease him mercilessly but Will wanted to impress Nico. Yes, he knew they were already dating but that didn’t matter. Nico was an impressive person who did impressive things, like leading armies of zombies, or teleporting huge statues halfway around the world. Will needed to impress Nico.

Will knew it was silly and he knew he was a decent soccer player (actually he was pretty sure he was better than decent) but he just didn’t think he looked all that amazing when he played. He got all sweaty from running back and forth on the field and he wasn’t above sliding on the grass if he thought he had a shot at the ball so by the end of the game he was covered in grass stains. Sweat and grass stains were not sexy.

Nico, on the other hand, was a graceful (sexy) person. Watching Nico spar with Percy or Jason was like watching art the way he moved. Nico was probably the only demigod alive that could be covered in mud, blood, and monster blood and still managed to look handsome and exotic. Thinking about the comparison maybe Will wonder what Nico saw in him in the first place. His insecurities were probably at least part of why he hadn’t invited Nico to watch practice when he had visited during Thanksgiving.

When Nico had shown up for the championship game with Percy and Jason in tow it wasn’t like he could tell them to leave. As it turned out, all his anxiety had been so completely wrong, Nico being there seemed to bring him more focus and motivation then he normally had for soccer.

Also, and Will didn’t really know why he didn’t see it coming, but Nico really liked soccer (like really liked it). When Will had expressed surprise at that (he just didn’t think of Nico as a sports guy) Felix had oh so helpfully reminded him that Nico was Italian and soccer was Italy’s national sport. Nico was probably the only person there that got as into the games as the coach did (Will didn’t think that was humanly possible). Throughout the games, even out on the field Will could hear Nico shouting Italian from the stands. It was actually kind of cute hearing Nico’s voice calling from the stands whenever there was a bad call or the other team got the ball. Also, bonus Will was too busy running and trying to get the ball to get a hard-on.

Oh, and then there was _that_ \- not only did Nico like soccer but he apparently got turned on watching Will play. Will definitely didn’t want to complain but he was pretty sure between practice drills, two games a day, and all the sex if he wasn’t a child of Apollo he would have died of exhaustion.

There were other reasons why Will was happy Nico (and he guessed to a lesser extent Jason and Percy) were there, the big one being Dean and Felix or as Wash and Watts had named them, Delix. Will realized he had handled the whole Dean and Felix showing up at the room together badly (very, very badly according to Nico). Will couldn’t imagine how hard the whole situation was for Dean. Will had realized at a pretty young age that girls weren’t his thing (but boys, boys were amazing especially the ones with the soulful eyes, creamy skin, and silky dark hair….yum). Whatever was going on with Dean was clearly was more complicated. What Dean needed was for Will to be supportive because that is what they did, ever since they were kids they supported each other through the hard stuff. When Will was getting picked on in school he went to Dean, and when Dean needed help dealing with his dad he came to Will.

So yeah, Felix may have been the last person Will would like Dean to be with while he figured himself but he still shouldn’t have flipped out, he should have at least tried to be supportive. Will wanted to be supportive, he just wished Dean had picked a different guy. Will was trying (as hard as that was) to look past the fact that it was Felix and having Nico there was helpful on that front.

The really funny thing was, not much seemed to have changed between Dean and Felix since the big reveal with a few minor exceptions. Felix still mouthed off more than Will cared for although he seemed to at least try to tone it back a bit. Dean still called Felix out when he took it too far but otherwise seemed to find his blunt personality amusing which Will still didn’t get but it wasn’t exactly new. Dean and Felix seemed to sit closer together and touched even more than they did before (which was saying something because they really did a lot before- How did Dean not realize they were interested in each other before). No really big changes.

Oh, and Dean and Felix were sleeping together now, which was a pretty big change as far as Will was aware. Alright, Will didn’t actually know if they were having sex or anything like that and he was definitely too terrified to ask, but they were sleeping in the same bed together. Dean declared he was staying in Felix’ room that first night and couldn’t be convince otherwise even when Will and Nico promised that they would not have sex with him in the room. Although that promise probably come across less than sincere considering Nico kept adding qualifiers like “when you’re awake”. Dean actually had the nerve to try to sell the sleeping arrangements as him giving Will and Nico alone time but Will could tell that was just a convenient excuse that Dean knew he couldn’t really argue against.

On a slightly related but not really note, Dean and Percy seemed to hit it off which was mildly terrifying (because Will didn’t want to imagine the trouble those two could get into together) and amusing at the same time. It would have been more concerning if the two were ever left together unsupervised but between Felix and Jason, that would never happen.

Percy and Jason appeared to be officially past the awkward phase of their whole weird little arrangement (not that Will was judging, polyamorous relationship might not have been for him but that didn’t mean it couldn’t work for other people). They were more or less back to normal except now they occasionally snuck off during games to make out in dark corners. Will was glad they had figured out their arrangement because watching Percy try to make a move badly and Jason freak out had lost its novelty quickly.

The really exciting news was the team had actually made it to the final game. It hadn’t been easy, a few of the teams they had played had had some serious talent but they had managed. Of course, they finished their third round game before the other teams so there was some waiting around before they found out who they would be playing for the final game.

Normally, waiting around at the stadium during championships was beyond boring. They were supposed to (according to coach) go watch the other teams play to get a sense of the potential opponents. The problem with that idea was the whole weekend was soccer, the last thing any of them wanted to do after finishing a game (especially when they had played a half dozen games in two and a half days) was watch someone else play. Usually, the team (minus the two freshman on the team that had taken to avoiding the rest of the team unless they were actually playing) would end up sitting around, too exhausted to really do much else but talk.

Having Nico there made for a vastly improved situation, sure Will still didn’t have all that much energy but it meant that sitting around often involved being cozy with Nico (or getting insanely good back rubs- Nico was like the god of back rubs). So that was pretty much what they were doing as they waited to find out who they would be playing in the final game.

They had grabbed some horribly unhealthy concessions stand food before claiming a nearby table. At some point, Will wasn’t really sure when, they had lost Percy and Jason so it was just himself, Nico, Dean, and Felix. Will would have been surprised by how _not_ awful that was if he let himself think about it but he was just too tired to think about it. Instead, he ignored his cousin and his whatever-Dean-was-calling-Felix and enjoyed what there was to enjoy.

Nico sat next to Will so close their knees touched which was such a nice reminder that Nico was actually physically there. Nico munched on French fries with one hand while the other hand settled on the small of Will’s back. Nico rubbed lazy circles onto Will's spine just above his tailbone with his long, nimble fingers. The motions kept sending chills up Will’s spine and he was covered with goose bumps. It felt like heaven and was extremely distracting and Will could be completely happy living in the moment forever.

Dean and Felix were having what they called a discussion but sounded a lot liked bickering about what was better, French fries or onion rings which should have been annoying but it just wasn’t (Nico’s fingers were really that talented). Will had no idea how much time had passed from the moment the four of them had sat down at the little picnic table until Watts and Wash walked up to the table and he guessed it didn’t really matter. Will didn’t actually notice them until Felix paused in his defense of onion rings and nodded at them. “So who are we playing?” Felix questioned.

Will looked toward his two newly arrived teammates to see them exchange a nervous look. “Yeah, about that,” Watts began anxiously.

“Oh, please don’t tell me it’s them again,” Dean groaned as he made a rather theatrical show of throwing his hands in the air. Felix actually had to lean away to avoid getting smacked in the face which was pretty funny.

Will probably should have known what Dean was talking about since he had been on the team almost as long as his cousin but he was too tired to think straight and Nico was still rubbing his back so he didn’t really care. Actually, Will was too preoccupied wondering if there was enough time for him and Nico to sneak off for some alone time. Felix actually looked around the group curiously and when he didn’t find an answer he questioned, “Who?”

“Those purple wearing fucktards” Dean grumbled his reply. He crossed his arms and slouched so he was leaning into Felix’ chest. It was a weird gesture, not that Will hadn’t saw it before, it was just something Will really only saw between long established couples. What made it more strange was that it didn’t seem unnatural between Dean and Felix, it looked like just another day for them.

Nico stopped rubbing Will’s back which officially made Will care about the conversation. “Language,” Nico scolded Dean.

“Sorry,” Dean offered sincerely in Nico’s direction.

Not too long after Dean had found out the truth about the demigod stuff Will had slipped up and mentioned the year Nico was born. Dean had played in pretty cool while Will was still on the phone with Nico but after not so much. Will had explained things (and answered questions, lots of questions) the best he could. It wasn’t something Nico liked to talk about and it wasn’t like Nico come with an owner’s manual or anything so the information Will had was a bit spotty at best and he didn’t feel like he could push if Nico wasn’t comfortable talking about it. Dean had been completely shocked that they were openly dating and that Nico seemed so fine with being gay, which took some explaining. In the end, Will summed things up as Nico was young when he was brought to the Lotus hotel so some things from his childhood stuck, some things not so much, and some things crept up and surprised them both. Nico’s feelings about cursing was definitely one of those things that stuck in the 1930s (or his mother was insanely strict). Will had never heard Nico cuss and early on Will had picked up on the disapproving looks Nico would give people when they did so he watched his mouth. He didn’t expect Dean to adjust his language but he did appreciate that he apologized for it without some joke about Nico being a 90-year-old man.

“But really, what kind of team color is purple anyways?” Dean questioned no one in particular with annoyance.

“My old team color was purple,” Felix informed plainly as he reached to push a stand of lose hair away from Dean’s eyes.

“Of course it was,” Will commented while rolling his eyes. He was really trying to be more personable with Felix, for Dean’s sake, but months of disliking the guy and not attempting to hide it had ingrained some bad habits Will caught the slightly annoyed look his cousin shot him which did make him feel a little bad, the vicious pinch Nico placed on the soft spot on the back of Will’s arm made him feel worse. “Ow!” Will protested as he turned to look back at his boyfriend. Nico was staring back at him with a stern expression and any protest Will had died unspoken.

“They look like Teletubbies,” Wash commented as he dropped onto the bench next to Dean. He and Watts had taken to ignoring what they called “the domestics” which was nice and between Percy, Jason, Dean, Felix, Nico, and himself there was plenty of that to ignore. 

“What’s a Teletubby?” Nico questioned with obvious confusion. The son of Hades had done a surprisingly good job of educating himself on a lot of modern things but Will wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t familiar with Teletubbies.

Felix smirked in Nico’s direction and used an onion ring to point in the son of Hades direction, his hand still lazily wrapped half around Dean’s waist. “You come from one of those weird families that doesn’t believe in television, didn’t you?” He questioned and Will guessed he was trying to sound teasing. Felix hadn’t ever seemed purposefully antagonistic with Nico like he always was with Will but it still sounded vaguely mocking.

Will shot Dean a disapproving look. He knew that Felix didn’t actually know anything about Nico’s unique history, Dean knew he couldn’t just tell people about demigod stuff. He knew Felix was just mouthing off because he was Felix and expecting anything different was stupid but Nico was sensitive about parts of his past and Dean knew that. If he was going to decide to be with Felix in whatever they were calling their relationship he was going to have to take some responsibility for minding Felix’ mouth.

Dean gave him a slightly apologetic look but shrugged questioningly. Will didn’t have to hear the words to know what Dean was trying to say. He knew Felix had inadvertently broached a sensitive subject but didn’t know what he was supposed to do about it.

“You could say that,” Nico replied casually. Will peeked at his boyfriend and found the boyfriend looking at most mildly disinterested as he picked at his own dish of French fries. Will was a bit surprised. Will remembered the first time he tried to ask Nico about the whole situation, they weren’t dating yet which was probably Will’s biggest mistake, but Nico had gotten really quiet and standoffish about the whole topic. It was amazing even to Will how much Nico had grown in a year. Nico looked around the table at Will’s team members before asking, “Who are we talking about exactly?”

There was a chorus of groans around the table, and Will couldn’t lie, he definitely participated. “We made it all the way to the last game of the championships last year,” Wash explained.

“And the year before that,” Watts added.

“And the year before that,” Dean stressed before stealing an onion ring out of Felix’ dish (so much for onion rings being unacceptable fried food).

Nico focused his attention on Will and Will couldn’t help but sigh. “The last few years we have ended up playing the same team and…” he explained but hesitated when it came to admitting how they lost for the last three years in a row. It was embarrassing and really didn’t help Will in his mission to impress Nico.

“Well, they certainly didn’t win,” A voice chimed in with from somewhere behind Will. He turned to see three guys in purple soccer uniforms standing directly behind their table. Will recognized two of the guys from the previous years, the third was new and looked younger (maybe a freshmen or sophomore). The one standing in the center Will knew was the team captain and he had to have a name but Will didn’t have a clue. The guy smirked confidently, “And here we are for the third year in a row.”

“What do you want?” Dean groaned. Dean took soccer far more serious than Will ever did and the fact that they had been beaten by the same team two years in a row always bothered him.

“Came to wish you good luck on the game,” The other team captain offered trying to sound innocent, his cocky grin made it less than believable. “Of course, all the good luck in the world wouldn’t help you because you’re still-”

“You look so familiar,” The youngest (unfamiliar) team member declared pointing at Nico which a curious expression.

“Dude!” The team captain protested as he turned on his younger teammate, “I’m trash talking here.”

“Sorry” The younger player apologized quickly before turning back to Nico. “But you really do,” His expression was one of confusion, and he was obviously trying to figure out why Nico looked familiar to him. Will didn’t like it.

Will looked toward Nico and found his boyfriend staring back at the guy with confusion or maybe even distaste “Why?” Nico questioned seriously, and there was definitely distaste there. Sure, Nico had grown a lot but he still wasn’t a fan of dealing with new people and he certainly didn’t like being in the spotlight.

Dean almost choked on a French fry as he failed to stifle a laugh, “Are you for real?” he questioned Nico with a look of amazement.

“Yes,” Nico replied plainly with a slightly confused expression “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Felix chuckled as he pushed away his onion rings. He slapped his hands together dusting off the bits of breading stuck to his fingers and eyed Nico with amusement “Sorry, but I’ve just got to ask,” Felix stated. Will was sure of two things: Felix was not remotely sorry about anything he was about to say, and whatever it was Will wasn’t going to like it. “How do you forget that your job consists of letting people take half-naked pictures of you?”

Nico tried to glare but didn’t look all that intimidating considering how flushed he suddenly was. The only thing that seemed to lessen Nico’s embarrassment, or at least put it in perspective was the deep scarlet the younger player from the other team turned. His red face was a stark contrast to the deep purple of his shirt.

Will found himself with mixed emotions: Nico looked adorable when he got all embarrassed and blushed (Will would never go out of his way to cause it to happen but he couldn’t help but admire it when it did), the young players reaction suggested he was familiar with Nico’s ads which made it hard for Will to be sympathetic to the kid’s current level of embarrassment (Nico’s amazing body was Will’s for looking at and enjoying, not other people’s), Felix seemed mildly amused by the chaos he had caused which definitely didn’t endure him to Will. Will couldn’t respond to Nico’s embarrassment like he would if they were in private, hitting the young player didn’t seem like an appropriate thing to do either given the setting so he focused on the one thing he could react to. He pointed toward Felix while giving Dean a disapproving look. “Isn’t he supposed to be on his best behavior?” He questioned Dean referring to Felix.

Dean shrugged like it was nothing. “Wording wasn’t great but the question was valid,” He replied plainly.

Will stared at his cousin in astonishment for a moment. He really shouldn’t have been surprised, even before Dean and Felix had become whatever they were Dean always seemed to have a different perspective on Felix’ mouth and everything that come out of it than Will did. “I didn’t realize that being an asshole was a venereal disease,” Will commented sarcastically

“Clearly it’s not,” Felix retorted with a wide grin “Nico seems fine.”

Dean groaned and rolled his eyes. “I’m so glad you two have decided to get along,” he stated with the same level of sarcasm Will had displayed earlier as he used a French fry to gesture between Felix and Will. Under the sarcasm, there was a hint of annoyance that Will had known Dean too well for too long to miss which made him feel a little guilty. Whatever his feelings about Felix he really did need to try harder because in the end it was Dean’s feelings were the ones that mattered.

“Allow us to explain,” Wash declared looking over Will’s shoulder. For a moment Will was genuinely confused. He looked over his shoulder to see the three guys from the other team were still standing there watching them with seriously confused looks (well, two looked confused while the youngest one just looked like he wanted to crawl into the nearest hole and die). Wash made a rather overly dramatic gesture in Nico’s direction. “This is Nico.”

“He’s Will’s boyfriend,” Watts added as he pointed toward Will to make it abundantly clear who he was referring to. Nico wasn’t the only one who had grown in the last year. During the last championship game, Nico had been the only thing on Will’s mind but he wouldn’t dare speak about him (even if it was all he wanted to do) for fear of outing himself and all that could entail. This year, Will couldn’t care less who knew he was gay and he would have happily screamed about him and Nico from the rooftop. In case there were any remaining doubts to whom Watts was referring Will raised his hand and gave a small wave.

“And Nico’s an underwear model” Wash added.

Nico groaned “Can’t you just say model?” Will seconded that request. It was bad enough knowing there were pictures out there of his gorgeous boyfriend in barely anything for all the world to see without being constantly reminded.

“Do you model anything else?” Felix asked curiously with a wide grin.

Will felt Nico shift uncomfortably on the bench next to him. “Currently?” Nico questioned nervously his eyes downcast.

“I’ll take that as a no,” Felix commented with a victorious grin.

Will wanted to argue although technically Nico hadn’t modeled anything but underwear. Nico had mentioned there was some talk about him crossing over to the actual clothing line of Bellomi but that hadn’t happened yet. Will hadn’t really figured out what he wanted to say, not that he had been given much of a chance before Dean smacked Felix chest hard enough to cause that distinctive smacking sound that told everyone within earshot that it hurt. “Dude,” He gave Felix a disapproving look. “Don’t pick a fight with someone who can break your face.”

The general air of annoying confidence that usually hung around Felix dissipated slightly at Dean’s reprimand (at least something had an effect on Felix and his bad behavior and it was probably a good thing that it was Dean). Felix' eyes flicked in Nico’s direction uncertainly. It was a fleeting instance at best, but Will still saw it. “He wouldn’t,” Felix declared all fake bravado.

“I really would,” Nico replied quickly and with all seriousness. The two seemed locked in some sort of unspoken show of a silent argument for a few seconds before Felix looked away in a clear sign of defeat. Nico grinned triumphantly as he reached over and stole one of Felix’ abandoned onion rings.

Dean waved at the players from the other team that were still standing there watching, they looked too shocked and confused to move. “And sorry for the accidental outing,” Dean offered sympathetically. Will wasn’t sure if what happened as a full-on outing but considering how embarrassed the young player seemed about recognizing Nico it certainly meant something. Will felt bad for the kid, almost bad enough not to want to punch him in the face for looking at his boyfriend.

Before Will could even turn his head to gauge the other players’ reaction Felix let out a laugh. Like an honest to goodness laugh, not mocking or teasing. “I bet you do that a lot,” Felix declared referring to Nico.

Dean slapped his boy….. his Felix again in the chest. “What did I just say?” He questioned disapprovingly.

“I need water,” The youngest player from the other team declared his voice an octave too high for any male who had gone through puberty. Will turned just in time to see the kid apparently get over his shock and embarrassment enough to turn on his heels and start in the other direction. The other team captain glared at them for a half a second before huffing and turning to chase after his teammate.

“So we will see ya on the field in an hour!” Wash called after them mockingly.

“I don’t know what happened the last two years but we have this year in the bag.” Felix declared with certainty. He turned toward Nico and grinned devilishly “How do you feel about watching the game shirtless.”

“You have to do something about him,” Will growled to Dean in reference to Felix.

“Felix, stop it,” Dean ordered without any force which really wasn’t at all what Will had wanted. Dean turned toward Nico and shrugged “I’m pretty sure your presence will be enough of a distraction but if we get down by more than five points taking your shirt off probably couldn’t hurt our cause.”

“I’m going to murder you,” Will groaned at his cousin. He was definitely catching some of Felix’ personality.

Next to him on the bench Nico shrugged, one peek over his shoulder Will could see he was blushing but not as much as Will would have expected. “I’ll consider it,” He offered casually. 

 

They didn’t re-discover Percy and Jason until right before Will had to go listen to coach’s pre-game pep talk. They both looked a little disheveled and happy, Nico took one look at them and rolled his eyes before turning to Will and kissing him good luck.

As Nico, Jason, and Percy made their way to the stands Will jogged over to where the rest of this team was waiting. The coach started his speech much like he had the year before- “Now, I know we faced off against this team the last two years and didn’t come out on top-” he was cut off by the sound of Dean’s hand quickly being slapped across Felix’ mouth and held there.

“Sorry coach,” Dean offered casually as Felix clearly muttered against the skin of his hand. “Go on.”

The coach glared at Dean and Felix for a second but didn’t actually comment. Of course, if he did say anything it would have seemed a bit hypocritical considering he had been screaming at the two of them to ‘get over their high school drama and get along’ for the last month. Well, they were definitely getting along now although Will was positive that what they were doing was not what the coach had meant.

After Dean and Felix had apparently been sufficiently glared at the coach continued. “But this is our year, I can-” Will kind of zoned out at that point. He wasn’t really in need of the coach’s pep talk, he wanted to win.

He looked over in the direction of the other team who looked like they were in pretty much the same position they were, listening to their own coach rant and rave. He spotted the new player from earlier, the one that had recognized Nico from earlier looking fidgety.

Next Will looked toward the stands. Nico, Jason, and Percy were sitting toward the top of the bleachers like they had all the previous games. Nico and Percy seemed to be having an animated conversation and Jason seemed to be trying to referee (good luck with that Jason). It was a bit chillier that day then it had been the last few days so Nico was wearing his leather jacket over one of the Henley’s Will was positive Mitchell had bought (Nico would never buy anything that tight). His hair had been recently trimmed as well so he just looked especially put together and trendy. Will was a little jealous he wasn’t sitting up in the stands with his arm wrapped around his boyfriend’s shoulder. He would just have to put on a good show.

As his mind wandered, Will tried to hide a yawn and failed miserably. “Solace!” Will snapped back to the moment and found the coach’s attention zeroed straight in on him.

“Yes, coach” Will and Dean both replied reflexively.

The coach let out a groan before gesturing toward Will. “Younger Solace,” he clarified.

“Yeah, coach?” Will replied again trying to look as innocent and slightly confused as he could manage. It was far better than looking guilty.

“What was that!?!” The coach questioned vaguely and far louder than really seemed completely necessary as he gestured wildly.

Will tilted his head to one side slightly as he continued to play dumb, “What was what coach?”

“You yawned,” The coach replied saying the word yawned like it was an actual crime.

Well, yeah he had definitely done that. “I did?” He questioned trying his best to sound oblivious.

“God damn it, Solace!” Coach tossed his clipboard on the ground for dramatic effect. “You had sex!”

“What!?!” Will exclaimed with actual surprise. He had expected the coach to tell him to focus, maybe get his head in the game, he hadn’t expected him to openly accuse him of having sex. And yeah, Will had had sex more than once since Nico had arrived but he thought he had covered it up well. Neither of them had any visible marks although Nico definitely had a few lingering love bites on his chest and inner thighs and Will had a few quickly healing scratch marks down his back but nothing visible. “No!” he denied nervously. Gods, he was screwed, Will thought he didn’t even sound remotely close to convincing.

Will heard someone snicker and of course, it was Felix, “Deny a little much Solace?” Before Will could even turn his head let alone tell Felix to shut his mouth he heard the hard smack of Dean hitting Felix’ chest. When Will did look he saw Dean shaking his head disapprovingly at Felix. Felix shot him a begrudging apologetic look.

 _Interesting_ , Will thought. He was used to Felix listening to Dean but not actually seeming apologetic for his bad behavior. Before Will could really think about the actual meaning of that behavior the coach’s voice demanded his attention. “There was one rule, Solace!”

“I know coach,” Will replied shoving down his nerves and working to sound as confident as he possibly could. After all, it wasn’t like he had done anything wrong he just didn’t follow coach’s rule which he really had no right to make anyways. “I most certainly haven’t had sex, I’d definitely remember if I had,” he stated insistently. He absolutely remembered the first night in the hotel with Nico moaning against his shoulder, and the next morning in the shower, and well, he could go on but there really wasn’t a point.

The coach clearly didn’t believe him. “ONE RULE!” He shouted with visible frustration. Actually, his face was even getting a bit red which couldn’t have been a good sign.

Will was about half a breath away from actually apologizing when Dean came to his rescue. “Coach,” Dean interjected. “As Will’s roommate, I can personally attest to how little action he is getting.” Dean lied with a practiced ease that was so believable it was almost scary. He shot Will a quick sympathetic look before turning back to the coach. “Honestly, it’s kind of sad.”

“Thanks for that,” Will commented flatly. That last bit seemed like Dean was overselling it a bit.

The coach’s eyes went between Will and Dean for a second before once again zeroing in on Will. “Why did you yawn?” he questioned skeptically.

“This is our fifth game in three days,” Will reminded before adding with emphasis “I’m tired.”

Will was pretty proud of himself, that time he thought he sounded pretty convincing. “Well….” The coach was clearly trying to find a flaw in that explanation and was failing. He stammered for a few more seconds before apparently giving up, “Be tired after we win!”

“Sure thing coach,” Will agreed with a nod.

The coach huffed and Will got the impression that however he had planned to end his little pre-game speech was lost. Finally, he gestured rather spastically toward the field “Go on and get out there already.”

With that, the huddle broke and everyone headed to their place on the field. Will wasn’t exactly surprised to find his cousin at his side but he was surprised to look over and not see Felix in tow. Since their little reveal the two of them had been more or less inseparable. Dean grinned at him as they walked toward their spots on the field. “Considering how often you have to lie you’d think you’d be better at it.” He mused.

“I’m not that bad,” Will defended. That wasn’t true, Will knew he had just made an incredible fool out of himself trying to deny he and Nico had been going at it like the horny teenagers they were.

“Dude, you suck!” Dean laughed before nudging his shoulder reassuringly “Don’t worry, I’ll cover you.”

“Thanks for that,” Will replied and he met it. Dean had pretty much swooped in and saved Will from fumbling through and awkward and unnecessary confession about his love life (Nico would have just loved that). He peeked over his shoulder at Dean curiously for a moment. He seemed more relaxed that Will was used to, why was that? “When did you become such an experienced liar anyways?”

Dean chuckled “Dude, I’ve been lying about my sexuality for years to everyone, including myself. I think that counts as plenty of practice.”

Will didn’t know what he had been expecting but it wasn’t that. “A gay joke? Really?” He voiced his surprise “Isn’t it kind of soon?”

“Bisexual joke,” Dean corrected matter-of-factly. “I still like girls.” Dean was talking with such ease about all of this. Will had come to terms with his own sexuality pretty quickly but Dean was going for an all-time record it seemed. “Actually, I think I prefer them,” He sighed, “Felix is just different, I guess.”

Will didn’t have to look at Dean to hear the smile on Dean’s face when he spoke Felix’ name. Will had never seen Dean talk like that about someone he dated before, it was kind of nice when he didn’t think too hard about the cause. “I’ll have to keep that in mind.” Will admitted before they parted ways to take their places.

It had been such a strange, eventful weekend, Will only prayed that it ended with a victory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is a bit of a filer chapter but lots of fun is just around the corner
> 
> As also comments and kudos are like the air I breathe.


	46. Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello All,
> 
> Happy Sunday! This chapter like the last feels a little short but the next is going to be quite long.
> 
> This chapter contains mild references to Smut
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated.

They arrived back at New Rome much later than Percy had expected. Will’s game had ended in the mid-afternoon so they should have gotten back pretty early but immediately following the game Nico and Will disappeared for at least an hour. Percy got it, Will’s team had won so they were celebrating, although he was pretty sure if Will’s team had lost the still would have disappeared (then it would have sympathy sex instead of celebratory sex). Still, Jason being grumbly and disapproving was only amusing for so long.

When Nico and Will reappeared Nico informed them that he wanted to stay to watch the trophy ceremony and it wasn’t like Percy or Jason could say no (he was kind of their ride). Jason was a bit more bothered by the unexpected extension to their stay which seemed backward considering Percy was the one that had two papers due that week and hadn’t started on either.

Percy was pretty sure they were going to have to pry Nico and Will apart to leave but in the end, it didn’t take that much. Will was much worse than Nico, spending at least ten minutes trying to convince him to just come back to his house until Dean told him to stop being co-dependent and get his ass on the bus (it was seriously funny).

Percy, Jason, and Nico ended up back in New Rome in the late afternoon/early evening. Nico let out a large yawn the moment they materialized before stumbling slightly. In typical Jason fashion, the son of Jupiter immediately went to fuss over the youngest demigod and Nico, in typical Nico fashion, brushed him off. Percy was sure Nico was fine, after all, he would know better than Percy or Jason what he could handle.

Nico did seem to recover quickly after his bit of a stumble, although he still looked tired. They parted ways pretty quickly, with Nico heading toward the nicest hotel in the city (where he had a standing ambassador’s suit) while Percy and Jason walked toward Percy’s apartment.

When Nico was out of sight, Percy peeked over his shoulder at Jason. His skin was a sickly color, and he was clutching his stomach like he was trying to stop himself from hurling. Honestly, it was impressive that Jason was able to walk at such a pace considering how he looked.

It may not have been the nicest thing ever (Percy hadn’t handled shadow travel all that well his first few times either) but he grinned. Jason must have sensed him watching because he looked over at Percy with a sullen expression. “I hate shadow travel,” the blonde declared.

“I can tell,” Percy admitted trying to sound sympathetic even though he could feel himself still grinning.

“It’s unnatural,” Jason replied looking down right miserable. Percy understood what Jason was saying, the first time that he had shadow traveled with Nico it had just felt wrong.

They reached the front door of Percy and Annabeth’s building. Percy pulled the door open and held it open for Jason. “Would you believe me if I told you it gets easier?” He offered sympathetically.

“No,” Jason replied flatly walking past Percy and into the building's entryway. The fact that he didn’t tell Percy to stop being weird because he was holding the door, he didn’t even pause, was pretty telling in regards to just how awful Jason was feeling.

Percy wasn’t a complete ass, he sympathized with how Jason was feeling. Still, he knew it would pass and to be honest Jason looked a little cute as he acted all pouty and disgruntled (even if he did look sick). Percy couldn’t help but chuckle a little as he entered the building behind Jason. He let the door fall shut behind him as he started up the stairs behind Jason, heading toward the door of his second-floor apartment. “I think we probably have crackers,” Percy informed as they climbed the stairs. Clearly, shadow travel and pregnancy were very different things but he knew that was what his mom would eat a lot when she first got pregnant and was feeling nauseous.

Jason’s only reply was a barely audible whining sound. He didn’t tell Percy to stop being an asshole or to shut up which probably meant that crackers sounded like a good idea (or he felt too sick to argue). Percy just hoped he was right about them having crackers (Annabeth did the shopping). Pushing through their front door Percy called out, “Annabeth?”

The living room and what he could see of the kitchen as he walked in the doorway was neat but deserted. There was no answer to his call but in the distance, he heard the splattering of water that suggested the shower was running.

“Pipes!?!” Jason called as he stepped into the apartment behind Percy and shut the door. There was no reply just the continued drum of water in the distance from the shower running.

Percy and Jason exchanged a curious look but neither of them really questioned it. Percy was sure if he thought on it he would think of a pretty practical reason for one of the girls being in the shower and the other not answering their calls but it didn’t really matter.

“Huh,” Percy shrugged as Jason walked as quickly as he could without it looking suspicious to Percy and Annabeth’s seriously beat up, hand-me-down couch and dropped onto the well-worn cushion. On the bright side, Jason no longer looked green but his usually tan skin had a grayish tint that made it pretty clear he still wasn’t completely recovered.

“Want something to drink?” Percy offered jutting his thumb in the direction of the kitchen. He was positive Jason was going to accuse him of making it weird but he would just have to get over. Percy was just offering him water not oral sex, although Percy wasn’t exactly opposed to that either.

“Mmm,” Jason hummed contently at the idea and nodded in the affirmative.

Interesting, Percy thought as he turned and started toward the kitchen. Jason seemed more comfortable with their situation than he had at the start of the weekend. Sure they had fooled around some and made out some more but Percy figured that would be a little….regression when they had gotten back to New Rome. The fact that there wasn’t was a pleasant surprise, to say the least.

It wasn’t the only surprise either, Percy walked into the kitchen to actually find a kitchen. All Annabeth’s books and papers were nowhere to be seen, the counters and table were completely clear except…. “Oh my gods, there are fresh baked cookies!” Percy declared with pure glee as his eyes settled on the large plate stacked with what looked like chocolate chip cookies sitting in on the table.

Percy stared at the tray with a mix of awe and disbelief. He wasn’t actually sure what he was seeing was real, he had never actually seen freshly baked anything in their kitchen before. It was kind of beautiful, he owed Piper.

Completely forgetting his purpose for walking in the kitchen in the first place, Percy grabbed the tray and walked back out to the living room. He moved to stand in front of where Jason was sitting on the couch and held out the tray like it was some kind of miracle “Can you believe this?”

Jason looked at the tray for maybe a second before looking back up at Percy and replying. “Yeah, Piper likes to bake.”

“I don’t think our kitchen has been used for baking before,” Percy explained setting the tray on the coffee table which was more beat up and worn than the couch. He plucked a cookie off the top of the stack, took a bite, and moaned, “And they’re delicious.”

“Gimme,” Jason requested as he gestured toward the plate.

Percy grabbed another cookie off the stack and handed it to Jason before dropping himself on the couch. He took another bite of his own cookie and it tasted even better than the first bite had been, “Yum,” Percy exclaimed around a mouth full of cookie- Could people orgasm from eating really tasty food, Percy wondered.

Jason hummed happily in agreement as he worked on his own cookie. Percy finished his first cookie and immediately reached for a second one. He took a second to admire the piece of art that was the baked goodness in his hand. “Ya know the four of us should just live together next year,” he mused before taking a large bite, effectively eating a third of the cookie in one go. “It would make this whole arrangement a lot easier,” He pointed out. The four of them really needed to figure out what they wanted to call their arrangement. Percy was fine with avoiding labels but for communication, purposes calling it something would be helpful. “And I would get baked goods.”

Jason didn’t respond right away which wasn’t exactly surprising, Percy really hadn’t been expecting much of a response. It wasn’t until he finished the rest of his second cookie and reached for his third did Percy realize Jason was watching him intently. “What?” He questioned nervously.

“Are you being serious?” Jason replied uncertainly “I can’t tell.” He sounded sort of like Annabeth who often complained that she could never completely tell when Percy was joking.

As Percy sat back on the couch he hummed thoughtfully, more for dramatic effect than anything else. “Like Sixty percent serious,” Percy admitted. He wasn’t going to push the issue or anything but it really would make their whole arrangement a bit easier to negotiate, splitting up household chores amongst four of them would leave less for everyone to do, and it would decrease the burden of rent. All and all, it could be an extremely practical choice. Percy was a bit surprised that he was the one to think of it, Annabeth was usually the one to think of things like that.

“All four of us could not live in this tiny apartment,” Jason declared dismissively after thinking on it for all of ten seconds and reaching for his second cookie.

In the distance, Percy heard the gentle thud of water stop signaling that the shower had been shut off. He took a second to examine his hands before slapping them together to brush off all the remnants of cookie. “Dude, we’d get a bigger place,” he pointed out casually. He thought that was pretty obvious. It wasn’t like all four of them could live in the apartment Percy and Annabeth had now.

Jason didn’t say anything and Percy wasn’t sure if he was actually thinking about it or if he just didn’t know what to say. Percy didn’t feel like questioning it, and it wasn’t really worth pushing the issue since he wasn’t even really suggesting it, well not completely. As Jason worked on his cookie, Percy stretched his legs out and propped his feet up on the coffee table as he let out a large yawn. He hadn’t realized how tired he was but now that he was sitting with nothing else to do it hit him. Percy guessed he shouldn’t be all that surprised considering he hadn’t gotten all that much sleep the last few nights, not that the floor of Will’s hotel room wasn’t comfortable it was just that he and Jason often made use of the alone time.

Just as his eyelids began to grow heavy forcing Percy to blink in what felt like slow motion he heard the bathroom door open and female voices carrying down the hall. “Percy?” Annabeth’s voice questioned as footsteps made their way closer to the living room.

“That’s me!” Percy replied with a wave of his hand as a form of greeting even though he knew she hadn’t reached the living room yet.

“You two are back earlier than I expected,” She informed.

“Really?” Percy questioned doubtfully as he turned to see Annabeth enter the room in nothing but a towel. She clearly had just gotten out of the shower, her blonde hair looked a shade darker as it cascaded over her tan shoulders in soft waves. Droplets of water glistened as they made their way down tone arms.

Her bare feet pedaled almost noiselessly against their carpeted floor as she took a few steps closer to the couch. “Yes, I figured you two wouldn’t be back to dinner time at the very earliest.” She explained.

“It is dinner time,” Jason pointed out as pulled his third cookie off the stack and contemplated it.

Annabeth looked genuinely perplexed by that bit of information as she focused her intense stare solely on Percy, “It is?” She questioned sincerely.

“Yeah,” Percy shrugged. “It is about that time.”

Annabeth seemed to think on that for a moment but never got a chance to actually to comment before Piper entered the room from the hallway. Piper, also clearly had just gotten out of the shower although she had pulled her hair into a thick braid. That was fine, and Percy was definitely not trying to picture what they were just doing naked together in the shower, but the fact that Piper was also in nothing but a towel was a bit problematic. Percy didn’t remember their towels ever seeming so small but very little of Piper seemed to be covered.

Seeing his bro’s girlfriend (and his girlfriend’s girlfriend he guessed) practically naked didn’t seem right. He turned his head back around so that he was staring at the wall with his back turned on Annabeth and Piper. Problem solved.

“You found the cookies,” Piper declared happily “Aren’t they good?”

“So good,” Percy agreed. In all honesty, they were delicious but Piper and Annabeth were still standing in the living room, right behind the sofa where he and Jason were sitting in nothing but towels.

Percy peeked over at Jason and caught the son of Jupiter’s eye. They exchanged an uncomfortable look before Jason carefully moved his gaze to the same wall Percy had been staring at seconds ago before agreeing, “Very good.”

“Annabeth helped,” Piper informed cheerfully.

“Don’t worry, we had to throw out that batch,” Annabeth informed matter-of-factly. Percy certainly wasn’t going to say it out loud but he had figured since there didn’t appear to be any charred or extremely undercooked cookies in the pile. In the same plain tone, she added, “What’s wrong with you?” Percy peeked over his shoulder at his finance to find her staring at Jason with concern. Jason looked probably a thousand times better than when Nico had first shadow traveled them back to New Rome but his coloring was still a bit off so the question was valid.

Percy nudged Jason’s side with the back of his hand to let the son of Jupiter know the question was directed at him. Jason very cautiously peeked over his shoulder at Annabeth and only met her gaze long enough to confirm that she was looking at him before quickly turning away. The fact that his bro clearly had no interest in seeing his finance naked was much appreciated by Percy. “Shadow travel is bad,” Jason replied simply.

“Ay,” Annabeth exclaimed with understanding. Annabeth hadn’t shadow traveled as much and on the few occasions that she had done so with Mrs. O’Leary she had not been a fan, to say the least. “There are crackers in the cupboard,” She offered echoing Percy’s words from earlier.

“I have a cookie,” Jason replied carefully not turning his head to look at Annabeth as he held up his cookie as evidence.

“Poor thing,” Piper declared with an overly sweet tone. Percy didn’t really want to see Piper in nothing but a towel so he kept his eyes forward but he could still see her hands ruffle Jason’s blonde hair.

“He’ll be fine,” Percy stated with a bit of a teasing grin even as he felt Jason shot him a look.

“That may be true but it’s still not pleasant,” Annabeth pointed out with clear sympathy for Jason. Maybe it had just been too long since Percy really experienced the uncomfortable after-effects of shadow travel, he couldn’t conjure the right level of sympathy. Annabeth took a few steps closer to where Percy was sitting on the couch. She leaned in so her damp hair fell over Percy’s shoulder as she pressed a kiss on his cheek. “I’m going to get dressed,” She informed before patting his shoulder and stepping away.

“Me too,” Piper declared excitedly. “Then maybe all four of us could get dinner before we head back.” Percy shrugged, it wasn’t like he could admit that he had been hoping for a home cooked meal- Piper liked to cook, Percy liked to eat. The way he saw it it was a win-win. It didn’t really matter, eating out was good too.

The girls were almost to the hallway if the sounds of their footsteps were any indication when Annabeth stopped and shouted back. “Oh, if you go into the bathroom know Piper owes us a new shower curtain.”

“Excuse me!” Piper exclaimed in obvious protest to the assertion.

“You’re the one that broke it,” Annabeth reminded and she once again headed toward the bedroom.

Piper once again started to follow Annabeth as she defended, “Yeah, but you were the reason.”

The girls continued to go back and forth like that, almost play fighting from the sounds of it, but the words were lost to Percy and they moved deeper into the apartment toward the bedroom. With them gone, it was once again just Percy and Jason and possibly a puddle of water on the living room floor.

Percy peered across the couch at Jason who was dusting cookie crumbs off his hands. “Why didn’t we think of that?” He questioned thoughtfully.

Jason pushed a few crumbs off his lap before looking up at Percy with clear confusion. “Think of what?”

“Fooling around in the shower,” Percy explained. He couldn’t help but grin at the thought after all water was pretty much his domain. But more than that there was just something about the way tan skin and tone muscle looked as water streaming down accenting every dip and curve. Annabeth looked like a goddess in the shower, and Percy was positive Jason would look pretty good too. “I love shower sex.”

“Well, that’s not surprising,” Jason noted his tone almost mocking like, of course, the son of Poseidon likes shower sex. For half a second Percy thought about pointing that one of the first places Jason and Piper did it was on the roof of cabin one and that seemed a bit predictable for the son of the Lord of the Sky but ultimately decided it wasn’t worth it. He would just have to prove shower sex was better than roof sex at some point and that would have been a victory. Even if Jason’s initial tone had seemed a bit teasing he still seemed to give the idea some thought before adding in a more thoughtful voice, “It was frequently occupied and I’m pretty sure Nico and Will beat us to it at least once.”

Oh right, Percy thought as he nodded with understanding. “Good points,” Percy nodded. There had been four of them stuck in a hotel room that really hadn’t been meant for more than two people, and while Dean spent the large majority of his time in Felix’ room he still left his clothes in Will’s room and always showered there so it was almost five people. Percy was also one hundred percent positive that Nico and Will had shower sex way more than once. Honestly, they didn’t even seem to try to hide it. One of them would declare they were taking a shower and the other would just seem to disappear and the next thing Percy would know they would both be coming out of the bathroom in nothing but towels.

The worst thing was they took FOREVER! Percy understood the importance of foreplay as much as the next guy but when using the communal bathroom you should really make an effort to be efficient out of courtesy to the others. Still, Percy couldn’t complain too much because whenever Jason realized what Nico and Will were likely up to Percy got to act as a distracting (Percy was definitely a fan of distracting Jason). “We made our own fun, I guess,” Percy noted maybe a little sullen (he really liked shower sex).

Jason snickered before smacking Percy gently on the arm. “We’ll add it to the list,” He stated in a positive tone but it definitely sounded serious.

Percy couldn’t help but brighten up at that comment. He turned so he was facing Jason straight on. “There’s a list?” He questioned excitedly. He hoped the answer was yes and that it was a long one.

Jason blinked hard once and then a look understanding washed over him quickly chased by a look of complete horror. “Shut up,” Jason grumbled. Percy noticed the son of Jupiter’s cheeks take on a rosy hue.

Jason was clearly embarrassed, and Percy knew he should probably let it go to not embarrass him more. If it were like Nico who was embarrassed over something he had said Percy totally let it go…..well, he most likely would have let it go….maybe. But with Jason it was different, they were bros and Percy was sure he would say something stupid and embarrassing in the near future and he fully expected Jason to tease him mercilessly. “What else is on the list?” He asked excitedly bouncing a little on the couch as he did.

The pink of Jason’s cheeks darkened a shade or two and he groaned, “Shut up.”

“Not a chance,” Percy laughed “I want to hear everything on this list. Start with the tamest thing and work your way up to the kinkier stuff.”

Jason rubbed at his face with the meat of his palms. “You are the most impossible person I have ever met.” He declared with a long sigh.

“I’m not that bad,” Percy retorted waving it off.

“You are most certainly impossible,” Annabeth declared re-entering the living room. Percy turned to see Annabeth was now dressed in a pair of dark washed jeans and a basic t-shirt. “What’s he being impossible about now?” she questioned walking around the couch and taking a seat on the armrest next to Percy. Of course, their couch was from the time of the Titans so it was worn and bent funny so she almost immediately slid off her stoop and onto the couch forcing Percy to move toward Jason to make room.

“Nothing,” Jason answered quickly and nervously.

“Jason has a list of sex stuff were are going to do,” Percy explained with a grin more to make Jason squirm than anything else.

“Of course he does,” Piper declared as she walked in wearing clothes Percy was pretty sure were Annabeth’s. “Jason’s a planner,” She informed with a bit of a grin as she pretty much pulled the same move Annabeth had so Jason was forced to move closer to Percy. The couch was barely meant for two people, let alone four so Percy and Jason ended pressed against each other shoulder to shoulder.

“It’s not like I have anything written down,” Jason grumbled.

“Haven’t gotten to it yet?” Piper asked with a teasing grin

Before Jason had the ability to do much more than turn a darker shade of red Annabeth cut in. “So how was the trip?” She asked brightly.

“We had fun” Percy replied as he tried to shift his position to give himself and Jason a little more space but only managed to push them closer together.

“Will’s team won,” Jason added quietly. Percy really couldn’t tell if Jason was mumbling because he was still embarrassed about the list thing or if he was just distracted but Piper and Annabeth’s attempt to squish them into each other.

“Go, Will!” Piper cheered pumping her fist in the air like a cheerleader and everything. It was a little weird seeing Piper do something like that, Percy just didn’t imagine her as the cheerleading type. More importantly, the action almost resulted in Jason getting elbowed in the face which might have been a little funny except that Jason narrowly dodged and ended up head-butting Percy in the face.

Percy groaned at the impact before bringing his hand to rub at the abused spot. “Alright, all four of us can’t fit on this couch” Percy declared with a note of frustration.

“And you want us to live together,” Jason huffed dismissively as he rubbed the back of his head. “We can’t even share a couch.” He shot Percy an annoyed look like Percy was the one that had head-butted him. Percy just rolled his eyes as he secretly thanked genetics for his hard head, or maybe he should have been cursing Jason’s genetics because his head wasn’t exactly soft.

Annabeth pushed off the arm of the couch (leaving Percy no room) and sort of leaned over his lap (somehow leaving him less space). “What’s this now?” She asked directing the question more toward Jason.

“It was a joke,” Percy explained quickly even if it was only half of one.

Piper slid off the couch and took a seat on the floor finally allowing Percy and Jason to finally separate enough that they both could breathe without poking each other. She shifted until she was sitting with her back resting against Jason’s legs. “But it’s not a half-bad idea,” She stated thoughtfully as she reached over and smacked Percy on the leg.

Annabeth snickered before declaring dismissively, “The four of us are not fitting in this tiny apartment.”

Jason shot Percy a triumphant look. “That is exactly what I said,” He told Annabeth. That was just what Percy needed, Annabeth and Jason teaming up against him (there was no way he could win against two hot blondes).

“We would obviously need to find a bigger place,” Piper offered casually before turning and smacking Annabeth on the knee. “When we go shopping for bridesmaid dresses we should look at a few apartments too.”

“You’re going dress shopping again?” Percy questioned without really thinking. If he actually thought about it the fact that something he said as a joke was suddenly becoming an actual thing would have been more important. Still, hadn’t they already went dress shopping? He was pretty sure that Annabeth had a dress in a huge bag that was taking up half their closet that he wasn’t allowed to look at or touch. What else could they possibly need to buy for the wedding in the way of dresses? Annabeth certainly wasn’t buying dresses for any other reason.

Annabeth huffed dramatically. “Unfortunately,” she replied without enthusiasm.

“It’s a different kind of dress shopping,” Piper explained as she leaned to the side and looked up at him. Percy opened his mouth to ask how many different kinds of dress shopping could there be but then he felt the heat of Annabeth’s glare and thought better of it. “Annabeth doesn’t even have to try anything on if she doesn’t want to, and the likelihood that Aphrodite would show up again is really slim,” Piper explained in a tone that he was sure was meant to sound reassuring but based on the large sigh Annabeth let go it failed.

“When is this happening?” Jason asked curiously. That was a good question, Percy hadn’t thought about that yet.

“Spring break,” Piper replied quickly. Percy noticed how Annabeth looked like she was about to say something but had stopped last minute. Knowing Annabeth and her general disdain for shopping he guessed that the second dress shopping trip had been a tough sell on Piper’s part. The fact that the daughter of Aphrodite managed was impressive considering Percy couldn’t get Annabeth to get takeout food if she wasn’t interested. Part of his brain wondered what exactly Piper had to do to convince her but he shut down that train of thought quickly- that was against the rules of their polyamorous relationship as it stood now.

Annabeth nudged Percy with her elbow as she leaned over her lap slightly to address Jason as well. “You boys should make plans for that week too,” She suggested. She sounded like there was more to the suggestion than that but it was Annabeth, she always had a plan (usually several) so he didn’t think much of it.

“Nico and Will are going to visit and everything,” Piper added brightly. Well, that revealed a tiny corner of Annabeth’s plan. She had been pretty pissed when Percy didn’t invite Will to bros weekend and didn’t see going to Tennessee as a sufficient apology.

Jason shot Percy a confused look for a moment before commenting, “They didn’t mention that.” Percy didn’t remember Nico or Will saying anything either but between Percy and Jason sneaking off for some alone time, Nico and Will sneaking off for alone time, Will freaking out about Dean and Felix, and Nico trying to stop Will from freaking out about Dean and Felix there was a lot going on so Percy could have missed it.

“Really?” Piper questioned skeptically.

“Well, I don’t think Reyna is going to be giving them much of a choice,” Annabeth informed matter-of-factly. She seemed to think about it for a second before getting this little smirk which usually intimidated Percy more than a little even after they had been together for years. “If Reyna doesn’t get a chance to….as she puts it, properly vet Will, soon she is going to find a reason to show up in Tennessee, ya know take matters into her own hands.”

“That sounds moderately terrifying,” Jason commented and Percy couldn’t help but nod in agreement. He loved Reyna and everything but the girl could be intimidating, if he was dating someone like her little brother Percy wouldn’t want her randomly showing up on his doorstep to vet him, whatever that meant.

He let the thought stir in his mind for a moment before shrugging. “If anyone could make Nico do something it would be Reyna.”

Annabeth’s smirk turned into a genuine grin as she snapped her fingers together before pointing at Percy excitedly. “Exactly,” She declared indicating her agreement.

Percy’s first thought was one of sympathy for Will, it had to be scary enough for the guy that Nico’s actually dad was Hades, Lord of the Underworld, but Nico’s practically adoptive parents were Jason (playing the role of Nico’s disapproving mother) and Reyna (playing the role of Nico’s seriously terrifying father). His second thought wasn’t much better- he really wanted to be there when Will and Reyna met. He had no idea how the two would react to each other but he was sure it was going to be very, VERY amusing. It wasn’t until his third thought that he realized that if Piper was also coming to New Rome the week of Spring Break that meant Jason would probably be up to which really only meant one thing. He nudged Jason with his elbow before grinning in the son of Jupiter’s direction. “Bro’s weekend number two,” he declared, he made sure that it didn’t sound like a question because it definitely wasn’t one. “You, me, Nico, and Will.”

Jason looked at Percy like he was crazy. “Nico will never agree to that,” he stated.

The son of Jupiter had a point, Nico had been less than thrilled about the situation in the first place which was pretty obvious in the way he took off in the middle of it. That didn’t mind Percy didn’t have a plan to make it happen (Annabeth wasn’t the only one that had a plan). “Will would,” He pointed out. Somehow Percy didn’t have a hard time imagining the son of Apollo jumping at the opportunity to spend some time with Nico in a gay club where they could dance and all of that. He reached over and smacked Jason lightly on the chest as he added, “You should ask.”

“It’s your idea,” Jason protested. “Why can’t you ask?”

“He likes you better,” Percy argued. He wasn’t sure if that was actually true anymore, the past weekend had been the first time Percy had actually seen Will since camp and it seemed different. Things had never seemed hostile with Will at camp but there had always been this underlying uncomfortable vibe between them. Annabeth always said that it was in Percy’s head and she may have been right to an extent but some of it (even if it was a small part) was coming from Will. That weird energy just wasn’t there when he and Will were around each other over the weekend, and sure, there was a lot of other drama going on but Percy didn’t think it was that.

Jason snorted, “I think Will has other things on his mind besides worrying about you trying to bang Nico.”

“Gross!” Percy protested. Nico was great, and yeah objectively speaking he had grown up to be pretty but no. Nico was like his little brother, Percy would never be able to see Nico that way.

“Well that just a silly thing for Will to worry about,” Piper commented as she leaned back against Jason’s legs.

“Nico could obviously do a lot better than Percy,” Annabeth stated shooting Percy a teasing smile.

“Hey!” Percy protested with mock outrage “You’re with me!”

“What can I say?” Annabeth shrugged and clearly was trying to seem serious but she was still grinning so Percy wasn’t buying her act for one second. “You’re like my guilty pleasure, like chocolate.”

“Oh, is that so?” He questioned reaching over to tickle Annabeth’s sides in the spots he knew she was ticklish. Annabeth giggled which he was sure was cursing herself for because she hated giggling in front of other people. Piper didn’t care, hearing Annabeth giggle always made him smile. A few more pokes to the sensitive areas kept Annabeth giggling but she still managed a little nod in the affirmative.

“What was Will so distracted by?” Piper inquired curiously.

“Oh, his cousin is apparently dating this guy he hates,” Jason summed up what had seemed like a pretty complicated situation in a surprisingly few amount of words.

“Will has a cousin?” Annabeth questioned. Percy thought of pointing out the whole Magnus situation but given that Magnus was technically dead and currently dealing with his own Parthenon full of gods (and their B.S.) he thought better of it.

“Will doesn’t like someone?” Piper questioned sounding equal parts confused and disbelieving. That was more of the reaction Percy expected after all Will was commonly known as the camp ‘Nice Guy’.

“Yeah to both” Percy answered with a bit of a laugh “You guys would like Dean, he is pretty awesome.”

“Felix leaves something to be desired though,” Jason added.

“They still make a cute couple though” Percy pointed out.

“I’m so confused” Piper declared “Which one is Will’s cousin?”

“Dean” Jason answered “Felix is Dean’s now boyfriend who Will really doesn’t like”

“Oh,” Piper hummed with understanding.

There was a brief lull in the conversation before Jason chimed in with a new topic of discussion. “How was the play?” He asked Annabeth and Piper curiously.

“I thought it was a museum,” Percy stated looking toward Annabeth with a bit of confusion. He was almost positive Annabeth had mentioned a museum, he remembered zoning out at the mention of a museum.

Annabeth squirmed (Percy wasn’t sure he had ever seen her do that before). “Yeah, we didn’t do either” She informed in a low tone.

“So what did you do?” Percy questioned curiously.

Annabeth shrugged and continued to look everywhere but at Percy. “Lots of stuff,” she replied very non-specifically.

“We went to a dance club,” Piper stated plainly and with none of the apparent nervousness Annabeth was feeling. “And we did a little shopping.”

“But not dress shopping?” Jason questioned sounding confused. Percy was glad he wasn’t the only one who felt completely in the dark.

Piper busted out in a fit of hysterical laughter and before Percy or Jason could ask ‘what the hell?’ Annabeth busted out in laughter as well. It felt like the two girls laughed forever, and Percy was sure it had to hurt, laughing for that long. Piper was the first of the two to manage to talk, her body was still shaking from contained laughter and her hands waving this way and that in no recognized form of gestures. “No, not dress shopping,” she state declared before returning to uncontrollable laughter.

Percy glanced toward Jason and exchanged confused looks. He should probably ask what was so funny but he figured he should let the girls enjoy their laugh first. Besides, it didn’t look like Jason was in a rush to question it. “Alright, I feel like there is a story there” Percy admitted “But more importantly there was talk of food so maybe you two can clue us in over dinner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I skipped the game itself but I do plan to go back and touch on it in some fashion in Outtakes.
> 
> Have a lovely week and I will see you all soon


	47. Happy Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday!
> 
> I know that the last few chapters have been on the short side, this one should more than make up for that :)
> 
> SMUT WARNING: This chapter contains smut!

Will normally didn’t mind flying, after all his dad drove the sun chariot across the sky on a daily basis. So based on the unspoken rules of the Greek gods that had to mean Will would have good luck flying. It was like Percy and Nico’s thing about not flying just reversed. It wasn’t something he actually did all that often, usually just when he was returning home from camp. Plane tickets were expensive so his mom usually drove him up to New York at the start of summer and he flew home at the end of the season.

Of course, the last summer had gone a little differently, school was still in session when Will insisted he had to return to camp because it was an _emergency_ (the brooding and extremely attractive son of Hades stopped returning his letters totally counted as an emergency). His mom had been less than thrilled when Will had brought going back to camp for spring break up but gave in when Will threatened to hitchhike if he had to.

Still, his mom was a teacher so driving him up to New York hadn’t been an option so Will had flown. Then, of course, she had surprised him by showing up at the end of the summer to drive him home. Will was one-hundred percent sure that would go down in history as the most awkward car ride ever.

It took about two hours to fly between New York and Tennessee and historically Will passed the time like he would have if he were anywhere else. Sometimes he would read but most of the time he just laid back and listen to music (the magical iPhone really came in handy when traveling).

The flight had never seemed long until he flew to New York for Nico’s birthday. The tickets had pretty much been Will’s birthday and Christmas gifts from his mom, and he really couldn’t have asked for anything better. Nico had fought him on it a bit over the summer, it wasn’t that he didn’t want Will to come visit but he did want to at least pay for Will’s plane tickets (because Will refused to shadow travel).

Even before Nico started modeling he had money, like serious money, worry about nothing money. Will didn’t know the details because he didn’t ask but he knew there was some sort of trust, he didn’t know if the money was a holdover from Maria di Angelo’s estate or if it was Hades way of trying to be a parent, if he had to guess he figured it was a bit of both. Nico never acted like he was rich but it was clear that money wasn’t a stressor for him either.

Will didn’t grow up poor exactly, but teachers don’t exactly make a ton of money, his mom had still been in college when she had him, and his mom never openly talked about it but Will knew she helped out his uncle financially when he was between gigs or other paying jobs. Growing up like that Will was a little sensitive on the money thing so Nico always offered to pay for absurdly expensive things (like Will’s college which Will was pretty sure Nico had offered as a joke but it was always hard to tell with Nico) and he always said no.

Will didn’t care about missing out on a few stupid presents if it meant he got to see Nico and got to spend Nico’s sixteenth birthday with him (and just lavish his perfect boyfriend with all the attention and love he deserved). It must have been the excitement and the anticipation because the flight seemed to take FOREVER. The clocks all said the flight took its usual two-ish hours but they must have been wrong because it surely had been an eternity.

Could clocks lie?

It didn’t help that he got stuck next to a couple flying to New York for their honeymoon. They didn’t look all that much older than Will himself, they couldn’t have been over nineteen but it was the south that wasn’t exactly unheard of. The girl was really chatty and Will was raised with too much respect for women and manners to ignore her so he couldn’t even listen to music to help him pass the time. She mostly wanted to talk about her wedding and her honeymoon so really all Will had to do was nod and smile but still, it got Will thinking about things he definitely shouldn’t have been thinking at sixteen (What were Nico’s thoughts on marriage? If Nico did want to get married, did he want to be the one to propose or would he want Will to do it? A fall wedding could be really nice, would Nico like that? What was Nico’s ring size? Do you need to have the ring to propose or could you get it after the fact? How young was too young to get married?).

Waiting through the tedium of de-boarding was a special kind of punishment (maybe Will would suggest it to Hades for the fields of Punishment if he ever met Nico’s dad in person, it would certainly give them something to talk about…..If Will wanted to propose should he ask Hades for Nico’s hand in marriage first?). It then took forever for his luggage to come through baggage claim (he couldn’t even remember why he had checked his bag in the first place).

When all was said and done it took Will the longest hour of his life to get out of the airport and another hour to actually make it to camp. He thought he might crawl out of his skin by the time he actually reached camp but he did reach camp which was really what mattered. It wasn’t even all that late in the day, maybe a little after lunch, although it felt like it should have been later with the flight and all the waiting.

It was January in New York so it was pretty cold outside but the weather at camp was mild as always. As much as Will wanted to run straight cabin thirteen (he was aware he had just seen Nico the previous weekend but he still missed him terribly) he still went to the big house first to check in. After a brief conversation with Chiron, Will swung by the Apollo cabin to drop off his bags more for appearances than anything else (he had no real intention of sleeping in his Cabin Six during his stay). Since it was the middle of the day during the winter (only a handful of the Apollo cabin were year around campers) there weren't that many people around, just two of his younger siblings, Emma and Amelia.

The two girls were twins (not identical, thank the gods. Will had a hard enough time telling them apart as it was). They were twelve or thirteen, and incredibly chatty normally. Lucky for Will, they seemed too preoccupied with the gloss pages of a thick magazine they were huddled over to pay him much mind. They didn’t even acknowledge his presence until Will was on his way out the door.

“Will!” Emma (or was it Amelia) exclaimed looking up surprised when Will was only a few feet from the door. Will felt like he got caught in the middle of a prison break when freedom was within his grasp.

“You’re here earlier than expected,” Amelia pointed out looking up from the pages as well.

“Yeah,” Will shrugged and tried not to sound annoyed. It was nothing against them, he just felt desperate to see Nico, and to kiss Nico, and to get touch Nico. “My flight got in early.” Will lied. He had told Nico the earliest flight he could get didn’t arrive in New York until after dinner. Will wanted to surprise Nico by getting in early, it was just one of the many birthday surprises he had in store for Nico.

“Are you going to the infirmary?” Emma questioned with what seemed like genuine curiosity.

Will shrugged, he hadn’t come back to camp for the infirmary and he didn’t plan on letting it take over the weekend, he had too many other plans for that to happen. This weekend was all about Nico for him and Will had every intention of absolutely spoiling Nico like he deserved. Still, he would probably swing by the infirmary once or twice just to make sure Austin didn’t burn it down or anything in his absence. “Eventually.” Amelia and Emma exchanged a confused look but said nothing. “I’ll see you both at dinner later maybe.” Will offered, not waiting for a reply before striding out the door his half-sisters’ giggling following as he went. 

Will’s next stop was cabin thirteen and it took all the self-restraint not to run there. He reached the black, marble door of the Hades cabin which was far more intimidating than he remembered and knocked excitedly. He was completely shocked when he got absolutely no answer.

He felt like he had waited forever before he was sure there was no response coming before Will knocked again more forcefully as he called out “Nic, it’s Will! I got in early!” He waited but there was still no answer. Will looked around like he was waiting for a Hermes kid to pop out around a corner and cry _“Gotcha!”_ because it had to be some kind of joke.

No Hermes kid showed up and no answer came from inside. Will stared at the black door for a moment as he struggled internally with what to do. He could just step inside the cabin and see if Nico was there, after all, Will did that sort of thing all the time during the summer and Nico could have been in the shower or something. But Nico wasn’t expecting him until later so Will wasn’t sure if just walking in was an invasion of Nico’s privacy (What if he was doing something private? What if he was doing something sexy? What if he was naked?). After a short internal debate Will decided it couldn’t do too much harm to just poke his head in the Hades cabin.

He pushed the door open and stepped into the eternal midnight that was cabin thirteen. The green torches that hung along the walls were burning low which was typical late at night and when Nico wasn’t there. Even in the low light, Will could see that not much about the Hades cabin had changed since the last time he was there. The space was neat and well kept, there was a book on Nico’s nightstand and a neat stack of papers on his desk. Nico’s bed was made with plush looking sheets in shades of red and gray. The space was quiet except for the crackling of the torches, Nico clearly wasn’t there. A bit frustrated and at a loss Will stepped out of the Hades cabin.

Next, Will headed toward the arena with the thought that maybe Nico was sparring or doing some sort of sword practice. Although with both Percy and Jason away from camp Will didn’t know who Nico would be practicing with. He was only about halfway to the arena when ran into Cecil and Connor, almost literally. Will was passing by two building when the two sons of Hermes came darting out of the small passage and nearly ran Will over in the process.

“Hey Will!” Cecil greeted with a nervous undertone as he shuffled a few suspicious looking packages within his grasp. One peek over Cecil’s shoulder and Will could see Connor carrying a few packages as well as a having a bag awkwardly slung over his shoulder. Will had been at camp and friends with Cecil too long to ask what they were up to, he didn’t want to know and be complicit in whatever trouble they were involved in. “I thought you weren’t getting here until tonight.”

“Yeah, I wanted to surprise Nico,” Will replied casually or at least as casually as he could manage considering he was pretty sure the bag on Connor’s shoulder was moving like there was something alive inside. “Have you seen him?” He asked focusing on his goal rather than Connor’s squirming bag.

“Not since breakfast,” Cecil replied heaving what had to be a heavy box upward. The motion was accompanied by the distinct sound of glass clinking against each other. Will was about 150% sure he absolutely did not want to know what the two demigod before him was up to.

Connor tugged the bag (that was still squirming) into a better position on his shoulder, “Have you checked the infirmary?” He asked seriously.

Will blinked, he hadn’t really thought about the infirmary. “No,” He admitted. He guessed he should have thought about the infirmary since he knew that Nico helped out there sometimes but that knowledge was just too abstract to him to seriously consider.

“That’s probably where he is, you should check there,” Cecil suggested earnestly “If he’s not there Austin probably knows where he is.”

Will looked between Cecil and Connor and both of them were staring back at him seriously.  “Right,” Will stated uncertainly. He almost felt like they were talking about two different things. Sure, he knew Nico helped in the infirmary everyone once and a while but they made it sound like he was there all the time. And, yes Will had sort of asked Austin to keep an eye on Nico since he tended to ignore things that were important to his health (like eating) but they made it sound like they were inseparable. Connor’s bag shook with greater intensity and Will thought he heard the bag issue a hiss. Cecil and Connor shared a nervous look, and Will got the impression they were waiting for an excuse to leave and presumably get back to whatever mayhem they were causing. “So….see ya later?” He offered awkwardly.

“Yeah,” Cecil agreed with clear relief as he once again shifted his grip on the package in his hands. Both sons of Hermes took a few steps in the direction they had been originally heading, Will was happy to have a little distance between himself and whatever deserter they were about to unleash. “See ya at dinner if you and Nico can manage to leave cabin 13,” Cecil called before turning and following Connor at a brisk pace.

Will couldn’t exactly say he wasn’t glad to see that Cecil and Connor were heading away from the infirmary, although it was slightly concerning that they were heading toward the cabins. Will probably should have been more worried but the likelihood that they would do anything to Nico’s cabin was exactly zero so Will couldn’t find it in him to really care.

Will took Connor’s advice and headed toward the infirmary because even if it seemed like a weird place to find Nico he really couldn’t think of anywhere else to go. He was surprised to find that the infirmary was actually busy. Stepping into the building Will immediately saw several cots currently occupied.

As Will stood in the doorway he wondered if there had been a monster attack. The campers he could see all appeared to be from either the Athena or Hephaestus cabin which was a bit odd for a monster attack or any other cause of injury. And from what Will could see most of the injuries looked like minor burns and scraps. If Will had to guess he would have figured some sort of Athena/Hephaestus group construction project went slightly awry which wouldn’t have been a first time in camp history something like that happened.

From the looks of things, the infirmary was running smoothly even if it was busy. Still, Will felt weird not doing something, he took a half a step toward the occupied cots when Malcolm appeared from behind a curtain of one of the exam areas with a clipboard in hand. The son of Athena was an odd sight considering he didn’t look injured and in fact looked more like he was working. The blond walked toward the front of the infirmary without looking up from the paperwork in his hand. “We’ll be with you in just a minute,” Malcolm informed like it was a scripted thing he had to say. He did stop walking but didn’t bother to actually look up at Will instead he turned back toward the direction he had just come. “Who’s up next?” He shouted back at the room.

“I’ll be done in two!” Will heard Kayla’s voice carry from the back of the room.

Malcolm nodded with understanding before turning back toward Will, “Kayla will be with you-” he stopped talking when he actually seemed to process who he was looking at. The son of Athena seemed to switch off his receptionist persona he had greeted Will with as posture shifted to something less formal, “Oh.”

“Hey,” Will smiled and waved slightly. “I was looking for-”

Malcolm cut Will off by holding up a finger for silence. Confused more than anything else Will fell silent and Malcolm once again turned back to the patient area shouting, “Nico!”

“Busy!” Nico's voice declared from behind one of the curtains.

“And even if he wasn’t I’m still waiting for an answer.” Austin chimed in from behind a different curtain. “I get an answer first”

“I’m not answering that,” Nico called a reply. Will felt a little he was watching an invisible tennis match as he looked from one curtained patient area to the other as he listened to his boyfriend and his half-brother go back and forth.

“Thank you,” Kayla chimed in from the back of the room sounding genuinely grateful, “There are things I don’t need to know.”

“Oh come on, don’t be prudes!” Austin whined insistently. Will was more than familiar with the tone, Austin used it often in an attempt to get his way. It wasn’t usually the most effective method of persuasion but that never stopped him from trying. “I have been doing nothing but cleaning scraps and bandaging burns for the last forty-five minutes, I’m bored! Amuse me!”

Will heard Nico chuckle (was there a more beautiful sound in all the universe? Will doubted) “Amuse yourself,” he replied dismissively.

“That is exactly what a prude would say,” Austin retorted sounding disappointed.

“I’m private,” Nico countered as he appeared from behind a curtain toward the center of the room pushing out on a wheelie office chair using his feet to steer. If it were possible Nico looked better than he remembered (and yes, he had just seen him the weekend before but that hardly mattered). His dark hair was still neatly trimmed but it had grown out enough that it had taken on a soft wave. His wardrobe was pretty much the same as it always had been although now his skinny jeans and a black t-shirt were higher quality since he started modeling. Will was pretty sure that Nico would always be pale but there were rich undertones of olive that shown through that made him look exotic and mysterious at the same time.

Will felt so lucky and a little speechless at the sight of Nico (yes, he was a bit ridiculous). He still had those moments where he just marveled at the fact that Nico was actually his boyfriend. Nico was looking toward the area where Will could only assume Austin was working. “There’s a-” the brunet stopped mid-sentence when his eyes settled on Will still standing near the entrance. It seemed to take Nico a half a second to process Will standing there before he smiled brightly, “Will!”

Will barely registered Austin’s head peeking out from around a curtain, “Huh?”

“Hey you,” Will greeted with a grin of his own directed at the only person in the room that mattered to him at the moment (Nico, if that was really a question).

Nico seemed to shake off his initial shock and pushed to his feet. He crossed the room quickly stripping off the examine gloves and tossing them in a trash can as he went. Nico’s combat boots rang out as they hit the wood floor as he actually marched over to Will and tossed his arms around Will’s neck pulling him into a hug. Will was more than happy to wrap his arms around Nico’s waist as the earthy scent of Nico’s shampoo washed over him. Will wasn’t quite sure how long the hug lasted but it certainly hadn’t been long enough when he felt Nico loosen his grip. Reluctantly Will eased his grip as well, pulling back so his hands could rest just above Nico’s hips. Slender fingers slide over his shoulders and down his arms before coming to rest just above his wrists. Nico seemed to examine him with excited disbelief for a long moment before pointing out, “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“It’s the infirmary,” Will pointed out teasingly. It was kind of funny that his boyfriend (the son of Hades) was suggesting he was out of place in the infirmary.

Nico rolled his eyes clearly not amused (although he was smiling). “I didn’t think you’d get here until later,” He clarified.

Will could feel his cheeks growing warm. Bashfully, he looked down a bit and shrugged. “I wanted to surprise you,” he admitted.

Nico didn’t get a chance to say anything in response before Kayla popped her head from behind a curtain at the back of the infirmary. “Ahh….” She cooed excitedly. “That’s so sweet!” she exclaimed before shooting Austin an unamused look, “It’s good to know that one of my brothers is capable.”

“I do sweet things all the time!” Austin defended quickly as he once again popped his head around his own curtain “Last time I saw Mitchell-“

Nico’s eyes went wide with what looked like panic (which was a really strange expression to see on Nico considering some of the things he had seen). Nico whipped around to face Austin, “Do _NOT_ tell that story again,” He ordered firmly. Honestly, Will had only ever heard Nico speak so commandingly during an actual battle. “I’m still scarred from the last time, and I am one-hundred percent sure that no one in this building is old enough to hear that story!”

Austin looked shocked “There is nothing wrong with that story,” he defended with a wide grin.

“Having heard that story I can attest that everything about that story is wrong,” Kayla stated insistently. “On a very fundamental level.”

“You didn’t have to hear it from both of them,” Nico huffed with clear dissatisfaction.

“Um…” Will hummed uncertainly. He wasn’t familiar with the story they were talking about and knowing Austin he really didn’t want to. Will let his hands fall from Nico’s hip and moved one up to grip Nico’s wrist gentle. “That sounds really interesting,” he lied without even trying to sound like he was remotely interested “But since you guys seem to have this under control,” He gestured around the infirmary. He didn’t actually know if they had everything under control but they were chitchatting and no one was crying or screaming so things couldn’t possibly be too out of control. He tugged Nico’s arm gently and took half a step backward toward the door, “We’re going to get out of your hair.”

Rather unexpectedly Nico didn’t follow, he actually pulled his arm back slightly stopping Will in his tracks “I actually have a patient,” Nico informed pointing back toward the curtain he had originally appeared from.

Will’s reaction was one of disbelief, which in all fairness should have been expected considering. Sure, Nico mentioned that he helped out in the infirmary now and then so Will had the abstract idea but being faced with it in real life was a bit more to process. Tilting his head to one side he met Nico’s serious expression with a questioning look, “Really?”

“Yeah,” Nico replied with a bit of a scowl. _Yeah_ , Will thought, he probably deserved that. The level of disbelief at the idea of Nico helping in the infirmary was a bit much. Will would apologize for that as soon as he got the chance. “But I’m almost done and then I’m all yours,” Nico offered the assurance casually before taking a half a step back before turning on his heels and walked back to the curtained area where he had been earlier.

“Alright,” Will replied weakly, it didn’t really look like he had much of a choice in the matter. When Nico disappeared behind the curtain Will was left standing toward the front of the infirmary feeling slightly deflated. Looking for some sort of distraction as he waited Will looked around the room once again. As he had already noticed several of the cots were currently occupied but on closer examination Will could see that all the visible demigods were already bandaged and were likely hanging around for monitoring. He glanced toward the front desk which was usually a mess of paperwork because none of the Apollo campers were particularly good about taking care of that sort of thing but the desk was clear. Malcolm was standing at one of the filing cabinets behind the front desk working to appropriately file a small stack of paperwork. Turning back toward the patient area feeling pretty useless Will decided just to ask, “Do you guys need help?”

“We’ve got it covered” Austin replied not bothering to pop his head out from behind his curtain this time.

“The worst has passed,” Kayla assured before suggesting thoughtfully “You’re probably tired from the travel. Go rest.”

 _Was Kayla brushing him off_? Will stood there in a bit of disbelief trying to think of something to say. He would have been fine with resting if he could take Nico with him but that didn’t seem like it was an option, at least not until he finished with his patient. The sound of Austin snickering broke Will from his thoughts. “Considering what you will probably be doing for the next forty-eight hours you’re going to need it,” He commented with amusement.

Will rolled his eyes even if his brother couldn’t see him. “There is something wrong with you,” Nico declared in response to Austin’s innuendo (or at least that was what Will figured). Nico didn’t actually sound all that annoyed which seemed decidedly unlike him. If Will was going to stand around and do nothing he would rather do that at Nico’s side so he started toward the curtain Nico had disappeared behind.

It wasn’t really a surprise that Austin wasn’t done teasing, or that he decided to set innuendo aside and just say what he was thinking. “Hey,” he retorted from his own curtained off area “you two are the ones that are going to be screwing for the next forty-eight hours.” Before Will could tell his half-brother to seriously stop talking because whatever he and Nico decided to do for the next couple days it didn’t need to be announced to the entire infirmary a half-open package of gauze came flying from behind Nico’s curtain and soaring toward Austin’s voice. Will doubted that the gauze made contact, the trajectory was all wrong. Besides that Austin just snickered, “And now you’re wasting medical supplies, unbelievable.”

Will peeked around Nico’s curtain to see Nico shaking his head disapprovingly in Austin’s direction but didn’t look particularly put out by the back and forth either. His dark eyes lingered on Will when he turned back to his patient, “Your brother is impossible.” He declared before returning to his work.

“I’m aware,” Will agreed with a grin before glancing toward Nico’s patient sitting on the cot. Jake Mason of the Hephaestus cabin was sitting in soot-covered clothes, his right arm propped up on a portable exam table revealing second-degree burns running the length of his forearm. He was clearly finding Nico and Austin’s bickering amusing and trying to hide it but not doing the best job of it. “Hey, Jake” he offered.

“Hey Will” Jake replied with a smile and a small wave (with his currently uninjured arm of course).

The wound on Jake’s arm had clearly already been cleaned and based on the wet look Nico had already applied a generous amount of burn ointment. Honestly, Nico seemed to have taken all the appropriate steps so far and was currently rummaging through drawers. “Want help?” he questioned more out of the desire to feel useful rather than Nico appearing to need help.

Nico didn’t look up from his rummaging, moving on to the next drawer as he spoke, “No, I’m almost-” Nico cut himself off by slamming the drawer shut with clear frustration. Turning he smiled sweetly at Will. “Actually, could you hand me a new roll of gauze?” he asked before adding. “I threw what I was using at Austin.”

“Sure,” Will practically jumped at the chance to be useful. He walked to the next patient area which was currently unoccupied and pulled open a drawer and was surprised by what he found. The drawer was well stocked and perfected organized. Will had no idea how that happened because normally he had to nag his siblings to no end to keep it in anything resembling orderly condition. “So organized,” he commented more to himself than anyone else.

“Don’t get used to it,” Austin called apparently having overheard him. “Nico pretty much threatened to put us all in the Fields of Punishment if we didn’t clean,” Austin informed.

“I still will,” Will heard Nico hissed.

“He didn’t want your pathological need to man the infirmary to get in the way of your weekend of sex,” Austin informed apparently not frightened by Nico’s threat.

Will grabbed a few rolls of gauze and pushed the drawer shut. “Good to know,” he commented as he walked back to where Nico was waiting and blushing a shade of crimson while trying to avoid eye contact.

Will handed over the gauze which Nico took while still diverting his gaze. “Thanks,” he muttered under his breath as he opened the first package of gauze.

“So,” Will pulled over a stool and sat down to watch Nico work. Nico pressed one end of the bandage gently near Jake’s elbow and started slowly wrapping it up and around his injured arm. Will had to admit he was impressed with the level of proficiency Nico demonstrated (you know like professionally impressed, it wasn’t _at all_ a turn on because that would be _weird_ ). “How’s life, Jake?” Will asked deciding making small talk would serve as a good distraction from watching Nico’s long nimble fingers at work (he definitely didn’t need to imagine what other things Nico could do with those fingers).

“Not bad,” Jake replied casually. That was one thing that was typically kind of great about the Hephaestus kids, they were constantly building and experimenting so injuries were nothing new to them and they usually acted like they were nothing. “Kinda busy with the build and I’m pretty sure between Leo and Annabeth there is going to either be a large explosion or a fatality but I really can’t complain.”

Both Leo and Annabeth were talented and capable people but Will could see the dangers in those two working together on something, anything really. “What build?” he questioned with genuine curiosity. The only builds happening at camp that he could remember were the temples and shrines Jason had promised the lesser gods and as far as he knew Jason was focusing on New Rome while in California.

“The baths,” Jake answered matter-of-factly which really just raised more questioned for Will than anything else.

Nico reached for the second package of gauze and with one glance read the confusion on Will’s face. “The Roman baths which are being built so that the Romans staying at camp this summer through the exchange program feel more at home,” he explained as he pulled open the package to get at the medical dressing inside. “Or at least that is the thought,” Nico turned back to Jake’s arm and continued to carefully wrap the gauze around. “I think Annabeth based the design on the one in New Rome, just smaller I would guess.”

“Thing still seems stupid big” Jake grumbled clearly annoyed with the project.

“I never got the whole public bathing thing.” Will commented absently. It was definitely one of those Roman customs that he just didn’t get. He wasn’t a huge fan of the idea of being naked around a bunch of strangers.

“The baths in New Rome have some private chambers for dignitaries and other people of status,” Nico commented as he finished wrapping the second roll of gauze around Jake’s arm before reaching for the medical tape. “I have never used the public area of the baths before but the private chambers can be quite….. _relaxing_.”

Nico hummed like he was talking about an especially happy memory and Will’s mind sort of short-circuited. For some reason Will’s mind couldn’t help but create a vivid mental image of Nico alone in a steaming bath all naked and wet…and yeah that was not a safe train of thought for Will to explore in public, he tucked it toward the back of his mind to explore at a more private time.

Jake’s response was much more appropriate if slightly nervous. “Don’t take this wrong but how were you um…..in one of the private baths?”

Nico cut off two pieces of medical tape as he spoke: “I act as my father’s ambassador to the Romans and as such I have access to a private bath.” Nico applied the two strips of tape to the end of the gauze to secure it in place. Pulling back Nico took a second to admire his work (which really was impressive) before moving to pull off his gloves as he declared, “You’re all set.”

“Thank,” Jake offered sincerely as he dropped his arm. He pushed off the cot so he was standing and on his feet the son of Hephaestus towered over Nico which was almost comical it seemed so extreme. “I’d say I won’t be back but between Leo and Annabeth on this Roman bath build I really can’t promise that.”

“Makes sense, no matter what we’ll still be here,” Nico offered looking up at the other demigod clearly unaffected but the drastic height difference.

“Except this weekend,” Will chimed in excitedly bouncing a little in his seat “You come back this weekend neither of use will be here,” Will informed pointing between himself and Nico “Someone else will be here to help though.”

“Not going to spend your romantic weekend in the infirmary,” Jake chuckled “I get that.” He turned to Nico with a nod, “Thanks, see ya guys around.”

Will waved happy to see Jake go, no offense to Jake, he was a great guy and everything but him leaving meant he was closer to getting Nico alone (and yeah, the thought of Nico naked in a bath was still in the back of his mind). Excited to get out of the infirmary Will moved to help clean up and put things away but Nico hissed and waved him away. “I’ve got it, just be patient.”

“Dude, he wants to get laid,” Austin called as he walked as he walked past carrying what looked like dirty towels “Patience isn’t his number one priority right now, as a guy you should know better.”

Nico tossed empty packages in the nearest trashcan “Thanks for that Austin.”

Nico cleaned his area quickly and efficiently and watching him made Will think that it might be a good idea to have Nico teach some of his siblings how to do it. After he tossed the burn ointment in a drawer Nico turned to Will and pressed his lips against Will’s before Will could even process what was happening.

The kiss was soft and filled with a gentle longing. Nico’s hands came to rest on Will’s thighs, just about the knees. The weight of Nico’s palms was reassuring without really being sexual while at the same time Will definitely wanted to push Nico down on the cot and make things very sexual.

Will wasn’t prepared for Nico to pull away when he did. He felt like a fish out of water gasping for air. Reluctantly, Will opened his eyes to find Nico smiling back at him. “Hi,” Nico greeted his smile widening as he spoke

“Hi,” Will returned the greeting with the same lazy joy as he reached up and pushed one of Nico’s dark curls away from his dark eyes.

“You two really are a cute couple,” Malcolm commented as he entered the patient area and grabbed Jake’s chart off the cot where Nico had left it.

Nico blushed at the intrusion and took a half a step back out of Will’s space even though his fingers lingered on Will’s legs for a few extra glorious seconds. Will wasn’t at all embarrassed about being caught kissing his boyfriend or from being called a cute couple because damn straight they were a cute couple. “Absolutely,” he beamed not that Malcolm waited around for a response. That was fine by Will, he just turned his attention and his smile on Nico. “So could we-?” Will questioned (sort of) as he nodded toward the infirmary exist to indicate what he was asking.

Nico blushed harder. “Um,” Nico hummed and looked around nervously like they were doing something against the rules or something (they were, well they weren’t breaking any really important rules). “Kayla, Austin!” Nico called out to the other two children of Apollo in the infirmary. “You two set if I go?”

“Yeah, we’ve got this,” Austin called back quickly. “You two go have fun!”

Will hoped off the stool he had been sitting on so fast it almost tipped over from the force of the movement. He slipped his hand in Nico’s and was ready to run for cabin 13 when Kayla’s voice chimed in with a nervous edge, “Actually, I hate to ask but could you take care of those last two boxes of supplies in the closet?” She sounded genuinely regretful as she asked: “The infirmary is kind of a mess and it would be a real help.”

Will spirits dropped immediately, he wanted to protest the request but Austin beat him to it. “Kayla!” Austin shouted in clear outrage. “Don’t be a cockblock!”

“Just because all you think about is sex doesn’t mean that is all Will and Nico think about,” Kayla shouted back.

“Of course, all they think about sex, they’re dudes,” Austin retorted dismissively.

“That is just a stereotype,” Kayla replied with clear disbelief before calling down toward the front of the infirmary, “Malcolm, will you tell him?”

Nico seemed to watch the exchange with mild curiosity but when awkward silence came from the front of the infirmary instead of an answer from Malcolm he chimed in with what in Will’s opinion was the worst answer ever. “It’s fine,” He called to Kayla, “I don’t mind.”

Will’s spirits actually dropped further (and yeah, Austin was right Will was thinking about sex). Nico gave him an apologetic look before turning and starting back toward the infirmary storage closet. Will couldn’t even get mad about it because of Nico’s damned dark eyes. He sighed at how the infirmary managed to suck him in even when he wasn’t supposed to be there. “I’ll help,” Will declared without any real enthusiasm as he moved to follow Nico. “We’ll be done in no time,” he added more for himself than others. He noticed the apologetic look Austin threw him as he passed.

Will stepped into the closet behind Nico and pulled the door closed. Will wasn’t thinking anything would actually happen between them in the infirmary storage (okay something did happen that one time but that was the exception that proved the rule) but he thought he should at least get some alone time with his boyfriend.

Nico had already heaved a large box onto one of the spare portable exam charts and was emptying its contents onto the appropriate shelf. Will leaned against the door and took Nico in for a second. He knew he should probably start helping but there looked to only be three or four boxes that needed to be emptied. Together they would get it done in no time, he could spare a few seconds to enjoy the view, and Nico was such a spectacular view. “You were really amazing out there,” Will commented and nodded his head back toward the infirmary to refer to how Nico had treated Jake’s burn.

“I guess,” Nico replied casually as he placed the last couple of bottles of disinfectant on the shelf.

“You’d make a pretty good doctor,” Will pointed out. He really couldn’t imagine Nico in the medical profession, it just didn’t match up with his personality but the way he had handled Jake’s burn had been efficient and professional and that usually took some serious training from Will and Chiron to get most children of Apollo to that point.

Nico laughed as he tossed the now empty box aside and turned to look at Will dismissively. “Will, I would make an awful doctor,” he declared before turning back to the other boxes like he was trying to decide which one to tackle next, “But I’m trained enough to be a halfway decent nurse if I had to be.”

Nico apparently decided on the next box to handle and bend down to grab it. _Dear Lord in heaven_ , how Nico even managed to bend down in jeans that tight was a mystery but somehow he managed and it made for quite a view. Will couldn’t help but enjoy (it would have been a waste not to) and hummed with approval. “Is that so?” he questioned absently his eyes lingering on the tight curve of Nico’s back side.

Still crouched next to an open box Nico glanced over his shoulder. Will didn’t even try to hide that he was staring and Nico definitely noticed based on the way he blushed. “Yeah, I guess,” he diverted his eyes back to the contents of the box.

Will stepped closer and propped his elbow up on one of the shelves. “So, if I was a doctor and I needed assistance you could be my nurse?” He questioned his mind running through a few scenarios that could definitely be fun and had very little to do with any actually medical procedures.

Nico must have heard something in Will’s voice because he pushed up so he was once again standing and blinked up at him. “It would depend,” Nico replied uncertainly.

 _Alright_ , Will thought, they could fool around a _little_ in the infirmary closet as long as they didn’t go all out and have sex. Will took another step toward his boyfriend so there was very little space between himself and Nico.

“What if I needed your assistance now?” Will questioned suggestively.

Nico pushed his hands into his back pockets (how he managed that was anyone’s guess) and took a second to look Will over before questioning, “With what exactly?”

“An urgent procedure,” Will replied as he carefully placed his hand on Nico’s hip.

Nico looked down at where Will placed his hand before glancing back up at Will his eyebrow corked upwards inquisitively, “Oh?”

“Ah-ha,” With his free hand Will slowly wrapped his fingers around Nico’s wrist and gently moved his hand to the front of his jeans which were already a bit tented thanks to the naughty nurse fantasies that had flashed in Will’s mind. “I may require you to get a bit hands on if you’re okay with that.”

Their eyes remained locked for a long moment and Will began to wonder if he was being way too forward. Will was a half a breath away from stepping back out of Nico’s space when Nico smirked and pressed his palm against the bulge in the front of Will’s pants. “Credo di poterlo gestire.” [I think I can handle that]. He stated before pushing up on his toes and pressing his lips against Will’s.

Things should have started slow for any number of reasons- they were in the infirmary storage closet, Will’s two siblings were probably standing outside the door, they had literally seen each other a week early and had _plenty_ of sex. It wasn’t slow, Nico’s lips were hot and demanding, he pressed his taut body against Will’s and that was hot too. Nico didn’t move his hand from Will clothed and growing erection except to palm him with greater conviction.

Will gripped Nico’s hip tightly with one hand as he snaked the other up his shirt to feel Nico’s cool skin under his fingers tips. They were both breathing heavy in a manner of minutes which left Will gasping for breath as Nico released his lips in favor of nipping at his jawline. “Pretty Boy, you should call me doctor.” He managed to pant out.

“Si Medico,” [doctor] Nico purred against the sensitive skin just below Will’s right ear.

Chills ran down Will’s spine as Nico’s hot breath spilled across his sensitive skin. Suddenly the closet felt too hot and the only thing that brought him relief was the cool feel of Nico’s smooth skin. “Oh my gods pretty boy that’s so hot,” he moaned as he gripped Nico’s hip more tightly trying to anchor himself to something as his knees quivered and threatened to give way.

Unexpectedly Nico pulled away, his lips no longer pressing against Will’s skin, his hand no longer driving Will to insanity. The sudden absence of Nico’s touch left him feeling both too hot and too cold. Opening his eyes, the ones he hadn’t remembered closing, Will found Nico staring back at him his eyes filled with a dark hunger the sight of which had Will quacking and swelling with need.

Will felt Nico’s long fingers slip under the waistband of his jeans as he worked them open. His dark eyes never left Will’s, and the intensity in his gaze had Will biting back a moan. “Come mi piacerebbe avere il medico?” [How hands on would you like me to get, doctor?]

There was a question there if the inquisitive cork of Nico’s eyebrow was any indication but Will had no clue and his brain was too enticed by the way Nico was looking at him to even attempt to guess. He whimpered wordlessly which wasn’t exactly what could be called a smooth move but Nico seemed to at least find it amusing considering the way he smirked.

Eyes still locked on Will’s Nico leaned in and pressed the lightest of kisses on Will’s jaw as he slid his nimble fingers past the waistband of Will’s briefs. “Perché dovresti essere così eccitante?” [Why must you be so arousing?] Nico purred against Will’s skin. Will had no clue what Nico had said but his breath still caught in his throat but that could have been because of Nico’s hands sliding down his chest before gripping the waistband of both Will’s jeans and boxers. He pushed them both down Will’s legs in one swift motion. “Come dovrei resistere?” [How am I supposed to resist?]

Will gripped desperately at the shelving behind him as he felt Nico’s fingers curl around his erection and started to move slowly up and down his length. “Oh gods,” Will moaned at the teasing motions. He felt so sensitive it was like he hadn’t been touched in forever and Nico was teasing him with soft strokes which just made him more desperate for it.

Nico placed soft kisses up the line of Will’s jaw and to his ear before whispering in a hushed tone “È quello che intendevi con le mani sul medico?” [Is that what you meant by hands on doctor?]

Will could feel Nico grin against his skin as his fist continued to slide on Will’s length making him feel hot and desperate. Nico was teasing him, working Will up into a frenzy until he couldn’t stay still. Will’s hand grasped at Nico’s shirt desperately looking for something to hold on to.

He thought he was going to burn up under Nico’s touch he couldn’t take it. In the delirium of sensation, he almost laughed because he was getting so worked up over so little it was like their first time all over again. Although, in all fairness, Will had already lasted far longer than he had their first time so at least he had that.

Will was desperately trying to remember the finger placements for various cords on the guitar as a distraction from the growing heat within himself when Nico twisted his wrist in the most amazing way as he worked up Will’s shaft. Will shuddered and moaned, the heat within him turned to fire. The tension that had built within him, coiling impossibly tight, snapped flooding Will’s veins with the cold heat of ecstasy. His whole body seemed to pulse as he released in Nico’s grasp.

As the overwhelming sensation of climax gave way to the blissful uphoria of the afterglow Will’s hand slipped from where he had been gripping the shelf for dear life. The motion sent several bottles of disinfectant clamoring to the floor.

Will felt Nico’s hot breath on his throat as he snickered against Will’s skin. Nico released him slowly and slid his hand out of Will’s pants. Will’s eyelids felt heavy but he managed after a few attempts to force them open just in time to find Nico peeking up at him through long lashes, “Come ho fatto, medico?” [How did I do, doctor?]

Will managed to smiled through still labored breathes. Seriously, how did he manage to get such a perfect, sexy boyfriend? He slid his hand around the back of Nico’s neck and pulled his perfect boyfriend into a hungry kiss. There was no question that Will was hungry, maybe even more so in that moment than he had been when they had first started to kiss. This hunger wasn’t for his own pleasure but rather for Nico’s.

When Will released Nico’s soft lips he found the son of Hades staring back at him questioningly. Quickly Will moved his hands to Nico’s hips and drove him backwards until he had Nico pressed against the closet door. “I want to return the favor,” Will admitted as he ran his hands from Nico’s hips to his belt buckle, “I want to do so much more to you.” Will managed to undo Nico’s belt in record speed, really he thought it would have deserved a prize if it wasn’t for the fact that being with Nico wasn’t already a prize. He tugged the belt free of its loops for dramatic effect.

Nico blinked at him for a moment as Will worked to unbutton his jeans. Will took the spare seconds to notice how flushed Nico’s cheeks were, how red and glistening his lips were, how his chest was rising and falling with heavy breaths. Well, at least Will wasn’t the only one swept up in lust. As Will started to work the zipper of Nico’s jeans down Nico wrapped his fingers around the collar of his shirt and pulled him into a searing kiss. Will had thought things were hot before but Nico had cranked up the temperature about a hundred degrees.

Will could feel Nico’s teeth nipping at his lower lip as they kissed so hard that Will was pretty sure they were going to suffocate. He could feel Nico’s short nails dragging against his skin through his t-shirt as he pulled it up Will’s body. Their lips broke apart just long enough for Nico to pull Will’s shirt completely off, Will hadn’t even completely detangled his arms from the fabric when Nico’s lips were once again on his and his tongue was teasing at the seal of his lips.

Once his hands were free they were on Nico, trying to tug off his shirt or working his tight jeans down off his hips while trying to explore the taut plains of Nico’s stomach. Will wanted to curse the fact that he only had two hands, they just weren’t enough to allow him to touch and feel all of Nico.

They broke apart for another brief moment when Will tugged Nico’s t-shirt off roughly and tossed it behind him thoughtlessly. Will pressed himself more firmly against Nico’s body as he started placing hungry kisses against Nico’s skin. He started at his throat and worked downward kissing down Nico’s sculpted chest, taking time to run his tongue along the prominent scars. When Will swirled his tongue around one of Nico’s pert nipples he got a gasp and Nico’s fingers were suddenly tangled in his hair. “Please, Will,” he panted sounding desperately.

“Doctor,” Will corrected against Nico’s skin as he snaked his hands down Nico’s tight body to hook his fingers at the top of Nico’s jeans and wiggled them down his hips.

“Si medico,” [yes doctor] Will heard Nico sigh above him.

            The further Will moved down Nico’s body the more the son of Hades whimpered and whined under his touch. As Will reached the no-man’s-land below Nico’s navel he dared a glance up to assess his work and was so glad he did. Nico looked amazing and completely lost in lust and sensation: his head was thrown back, his chest was heaving and flushed, his nipples standing erect. They, of course, weren’t the only things standing erect based on the hard outline of Nico’s manhood pressing against the tight confines of his briefs.

Will carefully placed his hand on the prominent outline of Nico’s clothed erection and palmed the hard length tentatively. Nico whimpered at his touch and Will felt Nico’s fingers flex in his hair. Hoping for even more of a reaction Will shifted lower and pressed a soft kiss on Nico’s clothed shaft and he actually felt Nico quiver at his touch. Will heard Nico’s reach out and grip the door jam for support and Will couldn’t help but grin a little. He pulled away a little, but not much, he wanted to make sure Nico could still feel his breath against his skin. “You look so hot right now.”

Nico heaved a breath before letting out a string of rushed Italian “Dei, medico, per favore!” [Gods, doctor just please]

Will understood enough of what Nico said and could guess the rest. He hooked his fingers into the waistband of Nico’s briefs and pulled them down without any more ceremony revealing Nico’s heavy erection. Will licked his lips at the sight before once again pushing up on his knees to run his tongue along the length of Nico’s hard shaft.

“Oh dèi!” [Oh gods] Nico moaned above him. Will grinned at the sound of Nico’s lust filled voice before gripping the base of Nico’s hard length and wrapping his lips around the tip. Will swirled his tongue around the head of Nico’s manhood, letting it slide over taut skin as he adjusted to the heavy weight in his mouth.

Will started slowly, pulling more of Nico’s length into his mouth with each motion, as he ran and swirled his tongue around Nico’s girth. Just as Nico’s blunt head hit the back of Will’s throat Will heard Nico let out a muffled sound above him. Pulling back slightly Will peeked up at his boyfriend and found Nico was attempting to quiet himself by clamping a hand over his mouth. Will would have smirked at that if his mouth wasn’t otherwise occupied.

Will started slow but steadily picked up the pace at which he moved. As he did Nico’s muffled whines and whimpers became louder to spite Nico’s attempts to quiet himself. Nico’s long fingers tangled in Will’s hairs tightened to the point of pulling which Will didn’t actually mind (it was kind of hot).

The taste of precum hit Will’s tongue which just emboldened his motions. He could feel Nico’s muscles quaking and heard his labored breathing as he approached climax. A second set of fingers tangled in Will’s hair seconds before Nico let out a long cry as Will felt Nico girth pulse in his mouth and the taste of Nico’s orgasm hit his tongue. Will held Nico’s hips as he rode out what seemed like an intense orgasm based on the way he fingers were clutching chucks of Will’s hair and the way his muscles quivered for several long seconds.

When the last of Nico’s pleasure passed Will released his hips, pulled away and Nico promptly dropped himself on the floor. Will moved to Nico’s side and sat down next to him, basking in the sounds of Nico’s labored breathing and the way he immediately leaned bonelessly against him.

They were quiet for a long moment where Will was pretty sure they were both trying to catch they’re breath. It was surprisingly Nico that broke the silence, he took one look in Will’s direction then buried his face in his hands and groaned “I can’t believe we just had sex in the infirmary storage closet.”

Will snickered and stretched out his legs a bit. “That technically wasn’t sex,” He pointed out with a satisfied grin.

“Oh, my gods” Nico groaned “it’s the conversation with Percy all over again,” he declared with a bit of an annoyed glare in Will’s direction. There was a story there, and Will knew he should probably ask but it was hard to focus because Will just happened to notice a hickey forming at the base of Nico’s throat. It looked good there, and while Will wasn’t sure when exactly he had made it he knew he wanted to make more. “If sex is in the name it counts.”

Will shrugged casually, Nico had a point, “Whatever you want to call it, it was still hot,” Will pointed out and grinned wider when Nico blushed at the declaration “And it wasn’t like we haven’t done it before.”

Nico rolled his eyes at him even though he was still blushing. “I guess,” he grumbled dismissively before shifting his position on the floor. Nico pushed up on all fours before stretching out to gather his clothes.

Will couldn’t help but eye Nico’s bare backside as Nico stretched out practically putting his sculpted ass on display (really how could Will not look?). “Mmmm,” Will hummed as he shifted up onto his knees, “speaking of hot.” Will reached out and ran his hand over the perfect curve before letting his hand come to rest on Nico’s bare hip.

Nico immediately froze at the lightest of Will’s touches, and Will felt Nico’s muscles tense under the caress of his fingers. “Will?” Nico spoke his name with thick uncertainty.

Will kept his light grip on Nico’s hip with one hand while he ran his hand over the muscular curve of Nico’s backside. “You have the most perfect butt,” he mused as he admired said perfection.

“Will,” Nico whined with clear embarrassment. Will couldn’t understand how Nico could be so embarrassed by what was a very serious compliment. The fact that Nico got all bashful just made Will want to compliment him more. Will wanted to point out all of Nico’s perfections until Nico could hear them without blushing.

“Hmm,” Will hummed contently as he kneaded the firm flesh of Nico’s butt. He heard Nico take a shuttered breath at the attention. They were still very naked in a compromising position in the infirmary storage closet, Will knew he should probably save admiring one of Nico’s amazing physical assets for later but he just couldn’t let the opportunity pass without having a little fun. He brought his hand down, smacking Nico’s left cheek just hard enough to issue a really satisfying _smack_ sound.

Surprisingly, Nico moaned wantonly at the contact. That was so far from the reaction Will had been expecting he felt like the one who had been smacked for a second, then he remembered. “Oh, that’s right!” Will grinned with new found excitement, “I forgot you like that.” 

Will did it again, smacking Nico’s pert cheek just hard enough for it to issue that satisfying sound and left Nico’s fair skin a little pinked. “Will!” Nico moaned even louder than he had before and pushed his butt a little further up in the air.

Will liked to think he had self-control and recognized an important time to use it. Nico naked with his perfect backside in the air was not the time for anything that even resembled self-control. Will slapped Nico’s backside a few more times until Nico’s normally pale skin was more red than pink and Nico was moaning and crying so loudly Will was pretty sure the whole camp could hear him.

Will ran his hand gently over the red, warm cheek as he felt the heat of arousal once again flooded his veins, quickly pooling low in his groin. He let his hands fall slightly from Nico’s backside, he still kneaded at the firm lobes but he lowered his hands enough to allow him to place the ghost of a kiss on the red marked flesh of Nico’s left cheek.

“ _Will_ ,” Nico sighed and seemed to stretch out more on the floor as Will’s lip grazed the sensitive skin of his backside.

 _Oh,_ _dear gods_ , Nico sounded so _good_. They really should pause, get their clothes on, and move as quickly as they could back to cabin thirteen right that minute so they could finish this properly, Will knew that. But really that sounded like an awful lot of effort and not all that much fun.

Will placed a few more tender kisses on the pinked flesh of Nico’s cheek as he used his hands to part Nico’s cheeks. Will leaned in and ran his tongue tentatively along Nico’s crease starting at his perineum until he reached the wrinkled flesh of Nico’s entrance. Nico gasped at the contact but it quickly turned into a moan, “Caro signore, Will!” [Dear Lord Will]

Will hummed contently at the sound of Nico’s pleasure as he continued to tease the wrinkled flesh of Nico’s rim with his tongue. Will started slow, using his tongue to lick and prod at the sensitive skin of Nico’s entrance. Nico mewed, whine, and squirmed under him from the smallest of Will’s movements. Those noises had the muscle between Will’s legs swelling with his own arousal. Will did his best to put aside his own aching desire at least for the moment as he started massaging Nico’s twitching entrance with greater insistence.

“ _Will!_ ” Nico whined desperately. Will heard Nico’s short nails start to dig into the wood floor. Will turned his tongue into a spear and used it to prod at Nico’s entrance, using his tongue to start working Nico open. “Will!”

Nico was quivering under his touch and Will was aching with his own desire. Groaning with frustration he reluctantly pulled away from Nico, “Gods, I wish we had lube,” he declared with annoyance.

“Naturalmente abbiamo il lubrificante” [Of course we have lube]  Nico groaned and stretched out pulling a small box off a nearby shelf. Will watched as Nico reached into the box and then tossed three or four packets back at Will. “Là. Ora, ti prego, fretta” [There. Now please hurry Will.]

Will hadn’t exactly expected to have packets thrown at him so he didn’t catch any of them. He scooped one off the floor where it had felt and examined it and was pleasantly surprised to find they were little packets of lube. Last time Will checked they didn’t have single use packets of lube in the infirmary and wanted to question it but recognized that it wasn’t the time.

Will ripped open one of the packets quickly and poured the contains on his fingers as quickly as he could. He rolled the slicking liquid between his fingers to warm it for a few seconds before pressing his slicked fingers between Nico’s cheeks and found his furrowed entrance. Will swirled his slicked fingers around the twitching rim with hard-won restraint for a few moments before pressing in the tip of one finger just past the tight ring of muscle.

Will bite his lip as he felt Nico’s rim tightening around his digit as he twisted and curled his finger. Nico whined and whimpered at Will’s touches as Will worked his finger in deeper. As he pressed in his second digit Will needed to distract himself from his own burning desire. He leaned over Nico and began place soft kisses on Nico’s back along the graceful curve his spine.

“Will, dei che si sente così bene” [Will, Gods that feels so good] Nico moaned as Will began to curl his fingers and stroked the rosebud within him. “Non posso aspettare, Will, per favore” [I can’t wait, Will, please]

Will hummed contently as he continued to piston his fingers within Nico’s tight channel and kiss along Nico’s back. Nico squirmed beneath him with greater urgency as Will continued to open him up. Will wasn’t sure how long they continued like that before his own arousal and aching erection demanded attention.

He placed one last searing kiss on Nico’s shoulder blade before sitting back on his haunches and pulled his fingers back. With one hand, he felt around the floor for another packet of lube while with the other he playfully slapped Nico’s ass, not hard but it did issue a fun smacking sound. Even better Nico moaned loudly at the contact which if Will wasn’t already painfully hard he would have been upon hearing it.

“That might be my new most favorite things,” Will declared as he ripped open a single use package of lube and poured the contents into the palm of his hand. He wrapped his fist around the base of his own erection and stroked his hard length to spread the slicking liquid.

“Ti fermerai a tentarmi di torturarmi e fretta?” [We’ll you stop trying to torture me, and hurry up?] Nico groaned and shot Will a look that Will didn’t have to speak Italian to read.

Will held in a chuckle “I’m hurrying, promise.” He assured as he gave himself his last stroke. He released his own length in favor of gripping Nico by the hip as he shifted to kneel behind him. Will pressed one hand on Nico’s tailbone while he used his other to help line up his head with Nico’s entrance.

Will took one deep breath to steely himself against the overwhelming sensation he knew was coming before pressing his hips slowly forward. “ _Will_ ,” Will registered Nico moan as he breached the tight ring of muscle of Nico’s rim. Will bite at his bottom lip against his own moan of pleasure.

Once Will was fully sheathed in Nico’s tight channel he draped himself over Nico’s back so they were tightly pressed against one another. As he gave Nico a moment to adjust to his penetration and himself a moment to adjust to the pleasure of Nico’s warmth and tightness, Will clasped his hands over Nico’s and intertangled their fingers.

Will distracted himself by placing hungry kisses on the joint of Nico’s neck and shoulder. It was Nico’s despair cry that brought Will back to the moment at hand and he started to move. He started off slowly thrusting but it still had overwhelming pleasure coursing through Will’s vein.

Nico moaned with Will’s motions which added to the pleasure of the moment. “Gods, Nico” He moaned against Nico’s throat as the heat of their bodies seemed to pool in his veins and his muscles grew tighter with each motion.

As Will’s need took him over he increased the speed and force at which he thrusted. Under him, Nico moaned and cried his name and bits of broken Italian and started pushing back his hips to meet Will’s own motions. The sounds of their moans intermingled with the slapping of their flesh filled the closet as everything seemed to get hotter and tighter as Will rapidly approached the edge of oblivion.

“Nic,” Will moaned pleadingly against the skin of Nico’s throat. Will didn’t want to reach his own pleasure before Nico reached his. Beneath him, Nico moaned wordlessly in reply before pressing his hips back against Will’s with greater force.

Will shifted so he could grip Nico’s hip as he moved to meet the urgency of Nico’s motions. Three more forceful thrusts that had white creeping in on the edge of his vision and every nerve ending within him screaming for release, Nico cried out Will’s name as his entrance tightened around Will’s girth and his body shuddered under Will’s weight. The sound and sensation of Nico reaching climax was enough to push Will into the ecstasy of his own orgasm.

Cold fire rushed through Will’s veins as fireworks erupted throughout his body as he pulsed deep within Nico with his release. For a stretch Will was blind, his vision as white as snow, the only sound that registered was the steady thud of his blood pumping in his veins and his labored breath. As his senses came back to him he became aware of Nico’s heart pounding in tandem with his own, their labored breath mingling as they remained pressed against each other.

They stayed intertwined for a long moment before Will pulled away from Nico’s warmth, dropped himself on the floor, and rolled onto his back. Nico let out an audible sigh as he too laid on the floor at Will’s side.

It felt like a peaceful eternity in which they both lay on the floor of the infirmary storage closet floor staring up at the ceiling panting. Will grinned at the dark space above him as his skin buzzed with ecstasy in rhythm with the low thud of base notes that seemed to be coming from the infirmary proper. Will had no idea when that started but it didn’t seem new. “Well,” he managed through still labored breath “now, we’ve had sex in the infirmary storage closet.”

“Just after I got the ‘I didn’t have sex in the infirmary storage closet’ t-shirts printed too,” Nico replied dryly.

Will laughed, he guessed they wouldn’t be able to insist it hadn’t happened anymore even if it didn’t happen when everyone at camp thought it had. That might embarrass Will at a later time but as he lay on the hard floor he was content to stay where he was. Nico seemed to feel differently as he sat up groaning, His dark eyes seemed to focus on the closed door with a certain intensity. Will was about to say something to assure Nico no one was going to walk in on them (even though he really couldn’t promise that) when Nico questioned: “What is that noise?”

“Austin has the radio cranked all the way up,” Will replied simply because that was more than obvious. Nico turned and looked down at where Will was still sprawled out on the floor happily with a confused expression. “It’s very loud music,” Will clarified.

“That can’t be a good sign,” Nico huffed as he shifted to start gathering clothes. Will didn’t necessarily agree with that assessment, the music probably helped cover up their louder moments but he wasn’t going to point that out.

Nico dressed quickly, tossing Will’s clothes at him as he came across them. Will would have rather lay naked basking in the afterglow of good sex but figured having his jeans thrown at his face was Nico’s way of telling him to get dress. Will pulled on his clothes with none of the urgency Nico was showing to the task.

Will had barely pulled on his sweater when Nico pushed open the storage closet door and strolled into the infirmary leaving Will to practically chase after him. Only two people seemed to be in the infirmary at the moment which was probably for the best. Austin was walking around the infirmary tidying up with the same sense of urgency he usually showed to all infirmary upkeep (which wasn’t much) while he bobbed his head along with a classic rock song. The other person, was that kid from the Nike cabin Will had hit over the summer (Jordon? Yeah, that was definitely his name). Jordon was sitting on a cot toward the front of the infirmary and seemed to be struggling with two conflicting urges; one moment he was looking back toward where he and Nico had just emerged with large eyes and the next he was looking literally anywhere else.

Nico got Austin’s attention in truly classic Nico fashion, he put himself in Austin’s path. When Austin stopped short of running right into the son of Hades Nico spoke with annoyance, “Why is the music so loud?” Nico gestured vaguely around the room before pointing down to where Jordon was sitting, now trying to look at Nico without looking like he was looking. “And why is he looking at us like that?”

Will could only barely hear Nico over the music but Austin didn’t appear to have a problem. Austin shifted the towels he was carrying to one arm and shoved his free hand into his back pocket. After a few seconds of rummaging, Austin produced a small remote which he pointed in the general direction of the infirmary radio and pressed one of the buttons for a minute until the music went from ear-splitting noise to pleasant background sounds. “He’s probably goaking for the same reason the music was so loud,” Austin replied casually as he pushed the radio remote back in his pocket, “You moan like a gods damn porn star di Angelo,” Austin stated in the same tone normal people talked about the weather. Nico turned a bright shade of red and took a sudden and intense interest in his shoes. Austin either didn’t notice or didn’t care about Nico’s embarrassment and turned to direct his next comment to Will. “I mean Will, how are you not at least partially deaf from being subjected to that on a regular basis?”

Will blushed slightly. He knew they hadn’t exactly been quiet but he didn’t’ think they had been that loud. “You heard us?” he questioned hoping his half-brother would just lie to him and say he heard nothing (Dean would definitely lie, it was one of Dean’s better qualities).

“Dude, half of camp heard you two,” Austin scuffed like Will’s question was absolutely ridiculous. “You heard me mention that this one-” he jutted his thumb in Nico’s direction “-moans like a porn star, right?”

“Shut up,” Nico groaned without any real heat as he gave Austin’s shoulder a jovial shove.

“Dude,” Austin chuckled “I’m serious, normally when people get that loud I would be suspicious they were putting on a show for their partner’s ego’s sake but no one needs to fake it with a child of Apollo.”

Nico was still clearly embarrassed but he was recovering surprisingly quickly in Will’s opinion. Nico’s cheeks still had the soft blush from embarrassment but he still managed to roll his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest in a display of confidence (even if it was false confidence). “Is that what you’ve told yourself when your past lovers have gotten loud?” Nico questioned.

“Everyone I had sex with more than enjoyed it,” Austin replied with confidence before a mischievous grin spread across his face “And speaking of enjoying it, I take it Will made it to England based on the sounds of it.”

Will was pretty used to Austin’s innuendos, it was hard not to be when innuendos made up a good fifty percent of what Austin said on a good day, but that one went over Will’s head. Of course, Will also knew better than to question Austin so he turned to Nico and questioned rather eloquently “Huh?”

Nico seemed to experience a new wave of embarrassment except for this time he seemed to be most focused on avoiding eye contact with Will rather than anyone else. “I’ll explain later,” he grumbled as he picked at his nails which on a scale of signs of Nico’s nervousness that was a solid 8 out of 10.

There was a clatter and all three of them turned to see Jordon awkwardly trying to maneuver around a portable exam cart on his way to the door. The demigod seemed to freeze when he felt their eyes on him. “I…..” He stammered awkwardly before trying to look in their direction before he clearly thought better of the idea. “I think I’m actually fine,” Jordon declared as he sort of limped toward the door. “I’m going to go.”

They all watched him go, Will considered calling after him to tell him to wait (he was limping after all) but he didn’t (it was barely a limp). Jordan had just cleared the door when Nico turned and commented to Austin. “Think he will finally stop showing up with fake injuries?”

Austin spared the door one more glance before scuffing “I think he’s running off to some private corner to feverishly masturbate while he still has your moaning ringing in his ears.”

“Gross!” Nico hissed in clear disgust (which Will wholeheartedly agreed with). “I didn’t need that mental image.”

“Yeah,” Austin gave an almost mocking little laugh paired with a casual shrug. “Well. I didn’t need to hear my half-brother getting off while you called him doctor in Italian.”

Nico groaned and covered his face with his hands “Yeah,” Will chimed in as he slipped his arm around Nico’s waist “We’d say sorry about that but we’re not,” He offered with complete sincerity. He would have preferred if people hadn’t heard the private moment he and Nico had shared but the fact that it was overheard didn’t make him regret it. “So we’re going to be in cabin thirteen if anyone needs us,” he informed as he started to usher Nico toward the infirmary door. They were halfway to the door when Will called over his shoulder, “Don’t need us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated!


	48. Start the Day Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday,
> 
> Apologies that this is going up a little later, I have been having computer issues and this is my third attempt to post.
> 
> SMUT WARNING: This chapter contains smut and references to smut
> 
> Don't be surprised if you see the total number of chapters for this fic (currently 62) increase in the coming weeks. A few things I have planned for the story are going to be longer than I originally anticipated and I'm considering adding a few other things. I know this is terrible news ;)
> 
> Update on Outtakes: I haven't forgotten about it, I have actually been working on it quite a bit but the next few chapters are long. I am hoping to have something posted soon.

Nico awoke slowly, blinking against the eerie green light of Hades cabin. The Greek fire of his cabin’s torches were burning low which meant it was either in the middle of the night or morning. There was a window in the Hades cabin but the curtains hung over it were thick and drawn closed. Normally, Nico left the curtains pulled open for the benefits of natural light, it didn’t matter how bright the sun got Nico could sleep through it, but with Will there he had closed them for privacy.

With the curtains pulled closed there was no way to tell what time it was, and Nico was alright with that. The bed was comfortable and warm in spite of the fact that Nico had fallen asleep naked. He and Will had managed to become tangled into each other in the night, the sensation of Will’s warm skin pressed against his own was comforting and officially killed any desire Nico may have had to wake up.

Sometime during the night, Will had kicked off most of the blankets which was typical for the son of Apollo. The cabin was just as cold as it normally was but Nico really couldn’t get annoyed because while Will always stripped the blankets off them (even when they were otherwise naked) he was always willing to replace the blankets over Nico’s body with his own. Will’s leg was thrown over one of Nico’s and his arm was tossed over Nico’s side in a lazy hug.

Will’s breath felt slow and steady against Nico’s spine suggesting the blonde was still asleep which meant it must have been very early morning. Nico sighed contently, snuggled back into Will’s warmth, and glanced up at the clock sitting on his nightstand.

The bright green digits on his clock blinked at him declaring it was well after ten am. Surprised, Nico pushed up in bed and stared at the clock skeptically “That can’t be right?” he declared aloud.

Next to him, there was a content hum “What can’t be right?” Will questioned, the sounds of sleep suspiciously absent from his voice. Nico peeked over his shoulder to see Will stretching out his tan skin looking incredibly golden against Nico’s black sheets with a wide smile on his face and an excited twinkle in his bright blue eyes.

Will looked like a god, seriously he could put easily make Apollo to shame. As much as Nico could marvel at that it wasn’t new, what was maybe not new but definitely interesting was Will had clearly been awake for a while. Nico looked from Will to the clock and back again. “The time, it can’t be that late.”

Will pushed up on his elbows and glanced at the clock for a brief moment before turning back to Nico with a small shrug “Yeah, that seems about right.” Will spoke so casually, like sleeping so late was normal, and for Nico, that was true but not Will. Will pushed up further until he was actually sitting up in bed, the few blankets he had kept in the night were left barely a memory. He placed a soft kiss on Nico’s shoulder, the sensation of Will’s soft lips on Nico’s bare skin sent a chill down his spine. “Good morning, birthday boy,” he whispered against Nico’s skin causing another chill.

“Gods, you must have been up for hours,” Nico marveled feeling a bit guilty. To confirm his suspicion Nico eyed Will over his shoulder curiously. Will had definitely been awake for a while. Will must have been bored out of his mind just lying in bed next to him Nico couldn’t even imagine. “Why didn’t you wake me?” He questioned.

Will grinned at him. “I didn’t mind,” he assured before placing another soft kiss on Nico’s shoulder. “Besides you look so cute when you’re sleeping.”

Will was being adorably sweet but Nico wasn’t buying all of it. He rolled his eyes dismissively, “That has never stopped you before.” Will had never been shy about trying to wake Nico up at some god forsaken hour in the morning because he wanted to cuddle or engage in other more active bed activities.

“It’s your birthday,” Will explained softly his lips still mere centimeters from Nico’s ear. He peeked up at Nico through golden lashes, “I figured you’d enjoy sleeping in a little.”

Nico hummed contently at the feeling of Will’s warm breath on his bare skin. He pivoted at the waist so he could properly look at his sweet, mildly ridiculous boyfriend. “Really?” He questioned with fake skepticism.

“Yeah,” Will shrugged with the slightest of pouts. The little expression was gone almost as quickly as it appeared but that didn’t matter, Nico still knew it’s meaning, it was a mix of regret, disappointment, and a dash of humility. Before Nico could even tease him about it Will was back to beaming at him excitedly. “Consider it the first of many birthday surprises I have in store for you.”

Nico’s stomach did a little flip. He knew Will meant what he said, he had probably gone all out for Nico’s birthday because he was just that sweet. Sometimes, although less so than when they first started dating, Nico wondered how he had ended up with such a perfect boyfriend.

One look at Will and Nico found the son of Apollo still smiling at him brightly. Will was still naked too, obviously, but for some reason, Nico really didn’t understand Will’s nakedness seemed to have become _more_. Will had kicked away the last of the blankets at some point and was making no effort to cover himself so Nico had an unobstructed view. Will was all tan skin and planes of hard muscle. Much like his cheeks, high on Will’s chest and over his shoulders there was a generous spray of freckles which seemed to trickle down and become less as you moved down Will’s taut stomach toward his…..

Nico forced his eyes upwards as he tried to ignore the sudden wave of heat that filled him or the way his stomach did another little flip for a very different reason. Meeting Will’s crystal blue eyes he questioned, “Is that so?” The words came out sounding a lot less innocent than Nico had intended but they had already left him when he realized.

Will’s genuine smile twisted into something more like a playful smirk. “Yup,” Will declared making the p sound pop dramatically as he made a show of scanning Nico’s naked form with his eyes.

Another wave of hungry heat flushed through Nico’s veins and he felt the muscle between his legs twitch with excitement as it began to swell. Nico was a bit surprised at how quickly the arousal had washed over him making him feel warm and hungry. It wasn’t that Will didn’t turn him on, it was just that Nico really wasn’t a morning person. That never stopped them from being intimate in the morning (or whatever gods forsaken hour Will would wake Nico up) it was just that Nico usually required a bit more seduction so Will was usually the one to initiate things.

Seeing Will sprawled out like some sort of god of temptation and sex Nico didn’t feel like he required any further seduction. And if there was an ever a time to break with the trend it really was his birthday. Nico leaned in a pressed a hungry kiss on Will’s perfect lips. For the briefest of seconds, Nico felt Will smile against his lips before giving into the moment and kissing him back. Will seemed to meet Nico’s own passion while at the same time slowly, almost tentatively, slipped his hand around the back of Nico’s neck and let it rest there. The spots where Will’s fingertips grazed his skin tingled with the most delicious sensation.

Nico just wanted to feel more, he wanted to feel everything that Will could give him. He kissed Will harder as he kicked off the last remnants of sheets off his body and crawled on top of his boyfriend’s perfect frame until he was sitting on top of the blonde straddling his waist.

Will let out a soft sound against Nico’s lips which were somewhere between a laugh and a moan which just added to Nico’s already growing excitement and made him feel even more bold. He splayed his hands on Will’s broad chest and pressed him back slowly but still instantly. Will didn’t protest, laying back on the bed as they continued to kiss. Will’s hands began to wander down Nico’s shoulders and back with more certainty than before.

As Will’s strong, calloused fingers massaged his lower back Nico moved away from kissing Will’s soft lips in favor placing hungry kisses along Will’s jaw. “Do you know what I want right now?” he questioned in a whisper when he reached Will’s ear. He couldn’t help but smile against Will’s skin when he felt Will shiver at his words.

Will almost seemed to arch up into Nico’s touch while exposing more of his throat which was truly all manners of hot. “I know what I’m hoping you want,” Will replied with labored breath. Nico didn’t have to see his boyfriend’s face to know he was grinning ear to ear, he could hear it in his voice.

Nico hummed contently as he started to kiss, lick, and bite his way down Will’s throat. “Voglio in cima,” [I want to top] he declared as he reached Will’s collarbone with his lips. He kissed along the prominent bone until he found the spot that had Will sighing at the lightest touch. “Sei sempre così caldo e stretto,” [You’re always so warm and tight] he mused the thought of Will’s warmth enveloping him had Nico aching for it.

Nico nipped at the sensitive spot as a prelude to sucking at the tender area. Will trembled under him, his hands clinging to his arm and side. He only pulled away when he was sure he had left a mark. Since Will was a child of Apollo Nico knew that, at best, the mark would only be visible for a few hours but Nico still found the thought rewarding. “Dio, Will lasciami dentro,” [Gods, Will let me inside] Nico purred against Will’s freshly marked skin.

“I don’t have a clue what you just said but YES!” Will declared excitedly, his voice practically echoing off the stone walls of the Hades cabin. “Actually, hell yes!” Will’s hands seemed to tighten their grip on Nico’s body and try to him in more tightly, “Please, yes!”

Nico grinned at hearing Will practically begging for him before continuing his slow path down Will’s sculpted chest. “Ti senti così bene,” [You’re going to feel so good] Nico assured before running his tongue over the hardened nub of one of Will’s nipples.

“Oh,” Will cried at Nico’s attention as he squirmed slightly under his touch. “You’re not usually so…. _aggressive_ first thing in the morning,” Will observed his voice coming out uneven and husky. Nico peeked up at Will and when he caught his boyfriend’s attention Nico arched his eyebrow at him partially in question but mostly just to tease. Will let out a breathy laugh as he tossed his head back against the pillows and assured, “Don’t get me wrong, I like it.”

“Buona,” [Good] Nico smiled briefly before returning to his mission of lavishing all of Will’s most prominent freckles with hungry kisses on his way down his impressive frame. As he kissed and licked Will’s perfect form he let one of his hands slide further down to occupy himself with another perfect part of Will’s perfect body.

Nico was happy to find Will’s length already laying on his stomach hard and heavy. As he curled his fingers around the substantial girth, Nico let out a happy little hum at the feel of Will’s stiff muscle in his hand. Will twitched in Nico’s grip and moaned “I thought it was your birthday.” Will barely managed to pant out, his voice was shaken and blown away with lust.

There may not have been a sexier sound then Will sounding completely wracked when Nico had barely got started, or at least that was how Nico felt about it. He placed one more last long kiss on Will’s abs just above his navel before quickly moving up his body to place a kiss on his lips. As Nico slid his tongue along the seal of Will’s lips he began to stroke the thick muscle in his hand. Will moaned wordlessly which quickly turned into a whine of complaint when Nico pulled away. Nico smiled down at his perfect boyfriend wickedly “Si,” he assured teasingly “E tu sei il mio presente.” [And you are my present]

Will sucked in a shuddered breath. Grinning, Nico leaned down to press his lips once again against Will’s. Their lips had just barely touched when a loud and rather demanding knock came from the front door of Nico’s cabin. More out of reflex than anything else Nico pulled away from Will’s lips to glare at the door.

Nico was very aware of Will trying to chase his lips and then whined when he failed miserably, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Will groaned.

Nico waited for half a second when the door didn’t fly open he figured they were most likely safe. He turned his attention back to Will. “Ignoralo,” [ignore it] Nico assured as he leaned in a placed a hot kiss on Will’s lips before moving to his throat. “Andranno via,” [They will go away] he whispered the promise against Will’s skin.

As if the universe itself disagreed, a second round of feverish knocking came from the door. If anything, it sounded more insistent and demanding. Nico didn’t even pause in his actions, he had spent the last two weeks making sure there would be absolutely no reason he or Will would be needed for anything during his birthday weekend so he knew whatever it was simply couldn’t be important.

Will squirmed under Nico’s continued touches and let out an annoyed little whimper at the sound of the knocking. “Go away!” Will shouted his voice taking on an almost desperate pleading quality. Nico couldn’t help but chuckle against Will’s throat at the sound. “We’re busy,” he declared just as Nico reached his ear. “Very… _ah_ … busy!”

For a half a heartbeat the only sound Nico heard was the sound of Will’s shaking breath and the crackle of Greek fire then the door to cabin thirteen flew open. The bright light of mid-morning sun spilled into the dark space and silhouetted the person strolling through the door. Not that Nico was really paying that person much mind as he quickly moved off Will and grabbed at the discarded sheets in hopes of covering himself (and Will but really mostly himself).

“Like you two need to have morning sex again,” Austin declared as he moved further into the Hades cabin without invitation completely unaffected by the clear state of disarray Nico and Will were in. It wasn’t until Nico was absolutely one-hundred percent sure that the sheets he had hurriedly grabbed were covering him from the waist down that he noticed Mitchell standing just inside the door carrying two large gift bags and looked appropriately uncomfortable. Nico couldn’t really focus on the son of Aphrodite when the son of Apollo (and not the one Nico was in love with) walked right up to the side of his bed.  “As a night owl, I’m surprised you can even get it up this early, di Angelo,” he commented casually as he jutted his chin at Nico.

Nico was so completely taken a back he was couldn’t even find words, he just stared Austin agape. “Gods, Austin!” Will hissed with righteous outrage. Nico glanced over his shoulder to see that Will had managed to cover his groin with a pillow and was staring at Austin in complete disbelief. Will pointed back toward the door insistently, “Out!”

The sound of Will’s commanding voice helped him snap out of his stunned silence. “Stronzo,” [Asshole] he cursed under his breath before turning back to Austin with the most intimidating glare he could muster. “We haven’t had morning sex yet.”

Nico didn’t have to look to feel Will’s wide-eyed stare on him at that confession. If it had been Jason, or worse Percy, Nico would have never let such sensitive information slip but Austin had somehow managed to slowly wear him down over time so Nico just didn’t feel as weird about divulging personal information about his sex life anymore.

Austin rolled his eyes and scoffed, “Yeah, sure.”

“No, he telling the truth,” Mitchell pointed out from the door sounding a little more sure then seemed completely far. Mitchell seemed to hesitate at the door for a moment before giving in and walking toward his boyfriend. “Although if we were here ten minutes later I don’t think it wouldn’t be,” he shrugged as he took a place at Dean’s side. He turned toward where Nico and Will were still sitting on the bed with a genuine look of sympathy. “Sorry about that but I brought presents.” He held up the large gift bags one black and one gold as evidence.

Once again Austin scuffed, “Since I got the _privilege_ of hearing you two go at it in the infirmary storage closet yesterday I’m less sorry.” The way Austin said it was both dramatic and sincere, Nico probably owed him an apology for that one but he would worry about that later, like when he wasn’t naked in bed with Will who was also naked.

Mitchell’s eyes went wide with excitement and while it was subtle Nico was pretty sure he saw the son of Aphrodite bounce lightly on the balls of his feet. “Oh, my gods!” Mitchell exclaimed with excitement. “Was it good?”

“A child of Apollo was involved,” Austin chimed in, his tone rather dismissive. Nico was pretty sure the question had directed at himself rather than Austin but he was more than happy to let field the question. Nico had learned from being on set that Mitchell could be persistent when there was information he wanted, and Nico didn’t have the best track record of resisting. Nico would rather Will not find out about that, like ever. Austin gave his boyfriend an almost disappointed look, “Of course it was good!”

Mitchell rolled his eyes overly dramatically. “I didn’t ask you,” Mitchell told Austin flippantly before turning back to Nico. “We’ll talk later,” he told Nico in a stage whisper.

Nico said nothing in hopes that the comment would be ignored. The feeling of Will’s eyes on him made Nico realize that was unlikely. Peeking at Will from the corner of his eyes, Nico saw his boyfriend grinning, “Oh really?” He exaggerated the question “You two will talk about it later, will you?”

“No,” Nico tried and failed to sound convincing “of course not.”

“And people say I’m a bad liar,” Will whistled like he was impressed. Nico just sighed at his unfortunate luck. “You no longer can get mad at me for talking about our sex life when you’re telling Mitchell things.”

Nico hated the fact that he couldn’t control his blushing, he could feel the heat of embarrassment creeping up his neck and flooding his face. He tried not to look over at Will but he could feel Will’s eyes on him. He was seriously considering shadow-traveling away when Mitchell chimed in. “It’s nothing bad,” the son of Aphrodite assured. “From the sounds of it, you really have _nothing_ to be ashamed of.”

“That’s because he is a child of Apollo which makes him naturally amazing in bed,” Austin commented insistently. That was the thing about Austin Nico had learned early on, he would make almost anything about being a child of Apollo especially if it was something to do with sex. “Children of Apollo are the best lovers, everyone knows that.”

Mitchell blinked at Austin like he was marveling at just how stupid his boyfriend actually was. Nico had spent quite a lot of time with the couple on the set of various shoots so he knew that look well, Austin was on the receiving end of it a lot. “My mother is literally the goddess of lust, you know,” he pointed out flatly.

Austin gave Mitchell a confused look. “What’s your point?” he questioned with deliberate ignorance.

Mitchell's eyes went wide with a look of outrage washed over his features. Nico sighed, he knew that expression and what it meant- first there would be shouting, then there would be more high-pitched shouting, and then there would be making out weirdly enough. If Nico wasn’t going to be having morning sex Austin and Mitchell didn’t get to make out in his cabin. “Why are you two here?” Nico questioned flatly.

“Oh,” Austin actually seemed surprised by the question, like he forgot he had barged into the Hades cabin uninvited while Nico and Will were busy (very, very busy). “I need help in the infirmary,” he stated like it was just common sense. Nico just shook his head, Austin could be such an infuriating person, which was one of the few things he wouldn’t accredit to being a child of Apollo, which was probably accurate because Will didn’t do stuff like that.

Next to him on the bed Will groaned, “You’ve gotten by months without me I’m sure whatever it is you can handle it on your own.”

Everyone seemed to blink with confusion. Nico carefully turned to look at Will more straight on, or as much as he could and still remain appropriately covered. He guessed the idea of Will being needed in the infirmary made a lot of sense on paper but Nico had pretty much put his foot down in that area before Will had arrived, Will was not to be called to the infirmary unless it was a matter of life or death.

An unfamiliar expression flashed across Austin's face and it took Nico a minute to realize that it was embarrassment, “I was actually talking about Nico,” Austin corrected bashfully pointing weakly at where Nico was sitting. Will actually spattered in surprise at that, Nico shot him a disapproving look more to tease him than anything else- Nico knew that it was really weird that he was needed in the infirmary. “I need someone who speaks Italian,” Austin offered as an explanation before jutting his thumb in Mitchell’s direction, “This one only knows the curse words.”

Mitchell rolled his eyes and huffed with annoyance. “I was born in New York, I don’t know what you expect,” he retorted. Nico was at least partially responsible for Mitchell’s annoyance. Mitchell’s father was from Italy, Nico wasn’t sure when he emigrated but he still spoke pretty fluent Italian and he used it often but Mitchell never seemed to have picked up any of it. It had become a point of teasing on set when Austin and Nico were both there.

Actually, Nico only knew one other camper that spoke Italian, a little daughter of Persephone. “Anna?” he questioned more out of curiosity than anything else.

“Yup,” Austin nodded before adding “Dude, at this point you just might have to adopt the little nugget.” Nico knew Austin was joking but the comment still made his stomach do a nervous little flip. He and Will were just starting to talk about the future but really hadn’t looked past living together. They hadn’t talked about marriage or anything like that and Nico wasn’t even sure if Will wanted kids. Actually, Nico wasn’t even sure if he, himself wanted kids.

“Ow, you two will make great dads!” Mitchell cooed excitedly, his child of Aphrodite was definitely showing.

Nico sighed, something about Mitchell’s inappropriate level of excitement made the comment less panic inducing. “I’ll help but I’m not adopting,” he informed flatly as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and moved to get up stopping abruptly when the blanket covering his lap pulled away enough to expose a strip of skin on his outer thigh. Carefully holding the blanket in place so it couldn’t shift further Nico eyed the two other demigods seriously. “Do you two mind going outside we’re…..”

A wicked grin spread across Austin’s face as Nico searched for a word he felt comfortable using to describe he and Will’s current lack of clothing, “Naked as a jaybird?” Austin offered a little too happily.

“We need to get dressed,” Nico explained using a far more tolerable phrasing.

He was sure Austin was going to make some kind of comment, maybe throw out a little innuendo about Nico and Will trying to have sex if he and Mitchell actually left the cabin because making jokes about his half-brother having sex was completely fine for him. Austin surprised him by shrugging, “Yeah, sure.”

Austin turned and took a half a step toward the door but Mitchell had the opposite reaction, taking half a step toward where Nico and Will were still sitting. “Since you are going to be getting dressed I’m just going to leave these,” he held up the two large gift bags before placing them on the floor by the bed. “The black one is Nico’s and the yellow is Will’s obviously,” he explained.

“It’s not my-” Will started sounding very confused.

“I know,” Mitchell chimed in quickly “but you both are really too attractive to dress the way you do.”

“He’s determined to make you two into a gay power couple” Austin explained with heavy disinterest “Whatever that means.”

Mitchell made a show of turning to glare at Austin for several long seconds before turning back to Nico and Will with a bright smile “You two are already a power couple I just want you to look the part,” the son of Aphrodite explained sweetly, almost too sweetly. He shifted his gaze slightly and it wasn’t until he started talking that Nico realized Mitchell was speaking specifically to Will. “You can consider it a belated birthday gift from us-” he gestured between himself and Austin “-if you like.”

Nico couldn’t be sure but he was pretty that was the first time he had heard either Mitchell or Austin referred to themselves as _us_. Both Austin and Mitchell seemed into their relationship and they certainly seemed to work as a couple but Nico just got the impression that neither of them were thinking much past the now. The more time Nico spent at camp and around other demigods, he began to realize when it came to relationships demigods tended to fall into one of two groups: group one became serious about committing to people both romantically and platonically while group two just wanted to have a good time. Mitchell and Austin definitely in the second group so they just never seemed to take their relationship that seriously.

Mitchell shot Austin a pointed look for just long enough to make everyone feel mildly uncomfortable. “Because lube is not an appropriate birthday gift,” He commented in Austin’s direction.

Austin huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Lube is a great gift,” he declared defensively before turning back toward where Nico and Will were still sitting on the bed. “There is a box under your bunk by the way.”

“Um….thanks?” Nico heard Will reply uncertainty from next to him on the bed. It was at the sound of Will’s confusion that Nico had forgotten to warn Will about Austin’s weird birthday gift when he had visited around Thanksgiving or when he arrived back to camp. Sometime before Will went back to the Apollo cabin Nico would have to remember to let him know that Austin’s “gift” was going to be one bottle short. Nico was pretty sure that the bottle he had grabbed from under Will’s bed a few days earlier was likely lost somewhere in the bedding when Austin had waltzed into the Hades cabin and Nico had frantically covered himself with whatever he could grab.

A look flashed across Austin’s face and Nico was sure he was going to launch into his long-winded explanation of why personal lubricant was the perfect gift. Luckily, Mitchell chimed in before Austin could even start, saving Nico from having to hear _that_ again. “Anyways,” the son of Aphrodite dragged out the word as he gave his boyfriend a pointed look. Once apparently confident that Austin understood his unspoken message Mitchell turned his attention back to the bed and zeroed in on Will.  “Nico mentioned you were growing your hair out... Or was it that Nico was hoping you would?” he questioned shouting Nico a quick look. Nico didn’t answer, he couldn’t, his face was already burning at the mention. He guessed that was what he got for telling something private to a child of Aphrodite.

The thing Nico would never have guessed about modeling was a lot of time was spent sitting around on set waiting. As such, Nico spent a lot of time on set just talking to Mitchell and sometimes he just talked about things that he really hadn’t intended to tell another person and the thing about Will’s hair was one of those things. Will’s hair usually looked unkempt because Will just didn’t bother with doing basic things like brushing it but his hair was actually really soft and smelled amazing.

The whole thing came up when Nico had been bored waiting on a set and started flipping through one of Mitchell’s fashion magazine, and there was this cologne ad with this model that looked a lot like Will but he had long-ish hair that fell just past his shoulders. Nico couldn’t help but think how amazing Will would look with hair like that. He knew Will normally kept his hair on the shorter side because of soccer and the infirmary but he didn’t have soccer anymore and would only have to worry about the infirmary during the summer so Nico thought that it could happen. He hadn’t really meant to but he just sort of said something about it out loud when Mitchell was around (they absolutely did NOT have a twenty-minute conversation about it).

Nico couldn’t be sure but he could have sworn Mitchell shot him a quick smile before continuing to talk like he hadn’t said anything of import. “Whichever, there is some product in the bag to help with that but we should really talk at some point.”

“Um…..” Will hummed sounding even more confused than he had moments earlier when he had heard his half-brother had bought him lube as a birthday gift. Worse yet, Nico could feel Will’s inquisitive eyes on him and he just knew his face and neck were all splotchy and red from blushing.

“Right, so now that that has been covered,” Austin chimed in as he grasped Mitchell just above the elbow. “We are going to be right outside,” he explained as he started herding Mitchel toward the door. “You two get dressed,” he gestured between where Nico and Will were sitting. At the door, the child of Apollo all but pushed an annoyed-looking Mitchell outside. He was half out the door when he paused and grinning suggestively in Nico’s direction. “And no praying to a Christian god in here.”

Nico was starting to wonder if he complained about the wrong friends because yeah, Percy had verbal diarhea and Jason acted like his mom two-thirds of time but Austin and Mitchell seemed to be working hard to prove they were worse. He glared at the son of Apollo as he reached behind himself, grabbed a stray pillow, and threw it at the door with as much force as he could muster. Even at the awkward angle, Nico managed to throw the pillow with enough force to reach the doorway. Unfortunately, Austin pulled the door shut before the pillow had made contact. Well, at least he and Will once again had the cabin to their selves.

“What did he mean by that?” Will questioned. Nico looked over his shoulder to see Will staring back at him curiously.

“Nothing,” Nico assured quickly, maybe too quickly to be believable. He didn’t need Will knowing that sometimes Nico’s catholic upbringing came out when they were being intimate and he was trying to last.

Will’s eyes were still on him which him curiously. Nico couldn’t take it so he tossed off the sheets and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Sharing a bed with Will always seemed to make Nico forget that cabin 13 cold until he actually tried to get out of bed and he was cruelly reminded. The icy air hit Nico’s skin and every instinct he had told him to burrow back into the blankets and press his bare skin against Will’s until he was pleasantly warm all over.

Unfortunately, Nico wasn’t a fool. Just because they had cabin 13 to themselves didn’t mean they were really alone. Austin and Mitchell were likely standing right outside the door and both were more than capable of bursting through the door without warning if they thought Nico and Will were taking too long to get dressed.

Nico didn’t risk looking back at where Will was still sitting, he knew the sight would be too tempting. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and brought his feet to rest on the cold stone floor. Once on his feet he grabbed both gift bags, heaved them up (they were comically heavy), and brought them to rest on the mattress. He pushed the gold bag in Will’s direction as he absently peeked into his own.

His mattress let out a soft complaint as Will shifted on the bed. To spite his best efforts Nico couldn't stop himself from looking up at where his boyfriend was stationed on the bed. Will had moved so that he was sitting up properly. In typical Will fashion, now that they were more or less alone he clearly didn’t care to cover himself. The blankets had pulled in his lap leaving very little to the imagination. A part of modeling that Nico should have probably suspected but hadn’t until he started but he had unfortunately seen more than a few guys with very little in the way of clothes on their bodies. The thing those awkward experiences had taught him was Will had a truly amazing body. He had always found Will extremely attractive but this went beyond his own opinion- Will’s perfect skin, sculpted chest, and washboard abs were something most male models aspired to and could only achieve through near constant exercises, airbrushing, and photoshop.

Will had pulled the gold gift bag a few inches closer to himself and was looking between Nico and the gold gift bag with clear confusion. “Wait,” Will seemed to come to some kind of unpleasant realization. “We’re actually getting up?”

“Kind of have to,” Nico replied turning his attention back to the contents of the gift bag. Inside was just a sea of black, trying to figure out what was what would be practically impossible. It was probably a bold assumption but Nico figured Mitchell hadn’t gifted him anything too embarrassing so he plunged his hand into the bag and started pulling out black clothes. After pulling out two shirts and grabbing what felt like a third he spared Will a glance and found Will watching him with a sullen expression. It was almost like an out of body experience because had vivid memories of doing the same thing to Will when he would get roped into doing something for the infirmary. “But it will be quick and then I’m all yours,” he reassured hoping to improve the situation if only slightly.

If anything, Will’s sullen expression worsened turning into a genuine pout. He blue eyes bounced between Nico and the third shirt that Nico still had in his hand. “Are you actually going to wear whatever Mitchell bought?” He questioned sounding confused by the prospect.

Nico tossed the third shirt on the bed before quickly picking up one of the first shirts he had discarded there early. It was a pretty basic long-sleeved shirt but the fabric felt a little softer than the others which was why it had won in Nico’s opinion. He twisted the fabric in his grasp as he explained, “Just because he doesn’t have charmspeak doesn’t mean he can’t get people to do things.” Mitchell was weirdly persuasive and when that didn’t work he had no problem being openly busy, and it wasn’t that Nico was somehow afraid of the child of Aphrodite it just wasn’t worth the effort most of the time. “It’s just easier to wear the clothes,” he shrugged casually and tossed the shirt over his shoulder in order to return to digging in the bag in hope of finding pants. Also, and Nico would never admit this part out loud but he actually liked the clothes Mitchell gave him. He was never going to be one of those people who cared enough about fashion to go out and buy high-end clothing but everything Mitchell showed up with were nice and fit Nico’s general style.

“Does that mean I have to wear whatever is in here?” Will questioned nervously as Nico saw him peek in the gold bag at its contents like he was afraid something might jump out at him.

Nico fought back a grin and kept his focus on his own bag, finding a new pair of black skinny jeans (that was probably a good thing, a few of the pairs he had were becoming shockingly tight). He tossed the new pair of pants over his shoulder with the shirt as he replied, “You don’t have to but who knows, you might like it.” Mitchell did seem to have a knack for understanding someone’s personal style and managing to …. elevate it. It wasn’t like Nico was imagining what clothes Mitchell might have bought Will, how put together Will might look and getting excited- that would be weird, right?

“I guess,” Will replied doubtfully as he took another cautious look inside his gold bag.

There were two more pairs of pants in Nico’s bag, one pair of black sweat pants and a pair of slacks. Under those was a handwritten note from Mitchell because the son of Aphrodite could write in beautiful cursive and was weirdly proud of the fact so he handwrote everything even though his spelling sucked (not that Nico could really judge on that front). The note was more like directions for what Nico should wear with what because apparently Nico couldn’t be trusted to match black with black.

Nico only skimmed the note before returning it to the bottom of the bag followed by all the clothes he didn’t plan to wear before tossing the shirt and pants he was actually going to wear on the bed. Unfortunately, the one thing Mitchell hadn’t included in his overly-extravagant birthday gift was briefs which meant Nico would either have to search the floor for the pair he had worn the day before for maybe an hour after he and Will had showered or get a fresh pair from his dresser.

The mess of their discarded clothes were scattered on the floor of the cabin like a connect the dot portrait of their path to the bed the night before. Nico’s discarded briefs weren’t immediately evident on the floor but he was sure just based on the logic that his briefs were closer to the bed than he was to his dresser. Lazily and to some extent the drive to get things over with Nico decided to rummage through the clothes on the floor. He kicked bundles of black fabric and if they seemed like they might be what he was looking for he bent over to further examine items.

The second time Nico bent down to pick up an article of clothing, it was a t-shirt, Nico just gave up on searching the floor. He walked across the room, pulled open a drawer with more force than was entirely necessary, and grabbed a new pair of briefs- that was another unexpected thing about (underwear) modeling, he now had an overabundance of underwear because every time he was on set Mr. Bellomi gave him several items from the new line to keep.

Nico started back toward his bed with a pair of clean briefs in hand but only made it a few steps before the heat of Will’s gaze became too much to ignore. Glancing up he found Will watching him, his normally light eyes dark with what Nico assumed was lust. The intensity of his boyfriend’s gaze was too much for Nico. Glancing up from the twisted bit of fabric in his hands Nico questioned, “What?”

Will blushed and downcasted his eyes slightly. “Nothing,” he replied unconvincingly.

Nico cocked his head to one side as a show disbelief. “You were staring,” he pointed out trying not to sound as bashful as he felt. Even Nico realized how much he had grown in a year (or, oh gods, two) but Will still always managed to twist him into a weird knot of boldness and insecurity that even Nico had a hard time explaining.

Will’s broad shoulders lifted in a shrug. He peeked up at Nico his cheeks slightly pinked. “I was just thinking about how beautiful you are,” he admitted bashfully.

 _Oh,_ _gods_ , Nico’s stomach did a weird little flip as all the blood in his body seemed to rush to his face making his cheeks burn. He took a sudden interest in his bare feet in hopes that Will wouldn’t notice how red with embarrassment his face was. It was times like these that made Nico miss his overgrown curls, it was always easier to hide behind the unwieldy mess. “Gods Will, that was so cheesy,” he complained weakly. It was hard to sound sincere when he wasn’t, it may have been embarrassing to hear Will compliment him in any way but, at the same time, it also reassured him. Will meant the things he said, as seemingly impossible as that was.

“Maybe,” Will offered sounding unconvinced. “But it’s true,” he retorted sincerely.

Nico continued to twist his briefs in his hands as his face cooled slightly. He managed to look up in hopes of meeting Will’s eyes and quickly discovered that was a bad idea. Will had chosen that moment to finally abandon the bed, he had tossed aside the blankets (and all the modesty they had offered) and climbed out of the bunk. In all of his naked glory, Will stretched, his arms reaching up toward the ceiling, his legs grew tense as he pushed up on his toes, and his butt cheeks clenched as he muscles rippled.

The sight had other parts of Nico turning warm while the son of Hades struggled to remember why they were getting out of bed rather than having hot sex. A muffled laugh came from just outside cabin 13’s door as if cued by Nico’s straying thoughts reminding him of the why of their current situation. It just wasn’t fair that Will looked so tempting. Nico did his best to ignore the heat coursing through his veins as he spoke, “Will you please get dressed?” It was meant to be a requested but, unfortunately, enough of his more base desires showed through in his voice to sound weak and uncertain.

Will turned enough to peek at Nico over his shoulder and immediately grinned like he had just won something and was incredibly proud of that. “You sure you really want me to do that?” He questioned with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Nico twisted the black fabric in his grasp with more force than he had before. He sighed with resignation and decided to admit the truth, which in the situation with Will that might have been risky. “Honestly, no. Not even a little,” Will’s smile widened and he practically beamed like the sun which just made him look better (it was really so unfair). “Which is exactly why you need to get dressed, preferably quickly.”

“Fine,” Will let out an exaggerated huff and started examining the floor aimlessly. He looked around the scattered clothes around the floor for a few seconds before looking back up at Nico (who obviously hadn’t been staring at Will bare backside and thick thighs longingly). “Have you seen my….well anything?” he questioned as he gestured around the room.

Nico glanced at the floor which really did look like a clothes bomb had gone off in the night and scattered bits of fabric everywhere. “Good luck,” Nico offered as an admission of defeat. He thought he saw something yellow under what was Hazel’s bunk when she visited from New Roman, and he was pretty sure Will’s boxers had been yellow. Honestly, the only attention Nico had paid the article of clothing the night before was to get them off Will’s body. “But it’s really what you get for throwing your clothes around,” he pointed out as he dragged his fingers through his hair.

“Hey,” Will protested with a wide grin, his hand resting on his hip which added to the aesthetic. “I wasn’t the one that undressed me last night so you were the one that did the throwing,” he pointed out teasingly.

Oh, right, Nico thought once again blushing slightly with embarrassment at the reminder. He had been kind of …. frantic in the way he had helped Will disrobe but he really didn’t think that he could be blamed for that. “Well, it really didn’t make sense that you got dressed after the shower,” Nico retorted in his own defense. He still wasn’t sure what Will had been thinking when it came to that. Sure, they had just done stuff in the shower but that certainly didn’t mean they were done for the evening and Will was always telling him they could always just stay naked.

A small smile spread across Will’s face and a slight pink spread across his cheeks at the memory. “Fair point,” he agreed with another slightly defeated look toward the clothes scattered here and there on the floor. He let out a resigned sigh and reached for the gold gift bag still resting on the bed. He pulled the bag closer and peeked once again at the contents of the bags suspiciously. “So, it looks like I don’t have much choice but to wear whatever Mitchell brought,” Will declared clearly not completely happy about that.

“Guess not,” Nico shrugged not trying to sound too excited by that prospect.

Will started pulling clothes out of the bag without much comment although Nico heard him let out a few quiet noises that sounded like the sounds of happy surprise. Nico took the opportunity to step into his briefs before returning to the bed to stand at Will’s side and start to get dressed.

He tugged on his new pair of skinny jeans, which were maybe a little more on the tight side than he had expected but still managed to be shockingly comfortable. He was pushing his belt through the final loop when Will let out a bit of a hiss that caught his attention. When he looked up he found Will staring down at the contents of the present with a nervously confused expression.  “Ah…its weird that he got me underwear, right?” he questioned looking up as he pulled a pair of white briefs out of the bag. He was holding the underwear pinched between his thumb and forefinger at the waistband like he didn’t want to touch them any more than absolutely possible.

“Oh,” Nico forced back a smile. Not only was Will’s reaction really cute but Nico now understood way Mitchell had given them both clothes. Will’s present was really for Nico as well, Will was going to look like an actual god in those snug briefs. “Those are for his father’s line,” he explained casually, happy that he was able to keep his excitement hidden. “They’re what I…” Nico paused trying to find the right word. If he wanted to be accurate he would have said model but while Will had gotten a lot better on that topic he still got weird when it was mentioned. If he just said they were what he wore that would also be accurate but it felt like it left out important information. In the end, Nico decided to just avoid the whole problem. As he grabbed his shirt and prepared to pull it on, he shrugged. “Well, you know.”

After pulling on his shirt, which was also kind of tight (Mitchell said that was how clothes were supposed to fit but Nico wasn’t sure about that) he looked at his boyfriend to see him staring at the briefs skeptically. “They look kind of tight,” Will pointed out worriedly.

“They are actually pretty comfortable,” Nico tried to reassure Will without the fact that he desperately wanted Will to just put on the underwear so he could enjoy what was sure to be a fantastic visual. “You should try them on at least.”

“I don’t know,” Will replied, his reluctance was apparent in everything he did and said. His voice was wavering, his expression was pensive, and his shoulders were tight. He seemed to take a moment to consider the white fabric in his grasp before he clearly came to a decision. Will tossed the briefs on the bed absently. “I think I’d rather go commando,” he declared happily like that was a totally normal thing to say or do.

Nico was pretty sure his brain may have imploded at that declaration. “Oh caro signore mi aiuti,” [Oh dear lord help me] he groaned as he raked his fingers through his hair before scrubbing at his face. Nico was a controlled person who could handle a lot of different obstacles in his day to day life but that was just too much. Spending the entire day knowing there was only a bit of fabric between himself and Will’s manhood was beyond even his self-control to handle. “Will,” Nico declared firmly as he turned to give his boyfriend his full attention. “You can’t expect me to focus on anything all day if I know you’re not wearing underwear.”

Will grinned and that mischievous glint returned to his bright eyes. “I think I would be okay with that,” he replied with a slightly teasing note.

Mitchell was one-hundred percent correct all the times he complained that Apollo boys were completely impossible (and very lucky they were so damn hot). Nico snatched the white briefs off the bed and held them out for Will to take. “Just try them on,” he urged as he decided to pretend like his face didn’t feel like he had dipped it in a volcano he was so embarrassed to let his desire show.  

Much to Nico’s horror, Will didn’t immediately take the briefs from his grasp. Instead, he looked between Nico and the white article of clothing in his hand and back again before understanding washed across his features. Will’s lips twitched as he clearly fought back a smile, and while that was obvious Nico still appreciated the effort. “Alright,” Will agreed as he finally took the briefs from Nico’s hand. Will shook out the fabric and arranged it in his grasp preparing to step into them. Before actually putting the briefs on Will locked eyes with Nico with a wide grin and said, “But only because it’s your birthday and I love so much.”

Nico rolled his eyes at Will, trying to seem at least a little dismissive or annoyed in order save some of his dignity. Of course, any thoughts of his dignity or seeming disinteresting went out the window when Will actually pulled the briefs on and snapped the waistband for effect. Nico had thought that Will would look amazing in the snug cut briefs but the actual sight was just so much better. The white fabric hugged Will’s muscular thighs and accented the swell of his manhood. Nico may have whimpered have whimpered at the sight of Will looking like a sex god.  

Will looked up from examining himself in the new article of clothing. At first, he actually had a look concern but it quickly turned to something teasing. “You alright there?” He questioned.

“Of course,” Nico replied quickly, too quickly, as he looked away. He tried to find a safe place to rest his eyes but nothing seemed to work so his eyes just seemed to bounce around nervously.  “Why?” he questioned nervously. As his mind tried to find safe thoughts, Nico realized he would probably need his jacket if he was going to walk to the infirmary. It was January after all, and his jacket was a far safer thing to think about then how badly he wanted to strip those white briefs off Will’s body using his teeth.

“You just whimpered,” Will pointed out, Nico could hear the grin in his boyfriend’s voice.

“Oh?” Nico questioned with embarrassment. Nico dared to look in Will’s direction which was the worst idea he had ever had. Will was clearly very proud of himself and happy to display his perfect body. He had the thumb of his right hand hooked in the waistband of his briefs and he was wearing a cocky grin. Nico let out another little noise, which he could only curse himself for as it escaped his lips. He quickly looked away before he could embarrass himself further. “Didn’t realize,” he stated sounding about as convincing as Percy suggesting he was straight, or Jason trying to deny he had sexual thoughts about Percy.

“Is that so?” Will questioned playfully clearly not buying any of Nico’s denial. “Then you can tell me what you think?” He questioned sounding at least somewhat sincere. But, of course, he then added in the most suggestive tone Nico had ever heard. “They feel a bit snug.”

The briefs were _definitely_ snug. Nico didn’t have to look to know that, the image of Will standing there was still vividly clear in his mind. “They look fine,” Nico replied as he glanced over his shoulder in the opposite direction to see his leather jacket hanging off the back of his desk chair.

“You didn’t look,” Will noted seriously.

 _Dear gods_! Nico thought mournfully. Wasn’t it his birthday? Didn’t that mean things were supposed to go his way? He was more than happy to spend hours worshiping Will’s sexy form when one of Will’s siblings wasn’t standing right outside the door (they had already done that once that weekend, they really shouldn’t push their luck). He sighed heavily and wondered if his life would be easier if he was dating someone who was even slightly less physically attractive. Nico took a deep breath in hopes of steeling himself before turning to take a quick look. Will was still grinning at him and he still looked gorgeous, that was all Nico really needed to see before looking away. Nico did manage not to whimper this time so at least he had that going for him. “They look fine,” he repeated quickly.

“Just fine?” Will questioned playfully.

Nico sighed heavily, Will could clearly tell he was flustered and was having fun with him. Nico turned and picked a spot just above Will’s shoulder to stare. He absolutely knew he couldn’t trust himself to actually look at Will. “They look so good I really want to throw you on the bed and pull them off with my teeth,” he admitted begrudgingly. “Happy?”

“Extremely,” Will replied like a giddy child before leaning in and pressing a soft Nico’s cheek. His lips were soft and warm against Nico’s skin for the briefest moments before he pulled away. “I’m all for the throwing me down and pulling these things off with your teeth just so you know.”

“Maybe later,” Nico retorted as he quickly turned on his heels and walked toward his desk to grab his jacket. More importantly, the action put some distance between himself and the temptation that was his impossible boyfriend. The room actually seemed cooler and his brain seemed to become clearer with more distance he put between himself and Will. “Now get dressed already,” he requested as he swiped his jacket off his desk chair.

Will teased him some but actually put on the clothes that Mitchell had brought without seriously pushing the idea of them staying in cabin 13 and fooling around. That was definitely for the best because Nico doubted he had the self-restraint to keep saying no when he really didn’t want to. He definitely owed Mitchell for pretty much Will’s whole outfit. Mitchell had really captured the best of Will’s typical look and it just seemed to accent all Will’s best features.

Once they were both dressed, Will pulled on his ski jacket and they both stepped outside. Austin and Mitchell were standing on the porch of the Hades cabin, the son of Aphrodite was leaning against the porch railing near the steps clearly faking disinterest at Austin who was standing at his side and leaning in to speak softly in his ear (or as Austin called it: his move). Austin clearly preoccupied with flirting with his boyfriend so Mitchell noticed their exit first.

Actually, Mitchell noticed them immediately and gasped in such a dramatic fashion Nico was sure only children of Aphrodite could manage it. “Oh my gods,” he exclaimed excitedly as he clearly looked both Nico and Will over critically. Normally, or with anything else, that would have made Nico feel uncomfortable for a variety of reasons: as silly as everyone thought it was Nico still felt awkward when he knew people were looking at him like that, and he definitely wasn’t comfortable with other guys looking at Will that way but he was just used to Mitchell at that point and knew he didn’t mean it like that. “I’m so good I impress myself,” Mitchell declared with pride. “You’re both ninety-five percent there.”

Nico just rolled his eyes at that and he was certain he noticed Austin shake his head dismissively. That was another thing Nico had grown accustomed to, to Mitchell perfection was an unattainable thing that you were to constantly strive for even though you knew you would never achieve. To Mitchell, ninety-five percent was a pretty big compliment.

“Thank you?” Will replied sounding confused and uncertain.

Mitchell ignored Will in favor of scrutinizing their appearance further. Several long seconds passed and Nico could feel Will squirming uncomfortably at his side before Mitchell’s intense gaze broke. Of course, that didn’t mean the son of Aphrodite was done, it simply meant he found something he could fix or tweak. Mitchell pushed off the railing forcing Austin to take a step back out of his space. As he stepped toward them he pulled a small jar out of his back pocket. Nico recognized the tiny jar almost immediately and audibly groaned at what he knew was coming.

Mitchell’s response was to make a tsk sound as he twisted the top off the jar and pulled a bit of its contents on his fingers before recapping the container and returned it to his pocket. Working the product in his hands, the son of Aphrodite shook his head at Nico disapprovingly. “I have given you literally the easiest hair cut to style and you still refuse to do it,” Mitchell chastised.

Nico stood there and begrudgingly let Mitchell work the hair produce into his hair. “We’ve already talk about this,” he replied flatly. Nico was just never going to find it important to waste time primping like Austin and Mitchell did.

Mitchell ran his fingers through Nico’s hair a few more times before taking a step back to examine his work. After a few seconds of scrutiny and the careful readjustment of a few strands of Nico’s hair, “There, much better.” Mitchell declared happily.

The son of Aphrodite spared Nico a few more seconds of attention before turning toward Will, who’s reaction was so dramatic it was comical. Will took a large step back, colliding with the closed door of the Hades cabin, and held up his hands like he was prepared to physically defend himself from an attack. “My hair’s fine,” he stated sounding truly panicked.

“That really depends on your feelings about split ends,” Mitchell replied with a casual shrug. “But we’ll talk later,” he offered before turning on his heels and walking off the porch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thank you for reading, and don't forget comments and kudos feed my soul


	49. Infirmary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday,
> 
> First and Foremost: Smut warning- This chapter (and the next several) contain references to smut but not smut occurs in this chapter you have now been warned.
> 
> Also, I did not translate the Italian in this chapter. This was a deliberate choice on my part, I think it reads better without the Italian translated. 
> 
> You may have noticed I have updated the total number of chapters for this fic (it went up). I did this for a variety of reasons but this is still just an estimate.
> 
> I have also updated the tags to better reflect some of the content. If I have tagged something you don't care to read you have two choices: Continue reading this fic to spite that and who knows you might like the way I write it (And hello to you people, I think you're great), or you can just stop reading this fic (I promise I will not take offense). I apologize that not everything was in the tags to start but this fic is largely an amalgamation of random ideas I have and it is constantly shifting so sometimes the content is a surprise even to me.
> 
> I apologize that the last paragraph was a bit bitchy but I feel it needed to be said. 
> 
> Now, on to the fun stuff!

Will was annoyed with the situation but did his best to hide his feelings because Nico seemed content. He had spent months thinking about just how he was going to make Nico’s birthday something the son of Hades would never forget and spending time in the infirmary hadn’t made his list of ideas.

The morning had started out so good too, Nico had woken up earlier than Will had expected and had been all riled up and…. _dominate_ (gods, the thought still made him quiver). Then there had to be some kind of Italian related emergency at the infirmary and his plans were completely thrown off the rails. Well, actually Will’s plans were more like mildly delayed but he still didn’t like it.

Nico and Mitchell chatted back and forth as the four of them walked to the infirmary. Nico had intertwined his fingers with Will’s almost as soon as they stepped off the porch of the Hades cabin which was nice, and sweet, and a more of a show of affection than Will was used to Nico showing so readily.

Will still found himself surprised to hear Nico talk so freely with Mitchell, Will had never seen Nico act like that with anyone outside of himself and the seven. And obviously those situations were different, Nico and Will were dating, and with the seven there was always that sense of family- they were more like Nico’s siblings than his friends. In all reality there was absolutely no reason Nico and Mitchell should cross paths let alone be friends but there they were talking and joking around like typical teenagers.

At one point, Will gave Austin an inquisitive look in hopes of getting an explanation for of the friendship he was seeing evidence of between Nico and Mitchell. Mitchell must have noticed the look that he and his brother exchanged because Austin got out about half a word before Mitchell smacked him hard on the arm and stated firmly that if he made one threesome joke he wouldn’t get laid for the next month. That just raised more questions for Will than it really answered and Austin’s only comment was “They’re just like that, you get used to it.”

They had just cleared the cabins when Will accepted he would just have to put aside his curiosity and annoyance with the situation and tried to enjoy the moment. There were things for Will to enjoy about it too: Nico hands were cool and calloused from years of sword fighting but more importantly, it felt familiar in Will’s grasp and seemed to fit perfectly in Will’s own hand. They walked so closely their arms brushed against each other as they walked and Will could smell the earthy fragrance of Nico’s shampoo. If they had just been strolling together around camp aimlessly it could have actually been considered romantic.  

When they reached the infirmary, Will was immediately distracted by the complete lack of anyone sitting at the front desk that he didn’t see that a few of the beds were actually occupied until he heard the commotion. The moment they stepped foot in the door there was a rush of voices coming from the patient area.

A little girl, maybe eight- or nine-years-old, ran and met them at the front desk crying large tears as she spoke it what Will could have sworn was Italian. She paid Will, Austin, and Mitchell little mind as she ran straight to Nico. Behind the little girl, two younger teen boys followed with none of her enthusiasm. They were both fourteen or fifteen and Will was pretty sure they were both newer campers because he didn’t remember them from the Battle of Camp Half-blood.

One of the boys was wearing a concerned express and looked very similar to the little girl chattering in Italian at Nico, they both had dark hair and large dark eyes, Will figured they had to be half-siblings but since he didn’t recognize either he had no idea who their godly parent was. The other boy Will actually recognized as a child of Ares, he couldn’t remember his name but he did remember Clarisse bringing him to the infirmary so Will could give him the “it is totally fine to be gay” talk (because that was _somehow_ Will’s job). Ares kid walked behind the other boy looking displeased about whatever was going on.

Will really wanted to figure out what cabin the other boy and the little girl was from but the little girl let out a large hiccup before returning to babbling through her tears and it caught his attention. Glancing down at the little girl he couldn’t see anything obviously wrong, so he looked to Nico inquisitively in hopes that Nico was making more sense of the situation than he was.

Nico only let the little girl talk for about thirty seconds, and Will doubted any of it had been coherent before interrupting her “Anna, tesoro, you have to slow down.” he stated he voice soft and reassuring. It was a side of Nico Will hadn’t really seen before but it was nice. “What’s wrong?”

The little girl, Anna, Will guessed, blinked once before holding up her left arm and turned it so a large, ugly looking abrasion running from her elbow all the way up to her wrist. The skin around the injury was visibly swollen and irritated looking which suggested that it was new while the hints green here and there suggested she had gotten the injury by falling in the grass.

“She fell,” The demigod Will assumed was the girl’s brother offered. There was an odd quality to the way he offered the information that made Will suspect there was more to the story than that. He thought of pointing out that after his years of experience Will was pretty sure that she had to fall pretty hard to get a nasty gash like that. It looked more like she had been running pretty fast, tripped, and skidded across the grass.

“Who leaves a crying, injured child alone?” The Ares kid shot the question in Austin’s direction with clear disapproval.

“I was gone for like two minutes,” Austin replied dismissively. That had to be a massive exaggeration, Will knew he and Nico hadn’t really moved quickly to get dressed and out of the Hades cabin. He wasn’t going to say it out loud but the Ares kid had a point. Austin clearly wasn’t worried about it based on the way he waved the Ares kid off, “Calm down.”

The other boy’s brows furrowed and he looked toward Austin with annoyance. “She’s injured,” he pointed out firmly.

“I went to get _assistance_ ,” Austin replied with an edge of annoyance in his voice as he waved a hand in the direction of Nico and Will like it was almost an afterthought. “She wasn’t going to bleed to death and you two are here now so clearly she wasn’t alone that long.”

The Ares kid rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “Utter incompetence,” He muttered which was actually a sign of restraint from a child of Ares. Will could remember how Clarisse would stomp around barking orders whenever she had to be in the infirmary. In general, children of the war god tended to be the take charge type, sometimes to an unnecessary extent.

Anna let out a loud sniffle as if to remind them that she was in fact still there. Will felt a twinge of guilt for getting drawn into the back and forth between Austin and the Ares kid instead of keeping his attention where it should have been: the injured little girl. A quick glance to his side Will saw the little girl had shifted closer to Nico, big crocodile tears visible in her eyes even though she was clearly trying not to cry.

On his other side, Austin huffed like he was going shoot something back at the Ares kid in retort. “Okay enough,” Will huffed interrupting before anything more could be said (or thrown, that was definitely a possibility). “There is an injured little girl here so cut the bickering,” he stated firmly with a gesture to where Anna stood as a reminder.

Will had had plenty of experience dealing with injured campers but not a lot with dealing with injured kids. Before the Titan War the occasional young kid showed up at camp, like Annabeth, but for the most part, demigods didn’t seem to make their way to camp Half-Blood until they were twelve or thirteen when the monster activity tended to get worse for them. After the Titan War that had changed some with the inclusion of the minor gods and all the gods promising to acknowledge their demigod children’s’ existence. Now, they had a handful of younger demigods, and while they did get injured training like everyone else they were often dealt with by Chiron or one of Will’s half-sisters.

In short, Will felt unpracticed and uncertain which wasn’t something he was used to feeling in the infirmary but he was determined not to let his insecurities show. He bent down some to be more at the little girl’s height and put on a friendly and (hopefully) reassuring smile. “Hi hon, I’m Will,” he introduced himself before gesturing slightly to her injured arm which she was cradling against her chest protectively. “Can I take a look?” He asked hopefully.

She blinked her doe eyes at him for a moment before looking up at Nico with a questioning expression. “Può essere affidato?” She sniffled in Italian which made Will feel more than a little left out.

Nico clearly wanted to smirk and was fighting the urge which just made Will want to know what the little girl had said even more. “È un grande medico, molto meglio di me,” He spoke to Anna with clear amusement in his voice. Nico’s soulful eyes flicked in Will’s direction for a half a second before returning to Anna and Will could have sworn Nico’s cheeks pinked ever so slightly. “Puoi fidarti di lui, lo faccio.”

Why hadn’t Will learned Italian? Why didn’t his school offer Italian as a foreign language (when was Will honestly going to use Spanish?). He wished he understood what the two were talking about. Whatever Nico had said had made Anna think, she looked back and forth between Nico and Will for a moment with clear uncertainty before she looked up at Nico nervously. “Ma rimarrete?”

Nico smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder, “Ovviamente” He replied which seemed to make Anna brighten right up. He offered her his hand which she took, sliding her tiny hand into Nico’s. Will couldn’t help but think that Nico’s hand actually looked large gripping Anna’s dainty fingers as he began to lead her to a nearby cot.

It was actually kind of a sweet sight, and from behind with their dark hair and fair skin, Nico and Anna almost looked like they were related. Nico wasn’t someone most people thought of as having a soft, but he seemed like a natural at handling the younger camper. He was almost….. _fatherly_.

“Oh my gods,” Austin grumbled close enough to Will’s ear that he was likely the only one who could clearly him “I can literally _hear_ you growing ovaries.”

“Shut up!” Will exclaimed as he turned and gave his half-brother a little shove to accentuate his point.

“Whatever dude,” Austin replied with a chuckle as he easily caught his balance “You’re the one that just adopted adorable twins in your mind.”

If Will burst into flames at that moment he wouldn’t have been surprised. Okay, yeah seeing Nico do such a good job dealing with an upset and injured child definitely had Will that Nico would be a good dad. And, yes Will had never really thought about having kids but seeing that Nico was so good with kids made him think that maybe…. Will didn’t know what was wrong with him this weekend but his brain just seemed to default to thinking about things he was too young to be thinking about like marriage and kids.

His face was probably the same shade as a cherry blow pop but there was really nothing he could do about that. Without additional comment, Will turned on his heels and walked over to where Nico was helping the little girl onto one of the cots. The other four demigods followed, a general grumble of discontent coming from the Ares kid that Austin was gracious enough to ignore. The other boy, the one Will had assumed was Anna’s brother, was practically radiating a nervous sort of energy that was making even Will feel a bit jumpy.

Shockingly enough Austin and Mitchell seemed to tag along as well. Mitchell really had no reason to be in the infirmary and not to stereotype the Aphrodite cabin but they weren’t exactly known around camp for going out of their way to help with things. Austin, while he was a child of Apollo, had very little interest in the infirmary or really handling anything medical, his interest lied more with the musical arena. Normally, if Austin saw a chance to get out of working in the infirmary he would take it no questions asked.

As Will pulled a chair up to the side of Anna’s cot, Mitchell tossed himself on the next unoccupied cot and let out a loud dramatic sigh before reaching into a nearby drawer and producing of all things a glossy men’s fashion magazine. Why there was a men’s fashion magazine just sitting in a drawer in the infirmary, Will didn’t have a clue but he planned on finding out at some point. Austin pushed a portable exam table next to Will’s chair before taking a seat on the cot at Mitchell’s feet.

Will wasn’t really expecting help with the situation, and he didn’t really need it. He might not have had a lot of experience with having children as patients but he had plenty of practice dealing with minor injuries like Anna’s. Even the audience he currently had consisting of the Ares kid and Anna’s nervous brother Will wasn’t concerned about his ability to handle the situation.

Will pulled on a pair of gloves, reached across the exam table, grabbed a bottle of disinfected, poured some into a disposable bowl, and dabbed a cotton ball into the liquid. Turning his attention to Anna, who was waiting patiently as she sat on the cot her feet dangling over the edge as he held her injured are up on display. “So how did this happen?” He questioned more to distract the little girl from the initial discomfort that would come with the application of the disinfection.

Will hadn’t even pressed the soaked cotton ball to Anna’s skin and the girl definitely hadn’t been given enough time to even begin answering the Ares kid chimed in. “Why does that matter?” He questioned far more aggressively than seemed necessary. One look over his shoulder and Will realized the question seemed aggressive due to the clear underlying anxiety. Both the Ares kid and the other boy looked like they wanted to crawl out of their own skin or run from the room.

Why did those two seem so nervous, and why were they hovering so much? Will found himself suddenly suspicious of the two demigods very presence in the infirmary. Pranks were also a thing around camp and some of the campers could take things too far at times, the Ares cabin didn’t have a particularly good track record. “Considering our-” he gestured between himself and Nico who had taken a seat on a stool next to Anna’s cot “-morning was rudely interrupted so we could be here, so yes I consider it relevant,” he retorted not hiding his annoyance with the question. “Neither of you actually have to be here, so keep quiet and let me do my job or I will make you leave.”

The Ares kid…. _Justin_ , that was his name, Will knew he would remember it eventually.

Justin opened his mouth like he was going to argue but the other boy gave him a hard nudge followed by a stern look and Justin’s mouth snapped shut before saying a word.

With that taken care of at least for the moment Will turned back to his patient with an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that sweetheart,” he offered “Why don’t you tell me how this happened?”

Anna blinked at him but remained silent. Nervously, Will wondered how much English she understood, what if to her he just sounded like he was talking gibberish. Will shifted his gaze to Nico looking for help. Nico gave him a little smirk before turning his attention to the little girl, he patted her knee reassuringly “Puoi dirmi che va bene.”

Anna’s eyes darted upward past Will to the two demigods standing behind him before dropping down to her hands for a moment. When she looked up Will couldn’t be sure but he would have sworn she was blushing before she leaned toward Nico and started mumbling in rapid fire Italian.

Will had been with Nico for almost a year and as such he had had a bit of exposure to the Italian language. A lot of the time he could catch a word or two that he recognized but Anna was speaking so quickly and in such a low tone that Will knew there was just absolutely no way. So instead of trying, he watched Nico trying to gauge his boyfriend’s reaction.

As Anna spoke Nico clearly had to work hard to fight back a smile and as she continued he began to lose the battle. The little girl finished her story with a few wild hand gestures and a rather dramatic sigh. At that point, Nico had given up on trying not to smile and was just covering his mouth with his hand instead. If Will didn’t know better he would have sworn Nico was actually trying not to laugh but that just wouldn’t make sense considering he was talking to an injured kid.

“Oh,” Nico managed muffled through his hands. He moved to drop his hand but seemed to think better of it and brought it right back to cover his mouth. His second attempt went better, he dropped his hand and took a deep breath like he was very deliberately trying to pull himself together. He turned to Anna with a serious expression that he was clearly struggling to maintain before going into a long winded and stilted speech in Italian which Will was pretty sure was the first time he had heard Nico speak Italian and didn’t find it sexy. Nico clearly felt …. _uncomfortable_ as he spoke, he took several awkward pauses where he was either struggling to find the words or just really didn’t want to say it.

When Nico finally finished Will couldn’t help but look at him questioning. “Want to clue me in?” He asked curiously.

Nico sighed and turned before seeming to look over Will’s shoulder with visible annoyance. “There is absolutely no such thing as privacy at this camp,” he stated firmly speaking to the demigods standing at Will’s back. “I understand that can make certain elements of a relationship difficult-”

“Oh, gods stop,” The Ares kid interrupted with a groan.

“This might be the most embarrassing thing ever,” Added the other boy.

“I am _so_ glad I came back to camp to visit,” Mitchell declared excitedly from where he was still sprawled out on a cot. When Will looked in his direction he found that the son of Aphrodite had lost interest in his magazine and was instead giving the other demigods his full attention. “What were you doing exactly?” Mitchell questioned a curious glint in his eye that Will was pretty sure only a child of Aphrodite could muster. “And where?”

A quick glance over his shoulder and Will saw that the Ares kid was trying to look angry but was missing the mark a bit as he also tried avoiding actually looking at anyone. The other boy had buried his face in his hands and was grumbling quietly. Will sympathized, he and Nico had been walked in on so many times it was hard not to relate. “It’s not that big of a deal,” he offered, hoping to be reassuring, “I’m pretty sure it happens to everyone at camp at least once.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Austin scoffed immediately. “There are tons of little hideaways around camp where no one will catch you fooling around,” He stated matter-of-factly, which in all reality if anyone was going to know that sort of thing it would be Austin. Will wanted to argue that hadn’t been his experience but he wasn’t given a chance. “And what would you know about it, your boyfriend has his own cabin.”

“That you barged into this morning.” Will reminded more of his genuine annoyance slipping into his words than he intended.

“I knocked,” Austin offered as a defense although he said it so casually it didn’t seem like it actually bothered him much. And really why should it, it wasn’t like he was the one that got interrupted. “Besides, I was like ninety-five percent sure you two weren’t actually doing anything,” Will glared at his brother with all the fury he could muster, Mitchell let out one of those fake coughs like he was telling Austin to rethink that statement without actually saying anything, and Austin apparently took the hint. “Maybe it was more like seventy-five percent but still.”

“Well, you were seventy-five percent wrong,” Will grumbled without thinking as he turned his attention back to Anna and her injured arm, dabbing at the cuts with the disinfectant coated cotton ball.

Will had to give the little girl credit she didn’t make a sound at the initial sting of the disinfect, or if she did it was lost under the sound of Nico’s protest. “Will!”

 _Shit_ , that was probably not a good thing to let slip on Nico’s birthday, Will realized far too late. He met Nico’s gaze which was much closer to a glare then he would have liked and sent him an apologetic look. Nico’s expression softened some, which wasn’t ideal but was at least a good sign. On the next cot over Austin actually snickered with clear amusement. “Hey,” Will’s half-brother offered still not sounding even remotely apologetic. “At least I wasn’t Jackson.”

“Oh gods,” Will groaned as he pushed away the memory and tried to focus on his work. He was only partially successful. “Please, don’t remind me about that.”

“How do I not know about this?” Mitchell questioned clearly shocked and appalled by his lack of knowledge.

Nico, who had been quiet on the topic, huffed which caught Will’s attention. He guessed he shouldn’t have been surprised but one look at Nico looked seriously annoyed with the current topic. “I’ve blocked it out of my memory.” He informed flatly. “Now let’s talk about something else.” The way Nico said it made it clear that no one else in the room really had a say in the matter.

Will understand Nico attitude on the subject, while Will was typically pretty open on the subject of sex that still wasn’t a particularly happy memory. Will wasn’t actually mad about it, at least not like he had been at the moment (in the moment Will had definitely wanted to throttle Percy Jackson) but it was still an annoyance.

            “But I have so many questions,” Mitchell whined overdramatically. That was definitely a child of Aphrodite thing, Will mentally observed.

            “I know!” Austin agreed with wasn’t helping the situation in the slightest. “I was only able to get so much out of Percy before Nico made him stop talking.” He admitted sounding disappointed.

That raised a few questions for Will but one look in his boyfriend and Will could tell it wasn’t the time. “Shouldn’t you be doing your job?” Nico questioned seriously as he glared at Austin. The look was the closest thing Will had seen to Nico’s classic son of Hades glare in a while.            

The smile slid off Austin’s face and was replaced with an expression of confusion. “What?” He questioned, echoing Will’s own thoughts.

Will was glad because while he may have been curious he didn’t actually intend on asking, at least not in the moment. He was still happy to listen to Nico and Austin go back and forth as he attended to his patient and if he was lucky he would gather some information because he was feeling a bit like a foreigner which wasn’t a sensation he was used to feeling at camp.

Will spared Nico a quick glance as he applied a generous amount of antibacterial ointment to Anna’s arm. Nico had retired his glare and was now staring at Austin like he wasn’t sure if Austin was messing with him or if he seriously didn’t know what Nico was saying. After a long stretch of silence that made it abundantly clear Austin seriously didn’t know, Will heard Nico huffed before pointing rather dramatically. For half a second Will thought Nico was pointing at him but quickly realized he was actually pointing passed him to the two younger demigods standing behind him.

Austin followed Nico’s gesture before realization blossomed on his face. “Oh, right,” he declared as he hopped off the cot without any real enthusiasm although not with the visible dread he had with some infirmary work so Will guessed that was something. Once standing Austin took a moment to smooth out his clothes (because gods forbid his shirt look slightly wrinkled for a few seconds) before looking back up to Nico. “You’re going to help, right?” he questioned.

Nico chuckled softly before shaking his head in the negative, the motion of which pushed as few of Nico’s perfectly placed hairs slightly out of place. Will liked the look of Nico a bit disheveled, not that a few hairs out of place really counted as being disheveled, but it probably had something to do with associations (Will associated a disheveled looking Nico with good things, namely sex). From the corner of his eye, Will saw Mitchell tense and glare as a lock of Nico’s hair broke free from the rest (and the hair gel) to slide down Nico’s forehead to hang free by Nico’s ear. Really, how was Will not supposed to grin at the child of Aphrodite get so visibly worked up over something Will knew Nico couldn’t care less about.

Nico either didn’t notice Mitchell’s reaction or didn’t care (or both). He crossed his arms over his chest, a sure sign that he couldn’t be swayed. “I can’t think of anything I would rather _not_ do on my birthday,” he explained flatly.

“Oh come on!” Austin whined. As Will discarded the half used tube of ointment on to the portable exam table he thought about telling Austin that historically speaking whining wasn’t the best way to get Nico to do things. Sure, Will had gotten it to work on a few occasions but usually in conjunction with other strategies (like nakedness) and he didn’t think Austin would be doing that. “It will be fun,” Austin declared in a way that had Will sure of exactly one thing- whatever Austin was asking for Nico’s help with it would absolutely not be fun.

“No, it won’t,” Nico stated confirming Will’s suspicions “And I’m not a child of Apollo, it isn’t my job.”

“Dude, you’re pretty much an honorary member of the Apollo cabin,” Austin argued.

Will grabbed the largest adhesive bandage he could find and ripped open its packaging. It did seem that his half-siblings had sort of adopted his boyfriend in his absence. Sure, Will had asked Kayla and Austin to keep a general eye on Nico, not that Nico wasn’t capable of taking care of himself but he wasn’t good at reaching out to people when he needed help. Will just didn’t want Nico to get lonely and do something regrettable (like leaving camp). He had trusted that his sibling would follow through with his request but he hadn’t really expected to come back and find that they had really made Nico part of the family so to speak. It was more than he could have ever asked for and he was beyond happy about it.  

Nico smiled back at Austin darkly, “You have fun with that.”

Austin sighed heavily, “Lame.”

The reaction twisted Nico’s dark smile into something of amusement. “You have no one to blame but yourself,” he offered not sounding the slightest bit sympathetic.

Will couldn’t help the fact the curious look he gave Nico as he gently pressed the bandage to Anna’s arm. He was glad that Nico was so involved in everything going on at camp but it did feel strange to be in the dark about something that was apparently a child of Apollo thing. Nico may have noticed but Austin didn’t give him a chance to answer. “Hey,” Will’s half-brother declared defensively as he pointed an accusatory finger in Nico’s direction. “I just wanted an appropriate variety of lubes available, you’re the one who negotiated poorly for that.”

The various reactions around the room were as amusing as they were quick. Nico’s hands moved quickly to cover the little girl’s ears as he glared disapprovingly at Austin. Behind Will, one of the younger made a choking spattering sound followed by a painful cough noise. If Will had had to guess he would have figured one of the boys had just choked on their own saliva. For his own part, Will stopped his hand half way to throwing a bit of wadded up trash in the direction of the trash can. He couldn’t have heard that right, could he?

“Oh, my gods!” Nico hissed at Austin, his hands were still clasped over Anna’s ears. The girl looked annoyed by that fact but didn’t actually complain. “What is wrong with you!?!”

“What?” Austin questioned his voice just a little too loud to be considered entirely conversational but still several levels lower than the volume Nico had been at. The question must have been genuine because he stared at Nico inquisitively for a moment for before it seemed to click. Austin made a rather bold choice in visibly rolling his eyes and waving his hand dismissively, “She doesn’t speak English.”

Nico’s eyes went impossibly wide for a moment before he retorted forcefully, “Just because she doesn’t speak it doesn’t mean she doesn’t understand it!”

Austin’s whole stance remained casual, he clearly wasn’t very affected by Nico’s explanation or the fact that Nico looked more than ready to throttle him. “Then why are you always translating for her?” Austin questioned a hint of pride coloring his tone like he had caught Nico in something. Will was one-hundred percent positive that his half-brother was going to die.

“Because it is nice to use my native tongue every once and awhile,” Nico replied in his own defense. His agitation was clearly visible, so much so Will found it surprising that the lights hadn’t flickered or dimmed as the two continued to go back and forth.

A bright spark of amusement appeared in Austin’s eyes as a wicked grin spread across his face. “From what I heard yesterday you use your native language _plenty_ ,” Austin retorted smugly.

Nico had come a long way for the shy guy that got all sputtery and nervous talking to Will about sexual stuff (even after they had started doing sexual stuff) Will couldn’t help but have noticed that. When they had first started dating Will quickly became aware of the duel states Nico lived in when it came to sex- he was definitely a sexual person (more so than Will would have expected) and had no problem acting sexual but struggled to actually talk about it. He had always blushed when Percy would make an inappropriate joke or ask an extremely private question. Will had been noticing the little changes for a while, even before he had left camp at the end of the summer (Nico had actually talked to Percy about sex stuff). Will took it as a compliment of course (and he hoped that wasn’t just a child of Apollo ego thing), it was like through their relationship Nico had become more comfortable with sex.

All that being said, the growth was much more than he thought or really expected and being back at camp was only working to highlight that fact. Will was pretty sure that whatever Nico and Austin had been talking about in the infirmary the day before had been about sex, they had actually had sex in the infirmary storage closet (Will still couldn’t believe that had actually happened), then Nico made a comment about how they hadn’t actually had sex yet that morning, and Will didn’t care how much Nico denied it Will was positive just by the way he acted at Mitchell’s mention that he had definitely talked to the son Aphrodite about sex stuff.

Yeah, Will didn’t think anyone would argue with him on that but he still wasn’t what Will would describe as being overly open about things and he definitely wouldn’t be considered a sharer. At Austin’s comment, Nico’s typically pale skin turned fire engine red, and his eyes seemed to flick quickly past everyone in attendance before settling for taking an interest in his boots. He didn’t drop his hands from Anna’s ears although his grip appeared to slip slightly. Anna was clearly still mostly deaf as she seemed to look from person to person with a confused expression.

Nico looked adorable when he was embarrassed. That was probably a horrible thing for Will to think but it was the truth. Sometimes, when they were alone Will would tease Nico to get him to blush (just a little, he wasn’t a monster) but never in public. “Austin!” Will exclaimed disapprovingly. He shot his half-brother a disapproving look.

“Hey,” Austin threw up his hands, palms out, in a fake display of defense “You two are the ones that decided to have loud sex in the infirmary storage closet, so really you have no one to blame but yourselves.”

Someone coughed like the had just choked out of surprise and for a split-second Will thought for sure it was Nico before his brain registered that the sound had come from behind him. A quick glance over his shoulder and Will saw the Ares kid was sputtering and clearly trying to not cough again (or maybe just do it more subtly) while the other boy patted his back absently as he stared between Nico and himself wide-eyed. Will thought that maybe he should say something, like deny it. He didn’t want wild rumors spreading around camp (did it count as a wild rumor if it was true?) but he was pretty sure there had been a rumor about he and Nico hooking up in the infirmary storage closet going around camp for months now it just happened to be true.

Will didn’t get a chance to even attempt to lie. Nico’s voice cut through his thoughts and demanded his attention. Will turned to see that any signs of embarrassment or bashfulness had drained from Nico’s features being replaced by his classic son of Hades glare all the heat from which was directed squarely at Austin.

Oh, there really was no way Austin was surviving this, Will thought as he watched the two waiting to see what Nico was going to do.

“WHAT did I just say!?!” Nico shouted pressing his hands more tightly over Anna’s little ears.

Mitchell snickered with amusement as he settled back on the cot and picked up his discarded fashion magazine. “Gods, you already sound like a dad,” he mused as he started flipping through the glossy pages.

Nico immediately turned his heated gaze on Mitchell, who either didn’t notice or didn’t care because he didn’t even bother to look up from his magazine. And Will couldn’t be completely sure but he thought he noticed a small grin spread across his face. Will’s attention had been so focused on Nico, Austin, and Mitchell he had sort of forgot all about Anna until she let out a loud huff “Questo è ridicolo! Non sono un ragazzo, perché non posso sentire!”

He wasn’t really sure what she had said but whatever it was it had Nico lowering his hands from her ears. He clearly didn’t like it and was poised to bring them right back up if Austin mouthed off again but he did it.

How Mitchell was aware of any of this happening Will couldn’t be sure but he apparently was or at least was aware of some of it. He paused to look up from his magazine and smirk at Nico knowingly “You are _such_ a dad.”

Was Will blushing? He felt like he was blushing. Will didn’t have any real experience with what real dads acted like for obvious reasons but Nico’s stern reprimand was definitely reminding him of those dads on the generic tv sitcoms, those dads that are supposed to be the really good ones (it wasn’t like Will ever watched those shows and wondered what it would be like to have a dad like that, that would have been a massive waste of time). Will always got the impression Nico would be a really good dad, he seemed to have the patience for it if that made sense. Will had probably spent more time thinking about what kind of dad Nico would be than he should have considering he didn’t know if Nico even wanted kids. That was probably a conversation they should have at some point in the future, like after they had lived together for a while. Nico thankfully was too busy trying not to pout to notice whatever awful shade of red Will was sure he had turned.

He didn’t get so lucky with Austin, although Austin didn’t do more than grin knowingly at him so he guessed it could have been worse. Will still ducked his head out of embarrassment, he seriously didn’t know what was going on with his brain lately, it just seemed to want to jump way ahead on the commitment scale.

“Fine,” Austin sighed apparently losing interest in Will which Will was infinitely grateful for. “The point is still valid and I really think it is ironic that you two are acting all bashful after yesterday but whatever,” he shrugged before turning to the two demigods at Will’s back. “Hornball one and two,” He addressed them in a commanding tone as he pointed to first one than the other. “Let’s go have an informative little chat so I can get on with my day,” he stated pushing off the cot where had been leaning and took a few steps toward the back of the infirmary.

Will was used to things changing a bit when he was away at camp. When he had returned home after the Battle of Manhattan there had been talk of adding more cabins and they had started construction on a few but by the time he got back to camp the following summer there were dozens of new cabins and so many more campers than he could have ever expected (he gained at least ten siblings). When he was younger it had stressed him out but that could have had something to do with the fact that the Titan War was looming but after a few years he had learned to just go with it. All that said, none of what Austin had said made any sense to him and more importantly the what it sounded like had Will concerned. Will shot Nico a curious look and only got a shrug in response as if he was saying it wasn’t a big deal or that Will shouldn’t be worried.

Will wasn’t exactly reassured (Austin didn’t always make the best or responsible decisions regarding things) but he had barely opened his mouth before a panicked voice came from behind him, “What!?!” When Will looked behind himself he expected to see the Ares kid looking panicked, he seemed to be the more distraught of the two so far, he was surprised that it was the other boy and he was looking toward Will like he was he was silently begging for help. Since Will was still pretty much in the dark about whatever was going on he really couldn’t offer much in the way of help. All he could do was offer an apologetic look.

Austin turned on his heels to once again look at the other demigods his annoyance at having to further explain himself was more than evident on his face. “You two had to get caught getting frisky so now we have to have the se-”

“Austin!” Nico barked an interruption before Austin could finish his sentence, not that it wasn’t abundantly clear what he was going to say. His hands had shot up and were hovering over Anna’s ears although he wasn’t actually covering them. That might have had something to do with little Anna trying to swat away his hands. Nico was glaring at Austin like he was ready to pull his sword (which he didn’t currently have which was probably a good thing). “I swear to the gods!”

“Gods, you can’t be such a ninety-year-old man,” Austin huffed in Nico’s direction before turning back to the other two demigods. “We have to have the S.E.X talk, so let’s get moving.” He stated spelling out the word sex and waving his hand as a gesture for them to move.

“Absolutely not,” the Ares kid declared crossing his arms over his chest in a show of defiance. Will respected that, he had no idea what was going on but he was sure Austin talking to anyone about sex was going to be a weird experience. The thought actually had Will strangely uncomfortable and it took him a long stretch before he realized the thought reminded him of when Apollo tried to talk to him about sex (that was a shutter worthy memory).

“Listen, this isn’t a dream for me either,” Austin replied matter-of-factly “But unfortunately it is kind of the rules,” He shrugged not seeming nearly as bothered by the whole idea as he claimed. Actually, he was talking about it like it was one of those routine life things that he just found to be mildly annoying. “But thanks to Nico-” he gestured to the son of Hades. Nico’s only response was to give a small wave (like anyone in the room didn’t know who he was) “-it is the rule so your choice is me or Chiron.”

“Um….” The other boy hummed and looked, Will, like was his life line out of the situation “Aren’t you a child of Apollo?”

“I am,” Will answered bringing his hands up in a show of defense. “But I’ve been away and I have no clue what’s going on here.”

“Weren’t you the guy that said if I had any questions I couldn’t come talk to you?” The Ares kid asked, the question felt less like a genuine question and more like an accusation.

“Probably,” Will admitted with a heavy sigh. “But if I’m being honest here, I’m only here to make sure my boyfriend has an amazing birthday, I’m not actually _here_.”

“Awww,” Mitchell cooed apparently losing interest in his magazine. “I’m so dating the wrong child of Apollo.”

“I do romantic things!” Austin declared quickly in his own defense.

“Oh sweetie,” Mitchell replied his tone something Will had always associated with the Aphrodite cabin- it was dismissive and sort of mocking with undertones of condensation. Pretty much it sounded like something pulled out of a deleted scene from Mean Girls. “Offering to take a courtesy shower after archery practice on a ninety-degree day is not romantic.”

“Thank you!” Declared the other demigod (Will really needed to ask the kid his name) before shouting the Ares kid a sharp look that very clearly meant to say _I told you_.

“I’m confused,” Nico stated looking around looking a bit lost. “What’s a courtesy shower?” He questioned which had Will grinning but not for the reason Nico clearly thought. His expression went from confused to concerned “If it’s weird or …graphic please don’t tell me.”

Will bit his lip to hold back the grin that just wanted to grow wider. “A courtesy shower is when you shower before….bedroom activities.”

Nico blinked, his eyebrow knotted together indicating he was more confused by Will’s answer than anything else. “But why wouldn’t you just shower?” He questioned sincerely. Will wasn’t really surprised by that, Nico loved showers. Will was sure that Nico could get away with it, he would just sit around in the shower all day which Will considered as a plus because Nico was always up for company in the shower.

“Alright,” Austin crossed his arms over his chest and started to look genuinely annoyed “Now that we have established that both my half-brother and his boyfriend are both better boyfriends than me and apparently this kid-” he pointed toward the Ares kid “-can we please get on with this? I do not have all day.”

Whatever sense of ease that had developed seemed to vanish with that. The Ares kid visibly squirmed while the other boy’s shoulders visibly slumped as he brought his hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his noise ruthlessly. “Gods this is so embarrassing,” the boy grumbled before throwing up his hands as a clear sign of surrender. “Let’s just get this over with.”

The Ares kid’s reaction was so dramatic it was comical, He visibly tensed as his head whipped in the other boy’s direction a look of shock and horror on his face. “You are not serious?”

The other boy sighed “It’s fine.”

“I’m not comfortable with this,” the Ares kid retorted the distinctive sound of panic creeping in on the edges of his voice.

Will watched the other boy grab the Ares kid by the elbow and started urging him forward to follow Austin toward the back of the infirmary, “Come on.”

Mitchell hopped off the cot “Can I help?” He questioned hopefully.

Austin didn’t pause in his path toward the back infirmary he just gestured for Mitchell to follow. The son of Aphrodite practically hoped with excitement before chasing after the other demigods. When the four demigods disappeared behind a white curtain at the back of the infirmary Will leaned forward to speak to Nico in hushed tone “At some point someone is going to explain to me what all that was about, right?”

“It’s really not that big of a deal,” Nico grumbled as he shifted slightly which was probably a sign of nervousness which just made Will want to know more.

“Right,” Will stated unconvinced before turning back to his patient. Even in the commotion and everything else Will had properly cleaned and bandaged Anna’s arm. Years of working in the infirmary Will could do that sort of thing blindfolded. He reached into one of the drawers and pulled out a square of ambrosia. Opening the package, Will pulled off a small piece off the corner of the square. “Here sweetie,” he declared handing the tiny piece of Ambrosia to the little girl who accepted it. “Eat this and you will be all set.”

Anna didn’t immediately pop the piece of Ambrosia into her mouth like most demigods did. She looked first at the piece of ambrosia, then Will before finally settling on Nico. “Il tuo ragazzo è meglio a questo o ad altri.”

Nico blushed slightly although a small smile played on his lips. “Sta per essere un medico un giorno, quindi credo che avrebbe senso.”

Anna nodded thoughtfully at whatever Nico had said before popping the piece of ambrosia into her mouth and chewing thoroughly. Once she had swallowed she once again turned to look at Nico “Beh, mi piace lui e lui è carino quindi probabilmente dovresti tenerlo in giro.”

Nico turned a brighter shade of red and took a very sudden and intense interest in his hands “Ho intenzione di.”

“Buona” Anna replied before hopping off the cot. Will hadn’t expected that but he was able to wheel back in his chair enough to allow her some space. She smiled brightly at Will, before stating “Grazie”

Before Will could look to Nico for a translation or come up with a reply the little brunette was skipping out of the infirmary entrance. Will watched the girl go and couldn’t help but appreciate the general resiliency of children. “She seems …. interesting.” He commented carefully as he came to the decision that he didn’t want to go into pediatrics as a specialty.

“Yeah,” Nico agreed as he pushed himself fully up onto the cot and pulled his legs up so he was sitting cross-legged. “She is a lot like her mom.”

Some demigods you could look at and just tell who their godly parent was, the Apollo kids were definitely an example of that, but based just on Anna’s features Will couldn’t even began to guess who her godly parent was except to eliminate a few options. “Who’s her mom?”

“Persephone,” Nico replied matter-of-factly.

“Oh, well I guess you would know then,” Will replied. Nico had more contact with the gods in general than most demigods did and that was especially true of his father and step-mother. He had mentioned Persephone a few times that Will could remember, he didn’t talk about the gods much but Will got the general perception that Nico got along well enough with his godly step-parent.

Will stood up and started cleaning up the exam area, picking up empty wrappers and recap tubes of antibiotic ointment. As he worked he eyed Nico sitting on the cot, he looked amazing and Will couldn’t help that his mind began to wander back to what they had been up to in the Hades cabin before being so rudely interrupted. Nico caught him looking and immediately blushed, so Will felt safe in assuming that Nico was thinking about similar things. Will worked as quickly as he dared, knowing the sooner he finished up the sooner they could get back to Nico’s perfect birthday.

In hopes of distracting himself, Will nodded in the direction Austin and the others had disappeared. “So what was that all about?”

“Oh, um” Nico seemed to give the question some thought as he started to pick at his nails “It’s one of Chiron’s rules.”

“Yeah, I gathered that,” Will pointed out. “I’m just not familiar with it, and Austin suggested you had something to do with it.”

Nico huffed “I wouldn’t go that far, I just…..” Nico peeked up at him through his long lashes before quickly glancing back down. “Well, Austin made some very good points about how the infirmary stocking…certain things for heterosexual couples while neglecting the needs of homosexual couples seemed weird and outdated so I brought it up to Chiron.”

“ _You did_?” Will questioned with surprise. He looked at his boyfriend with complete awe, Nico squirmed under his gaze. Will had certainly heard Austin’s tirade on the inequality of the infirmary’s sex cabinet on several occasions and from day one he knew he was right but well there was a war with Gaea to worry about. When he and Nico had started dating he recognized the problem all the more but then it just felt awkward talking to Chiron about it (“Hey, now that I’m having sex I realized the infirmary is under-equipped for the needs of the gays”). If he felt awkward talking to Chiron about such things he was amazed that Nico had managed.

“Yeah,” Nico shifted his position on the cot slightly. “Chiron was surprising understanding about the whole thing. I actually think he was surprised that no one had brought it up sooner.” Nico let out huff that might have been a laugh but it was really too weak for Will to tell. “He just said that campers asking for anything, like… ya condoms and stuff, for the first time had to get a mini sex ed. lesson I guess.”

“That seems fair,” Will admitted although he was a little disappointed to hear because he just knew that was going to be his responsibility come summer.  

Nico shrugged and Will guessed that was his way of agreeing. Will tossed the last of the trash in a nearby bin just in time to see Austin, Mitchell, and the other two demigods re-emerge from behind the white curtain at the back of the infirmary. Both the Ares kid and the other boy (Will guessed he was another child of Persephone) both looked thoroughly embarrassed and uncomfortable. Austin escorted them to the front of the infirmary, pausing at the admissions desk and pulling two large brown lunch bags out of a drawer. As he passed each boy one of the bags he stated, “Here you go, I’d say enjoy but really if you’re not you’re doing something wrong.”

Both boys took their mystery bag with a certain degree of reluctance before rushing out of the infirmary door while both seemed to be avoiding eye contact with everyone as he went. Will glanced at Nico with an inquisitive look because what was in those bags but Nico was too busy staring at Austin confused.

Will never thought he would be thankful for a child of Aphrodite but Mitchell asked the question he and Nico were both clearly thinking. He propped himself up on the corner of the desk and looked at Austin. “Alright, I just have to ask,” he started “What was in the bags?”

“You mean the sex talk goodie bags?” Austin questioned beaming with pride “It’s like a sex starter kit, totally my idea.”

Will felt himself break out in a cold sweat. Of all his siblings, Austin was probably the most Apollo-like based on Will’s observations in his one meeting with his father. Having Austin say something about a sex related goodie bag in the infirmary had Will flashing back to that very meeting. Having his godly parent show up to talk to him about sex while casually commenting that Will’s boyfriend was hot was probably one of Will’s most uncomfortable memories. And while Will was happy that Nico was finally feeling comfortable enough with sex to talk to others about it, he wasn’t okay with him sharing that particular detail of their private life. “Oh, my gods!” He exclaimed completely incapable of hiding his surprise and horror as he turned to look at his boyfriend. “Nico!”

“I didn’t say anything,” Nico assured quickly holding up his hands in a show of defense. “He came up with that all on his own.”

 _Crap_ , Will thought. He nervously looked around to see his half-brother and the child of Aphrodite grinning at him. “Oh,” Will managed weakly as he took an interest in his hands, hoping that downcasting his eyes would work to hide at least some of his embarrassment.

“Oh, what?” Austin asked with barely concealed glee.

Will’s eyes immediately found Nico’s and they exchanged a nervous look before answering in unison. “Nothing.”

“That may have been the worst denial I have ever heard,” Mitchell chuckled.

“Clearly you weren’t friends with Will during his _I totally don’t have a crush on Nico di Angelo_ phase,” Austin scuffed with amusement which earned him a heated glare from Will. Nico already knew that Will had nursed a bit of a crush on him for a while before they had started dating but he did not need to know some of the less flattering details. Austin had already been told on multiple occasions how Will felt about Nico knowing about the more embarrassing stuff. Austin ignored his glare which was annoying in and of itself. “But yeah, as denials go it wasn’t very convincing.” He shrugged “You two might as well dish because we all know that one of you is going to tell one of us eventually.”

“That’s debatable,” Nico scuffed although he didn’t sound quite as convinced as Will would have liked.

Mitchell and Austin were both persistent people and Will knew that if they stayed around the two demigods they would just continue to hound them. The one good thing was they didn’t have to say around the other two demigods. “But even if it wasn’t, eventually isn’t now,” He pointed out as he interlaced his hand with Nico’s and pulled Nico off the cot so he was standing. “So, I made plans to spend the day sweeping Nico off his feet for his birthday and we’re going to get back to that since we’ve already been delayed,” he informed as he walked at a clipped pace toward the door Nico close behind him. “You two have a great day,” he declared as he walked out the infirmary entrance waving back at the other two without bothering to look back at them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are all AMAZING!
> 
> Remember comments and kudos keep me writing!


	50. Perfect Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday friends!
> 
> So this chapter was going to have more in it but it turned out a lot longer then intended so Nico's birthday will stretch into another chapter.
> 
> Smut Warning: This chapter contains references to smut
> 
> For the month of August I have been doing an OC challenge on Tumblr for Dean which has included some mini fics. So if you adore Dean as much as I do, or you would like to read more of the early relationship between Dean and Felix you should check it out. My Tumblr is delta-roseblr.tumblr.com
> 
> And while I am on the topic of my OCs- It has been posed to me by a dear friend that some Dean and Felix focused works would be nice. I would love to write some stuff about my boys (because I have grown to love them dearly) but I wanted to gauge how much interest was out there. So if you would be at all interested in reading something like that PLEASE let me know in the comments!

They practically ran from the infirmary, Will a few steps ahead leading Nico by the hand. They really didn’t have to run; the infirmary had been empty so it wasn’t like Austin needed help. The worst Austin and Mitchell would have done was ask them about a million annoying questions because Will just had to go and allude to the existence of the bag of sex stuff from Apollo, something they both agreed never to speak of in front of other people, and in all honesty, that rule really existed for Austin and Percy. Really leaving the infirmary was only delaying the inevitable interrogation for both of them and Nico knew that.

Still, it was fun running through camp holding hands with Will. When the dining pavilion came into sight they were both struggling to breathe but it had nothing to do with the physical exertion. They were both laughing so hard Nico’s face burned from smiling and his chest ached from the effort.

When they finally stopped Will turned back to Nico and took a hold of his other hand. His hands were warm, but Will’s hands were always warm, they always felt like they were offering Nico some of their heat. And they were big, in spite of his size Nico didn’t have particularly small hands but they always were easily engulfed by Will’s.

Will smiled at him brightly as their laughter faded. The blonde’s smile could still turn Nico into knots after all this time although now it had more to do with awe that someone as beautiful and kind as Will was actually his and less to do with the anxiety of impressing him. Nico was sure that his birthday could end right there in that very moment with Will beaming at him while gently holding both his hands and Nico would still consider it the best birthday ever.

A few moments of silence passed between them where they just held hands and grinned at each other happily. Nico was the one to drop his gaze, Will was just so handsome after a while looking at him made Nico feel like he was looking into the sun.

Will squeezed Nico’s hands lightly before declaring with delight, “Well, that was fun.”

“Ah-ha” Nico agreed with a bit of a laugh. He wouldn’t have guessed when they had gotten rudely interrupted this morning but the unplanned little adventure had actually been fun in a weird way.

Will chuckled softly for a second before falling silent. For a moment Will stood there in silence playing with Nico’s fingers as they held hands. The act was such a sign of nervousness on Will’s part, Nico had to peek up at his boyfriend trying to read his emotions. Will’s eyes were downcast but Nico could see he was wearing a little smile, Nico knew that little smile well it usually meant Will had something mischievous on his mind. “So…..” Will dragged out the word as he began to twist the skull ring on Nico’s finger and peeked up at Nico through golden lashes. “What do you want to do now?”

“I thought that you had the whole day planned?” Nico questioned teasingly. He really didn’t expect Will to do anything for him for his birthday. He had told Will that repeatedly but Will _insisted_ so Nico was felt like he could tease him about it.

“I do,” Will assured blushing slightly and smiling bashfully. “I just didn’t know if you were hungry or if you wanted to go back to your cabin.” The pink of Will’s cheeks darkened until it was more red than pink. “Ya know, finish what we started before.”

Nico reflexively smiled brightly at the thought, the morning had definitely been heading in a nice direction before Austin and Mitchell busted into the room. “I definitely want to do that,” he admitted not even trying to hide his enthusiasm at the idea. They were absolutely going to finish what they had started that morning, to Nico that wasn’t even a question. “But I am hungry and coffee sounds nice,” he hummed a bit at the end because coffee sounded really good, so did sex, but coffee sounded like a good thing in the moment of now.

Will’s smile dropped slightly at that reply, his playful grin turned into a little pout. “Yeah, we should eat then,” he stated clearly a bit dejected by Nico’s choice.

Nico pursed his lips in thought for a moment before deciding the best course of action and pulling Will close enough that to place a soft kiss on his caramel colored and freckled skin. “I just want extra energy so I can finish this morning right,” He stated in a quiet voice. It was the middle of winter and Nico doubted there was much more than fifteen campers milling around but he still didn’t want to be overheard. At the end of the day, it was still a private moment between himself and Will even if they were having it in a public place, he wanted it to stay private.

Nervously, Nico glanced down at his own feet as he dug the tip of his shoe into the cold ground absently. “Also, if we eat now we really don’t have to leave my cabin until dinner so I can take me time with you,” he explained feeling slightly uncomfortable stating such a desire out loud and in English.

Nico could feel the warmth of embarrassment creeping up the back of his neck just thinking about it, let alone saying it out loud even in the vaguest of senses but that is what he really wanted to do. When he had woken up it was like the rush of remembering Will was lying in bed with him and being the world’s most perfect, sweet boyfriend, as usual, was enough to drive Nico into a frenzy but he had still been groggy enough from sleep to feel sort of complacent about it. It would have been good, Nico was sure of that; he was actually beginning to think that he and Will couldn’t actually have bad sex because even when it should have been bad it was always hot and amazing instead. But now Nico was fully awake and knew he could make it better than whatever could have possibly happened between them in the morning. He desperately wanted to take his time and just lavish every single solitary inch of Will’s perfect body with the attention he deserved.

“Is it my birthday?” Will questioned his voice bright and excited. Nico looked up to see Will was smiling at him like an excited kid in a candy store. “I thought it was your birthday.”

“It is,” Nico stated with a nervous shrug as he once again downcasted his eyes. “It’s what I want for my birthday.”

Gods, Nico realized that sounded weird once the words left him. It was definitely weird that the thing he most wanted to do on his birthday was spend his time pleasuring Will. One look up at Will and saw him smiling at him widely any nervousness Nico felt vanished.

“Well then,” Will offered excitedly “As you wish!” Nico rolled his eyes at Will’s ridiculousness but let Will pull him along to the dining pavilion anyways.

It was well after breakfast but still before lunch so the pavilion was empty when they arrived. Nymphs brought food almost immediately which was more than a little suspicious. Nico wasn’t stupid, he knew Will had probably set it up. Sure, Will couldn’t have anticipated their little detour to the infirmary but Will was more than capable of anticipating the fact that Nico would sleep in.

Also, the nymphs loved Will and really all the male children of Apollo but especially Will. When they had first started dating that seemed to be a bit of a problem because suddenly all the nymphs seemed to find Nico even more distasteful than usual but over time that passed. Now, Nico often found himself annoyed by all the times nymphs stopped and asked him how things were going with Will in a day. It was more than easy to believe that Will had roped the nymphs into helping him out this one time.

The shared a large plate of fruit, veggies, and other appropriate brunch foods. Nico had a large cup of coffee and Will sipped at a cup of tea that smelled pleasantly of lemons and something earthy. They enjoyed about half their meal alone in the pavilion before other demigods (unfortunately) showed up. Will questioned their arrival immediately not even attempting to hide the annoyed looks he was shooting the other demigods. Nico took one look around at all the soot covered and sullen looking demigods and explained that with the construction of the Roman baths it wasn’t uncommon for kids from the Hephaestus or Athena cabins to miss meal times so Chiron had given them permission to eat whenever worked best for them and the construction schedule.

Will accepted the explanation but didn’t look particularly happy about it, grumbling something about how it was more romantic when they had the space to themselves. Nico just smiled brightly and continued to happily make his way through their breakfast (even if it was far too healthy). It was so sweet that Will was so determined to make his birthday perfect, no one had ever cared so much before, not since Bianca. Actually, and this wasn’t something Nico had any intentions of telling Will since it would only make him more determined, but this was actually the first time since Italy he had celebrated his birthday.

Still, Will was trying far harder than he needed to make Nico’s birthday great. Will was there at camp with him and they were going to spend the entire day together. That was all Nico needed to have a perfect day. In the days leading up to Will’s arrival, Nico had tried to express that to Will but Will wasn’t hearing it. Nico had resigned himself to letting Will spoil him unnecessarily on his birthday.

Nico expected Will to protest or at least grumble a bit more when Leo dropped himself across the table from them at table six. He was covered head to toe in a thick layer of soot, smelled heavily of smoke and was being followed by a clearly displeased Calypso. Nico hadn’t even heard them coming, or was aware of their presence until Leo loudly sat down.

Instead of having the reaction Nico really expected, the son of Apollo looked up from their mostly finished brunch and greeted their two uninvited guesses brightly before, much to Nico’s absolute horror, informing them it was Nico’s birthday. That lead into the chorus of happy birthdays which was awkward but Nico could have handled that, it was the singing that Nico really hated. He grumbled and ducked his head through it and said thank you even if he wasn’t very thankful.

Even after Nico was thoroughly embarrassed Leo and Calypso stuck around for a while and chatted. Leo told Will about all the plans for the Roman baths, and how Annabeth was being a bit difficult about the whole thing but that just added an exciting challenge to getting the whole thing done before the summer. Apparently, there had been a miscalculation which had resulted in a bit of an explosion that morning, Leo didn’t really sound excited to tell Annabeth.

Will mostly listened, commenting only when Leo or Calypso paused, which for Nico that would have been expected but for Will it seemed quiet. He was still was his typical bright, friendly self so Nico didn’t question it too much.

They parted ways with Leo and Calypso after brunch. Leo was heading back to the Hephaestus cabin (or maybe it was bunker 9) to Iris message Annabeth about the explosion, which was a conversation Nico did not envy one bit. After they said their goodbyes Will subtly pulled Nico in the opposite direction of the demigod and the Titan. If it was anyone else being tugged along somewhere would have bothered Nico but it was Will, and he was so excited about where ever they were going. It seemed impossible to be mad at his adorable boyfriend in the face of that so Nico happily followed and enjoyed the mystery while it lasted.

Nico expected Will to lead him back to cabin 13, after all, he was the one who had seemed so disappointed that Nico didn’t want to go straight back there after the infirmary, but they ended up at the lake instead. His surprise must have read on his face as he started out at the lake because Will started rambling nervously which might have been the cutest thing Nico had ever heard.

Will paused in his efforts to pull out one of the camp’s canoe and looked up at Nico with an uncertain expression. “Um…I thought we could go for a canoe ride.” Will explained nervously.

“It’s January,” Nico pointed out only realizing after the words sounded like a complaint after they left his mouth. That wasn’t what he had meant at all.

“Well, yeah….” Will started rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “But it’s not that cold so the lake isn’t frozen,” He explained in a slightly stilted awkward way. “And I know it isn’t a gondola or anything but I thought it could be…. I don’t know, romantic I guess.”

Will was ducking his head and avoiding eye contact, still Nico could see the cute pink of a blush spreading up his neck and across his freckled covered cheeks. Gods, Will was the cutest thing to ever exist, Nico thought happily.

Nico just wanted to kiss his boyfriend’s adorable face, so he did. He closed the distance between himself and Will without a word, placed one hand on each of Will’s cheeks and pulled him into a soft kiss. Proving just how truly adorable Will was, he let out a little whimper when their lips first met which quickly turned into a contented sigh quickly.

The kiss was soft and lingering and it was more than a little sad when it ended. A slow grin spread across Will’s face as Nico pulled back. “You are just so adorable and sweet it’s amazing,” Nico commented wistfully.

Will’s grin grew into a true smile. “Well, thank you,” He replied happily.

Nico shrugged hating to burst Will’s bubble but thinking it important that he know. “The canals are kind of polluted, it’s not romantic,” he informed. It was probably an oversimplification. His memories of Venice were fuzzy from his childhood, and his visit during the quest to stop Gaea had been brief. He could certainly see the views of the canals especially when they were lit at night as romantic but he just didn’t remember it that way. Of course, he had been young when he had lived there.

Will looked doubtful of that particular accretion. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” he replied before turning back to the canoe he had been pulling out.

Nico moved to the other side of the small raft and grabbed a hold to help Will carry it to the water. Like it was with a lot of things he and Will’s drastic height difference added a challenge to them lugging the boat toward the water but they quickly figured out a way to make it work. As Nico helped heave the canoe off the stack where it still tettered he stated, “I’m just going to have to take you to Venice then.”

Will hummed thoughtfully as they made their way to the water. “A trip to one of the most romantic cities on the planet with my stunning Italian boyfriend? It’s starting to sound like my birthday again.”

Nico blushed, he supposed it was his turn. He didn’t say anything in response to Will’s teasing comment but he did make a silent promise to himself that he would take Will to Venice one day.   

Will had been right about a canoe ride being a nice idea. While it was technically winter, the weather at camp was especially mild so even out on the middle of the lake it felt more like fall or early spring. It was cold enough to keep the naiads toward the bottom of the lake and quiet. Between the naiads pleasant absence and the limited number of campers milling around camp, Nico easily could believe they had the whole camp to themselves.

The illusion was nice, and they stayed on the lake floating around the center much longer than Nico wholly realized. They talked and laughed and generally had fun without a single interruption. The only real problem arose when playing around turned into kissing which quickly turned into something more heated. All articles of clothing stayed on, but in the moment they both seemed to forget where they were and with all the motion the canoe ended up tipping over sending them for an unexpected and cold swim.

After retrieving their capsized canoe and swimming ashore they were both soaked from head to toe and shivering from the cold water. Nico was the first one to suggest going back to cabin 13 for a change of clothes and a nice warm shower, and if he made the suggestion a bit too quickly or a tad more excitedly than he probably should have he wasn’t going to admit to that. Will enthusiastically agreed to the idea and practically skipped back to the Hades cabin so it wasn’t like Nico was the only one intrigued by the idea.

The shower absolutely helped warm them after their little adventure even if they did stay in until long after the spray of water ran cold. Nico normally couldn’t tolerate staying in the shower once the water became more warm than hot but with Will he had plenty to distract him from that. Nico had known that morning that he wanted to take his time with Will when he got the chance, and the sight of Will’s perfectly sculpted form glistening as a steady stream of water worked its way down his body highlighting every dip and curve only increased Nico’s desire to do so. By the time Nico and Will exited the bathroom of the Hades cabin they were both clean, warm, and _very_ satisfied.

Once they had gotten dressed in fresh dry clothes Will was right back to his list of approved Make-Nico’s-Birthday-Perfect activities. Nico didn’t know if there was actually a list, like written down on paper or anything but from the way Will talked he wouldn’t have been surprised if there was. Since Nico’s perfect birthday really was just spending the day with Will he didn’t really question what the specific plans.

After a quick stop to the Apollo cabin to pick up Will’s backpack (Why Will had left it there when they both knew he would be staying in the Hades cabin the whole weekend Nico had absolutely no idea) and a large blanket Will led Nico to a secluded spot by the amphitheater. Nico knew the spot well even if he and Will hadn’t been there in a while, before they started dating when they were just friends and felt awkward (or maybe only Nico felt awkward) about spending time with each other in their cabins he and Will had spent a lot of time in that very spot talking and playing games.

Will laid out the large blanket he had brought and together they sat in the grass under the shade of the nearby trees. Will had brought a deck of cards in his backpack and made a second attempt to teach Nico how to play spit. He seemed so determined, Nico choose not to tell him at Austin and Cecil had managed to teach Nico the game over the span of a couple months. Actually, it worked out well, Nico pretended to struggle for a bit before suddenly understanding the game thanks to Will’s great teaching- And, Will was actually a much better teacher than Austin and Cecil.

They played several rounds once Nico had “gotten the hang of it” and while Nico still thought the game’s name was rather repulsive he had to admit it was kind of fun to play now that he wasn’t distracted by his own nerves. Considering it was a game that relied heavily on quick thinking and quick reflexes he and Will were actually pretty evenly matched which made it even more fun. Before long they were laughing and teasing each other as they played which made the time pass more quickly.

Nico hadn’t even realized it was almost dinner time until his stomach growled hungrily. Will’s stomach echoed his own only seconds later, Will made some comment about how they had certainly worked up an appetite earlier which caused them both to start laughing hysterically. It took them both a few minutes to get their laughter under control and as Nico tried he realized his face hurt from smiling so much and his chest burned from all the laughing.

Once Nico’s lungs decided to start working like they were supposed to, he went to stand so he could help Will fold up the blanket but Will caught his arm stopping him before he could fully move to standing. Nico sat back down on their blanket and looked at Will with what he was sure was visible confusion.

“You have to open your present,” Will explained as he turned and began rummaging in his backpack.

“I thought you being here was my present,” Nico stated a little taken aback by the idea that Will had actually bought him something. Will was already doing some much for Nico’s birthday, the thought that he had done anything else made Nico feel a little….guilty. After all, all Nico had done for Will’s birthday was send him some pictures.

“Well, yeah.” Will shrugged before pulling a medium sized box wrapped in shiny purple wrapping paper. “That’s part of it,” he stated as he placed the gift in front of Nico carefully, “And so is this.” It was cute, Will even gestured at the box sitting in front of Nico like there was any question of what exactly he was talking about.

Nico knew what he was supposed to do, he was supposed to open the gift. Still, he found himself staring at the gift uncertainly. The longer Nico remained silent and motionless the more aware of Will’s nervous little motions: his foot was twitching at an ever increasing rate and he was drumming his fingers against his own thigh. Nico still didn’t know what to do.

“Um…Are you going to open it?” Will questioned uncertainly when Nico’s silence and inaction apparently became too much for him.

Nico chewed at his lip anxiously for a moment before looking up to meet Will’s startling blue eyes. “I didn’t get you anything,” He declared not realizing how little the statement made sense until Will tilted his head to one side and furrowed his eyebrows in bewilderment. “For your birthday, I mean. I didn’t get you anything.”

A huge smile spread across Will’s face and a mischievous twinkle filled his bright eyes. “Yeah, you did.”

Once again Nico looked down although this time he looked down more at his hands rather than the purple wrapped box. “Those-” he felt himself start to blush at referencing the pictures he had sent Will for his birthday in the vaguest way “-don’t count.”

“Really?” Will questioned sounding more amused than inquisitive “Well, that’s a shame because those pictures are my favorite birthday gift ever.”

“Will,” Nico protested weakly. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride hearing Will say that even if he still did feel some embarrassment for actually taking naked pictures of himself and sending them to Will.

Will reached out and pushed the present further in Nico’s direction. “Open it,” he insisted “I’m dying to see if you like it.”

Nico hesitated for another few seconds but not for the same reasons as before. His brain raced through potential contents of the purple package. Nico would never admit it out loud but there was a thrilling moment if it contained pictures of Will, like the pictures Nico had sent Will on his birthday. Will was so _pretty_ naked, Nico wouldn’t complain about having that caught on film. The thought was fleeting, the gift was the wrong size to be pictures but maybe Will would let him take a few photos if he asked really nicely.

The only way he was going to find out about what the present was to actually open it Nico realized. He grabbed the box and started ripping through the wrapping paper with a mix of excitement and apprehension. Paper gone, all there was was a plain brown box, it felt kind of anti-climactic.

Will must have read his mind (or more likely his expression). “You have to keep going,” He informed with a mix of excitement and insistence that Nico really couldn’t ignore.

He pulled open the box and its contents were so far from anything Nico could have imagined he didn’t know how to react. Sitting neatly inside the plan box was a metallic box with the word Mythomagic embossed on the front. Nico immediately recognized it for was it was, he had gotten something similar when he had started at Westover Academy, it was a Mythomagic starter deck, a special edition from the looks of it. That wasn’t the only thing sitting in the box, there were also a few expansion decks and several figurines. On closer inspection, the figurines were all gods associated with the underworld except there was no Hades (Nico already had that one), and there was an Apollo for some reason.

Just because Nico wasn’t sure how he was supposed to react didn’t mean he didn’t have an immediate reaction. At the sight, Nico felt a bubble of excitement well up in him that he normally managed to avoid unless he was alone, or maybe the first time that Mitchell made him check out anime (Nico was not prepared for its awesomeness). He desperately wanted to open each package and sort through them before carefully placing the really rare ones in plastic casings so they couldn’t get degraded by the oils on people’s fingers. He pushed down those emotions quickly and hoped Will hadn’t noticed his nerd moment.

He still didn’t meet Will’s eyes as he spoke but hoped that his tone remained neutral, “Will….I….um…….”

“I know you don’t play anymore,” Will stated quickly, all the earlier excitement gone from his voice and seemingly replaced with a nervous energy. “But I know you mentioned it was a big part of your childhood.” Will wasn’t wrong, it was the first real thing after the Lotus hotel that he really latched onto. Considering Nico had always had difficulties interacting with other kids it had been a nice way to relate to the world. He knew, looking back, that his interest had been annoyingly obsessive but some of the knowledge he had gained had come in handy when he found out he was a demigod. Nico would never admit it out loud because he had a reputation to uphold but he still liked the idea of the game. “I thought maybe you would, I don’t know…” Peeking up, Nico saw Will was looking down at his hands as he played nervously with his hands. “Maybe you’d like the nostalgia of it,”

Nico didn’t say anything as he continued to stare down at the contents of the box. Part of his brain excitingly wondered if he would find any limited-edition cards in the box, and where in his cabin he could put the various figures. He didn’t realize he was quiet for too long until Will hummed nervously, “I know you don’t have any of your old cards so I thought…...”

Nico took one last peek at the contents of the box with barely contained excitement. He didn’t really have any of his old cards, he _may_ have thrown them in a fire in a fit of rage when he was younger (not one of his finer moments). The only thing that he still had was the little statue of Hades that Bianca died for, and he couldn’t really look at that, it just sat in a drawer.

“That….yeah, that sounds cool,” he admitted although he still hid the true level of his excitement.

Nico could practically feel Will relax, one look up and Nico found that will was once again smiling at him brightly. “I think I got you good ones,” Will stated happily as he peeked into the box even though what the cards were was impossible to tell just from looking, the packages would have to be opened (which Nico was just dying to do). “I had Dean help, it didn’t take a lot of convincing. He says he is over that phase but I’m not buying that for one second.” Will chuckled softly as he seemed to think back “He played it cool until we actually got to the comic book store and then he sort of geeked out, it was pretty funny.

“I knew there was a reason I liked Dean,” Nico commented absently as he reached into the box and pulled out one of the packs. It was an African expansion pack, _nice_.

“He does have his moments,” Will agreed. He seemed so happy Nico was pretty sure if he hadn’t like the gift he would have lied just to make Will happy, he clearly would have been devastated if he hadn’t. Good thing for both of them that it was probably the best gift Nico had ever gotten. “And,” Will dragged out the word, some of the earlier nervousness had returned to his voice and caught Nico’s attention. Nico peeled his eyes away from the expansion pack in his hands to look up at his boyfriend and found him staring back at him uncertainly. “I don’t know, I thought you could teach me …… if you wanted.”

Nico just barely managed to choke back a squeal of excitement. _That could be so much fun! And then he would have someone to play with (besides Frank)_. When he spoke he managed to keep his voice at least close neutral, “Really?”

“Yeah.” The uncertainty had once again left Will’s voice and he just sounded excited. “I can’t promise I will be any good, Dean tried to teach me when I was younger and I just couldn’t get it but….. I really want to, ya know, try.”

At that Nico could no longer contain his excitement. After kissing Will’s adorable face and thanking him for truly being the most perfect boyfriend ever he started opening packs and explaining the different cards and rules. Will listened intently, for the most part, interrupting to answer the occasional question. Being pretty well versed in Greek mythology was mostly helpfully although Will did get stuck on a few things when the game didn’t align with the reality of the gods and their abilities.

Nico lost track of time as they looked through the cards and he talked so they ended up being massively late to dinner. He wasn’t too worried about it, while he had gotten better at attending meals at the dining pavilion Nico still struggled with being on time, so for him at least showing up late wasn’t anything new. They ended up at the Apollo table, so of course, Austin had a comment about their late arrival and what he assumed had caused it which Nico and Will mostly ignored.

Otherwise, the dinner was pleasant enough. For one of the largest cabins at camp, not a lot of the Apollo kids were year around campers so the table was mostly empty. Still, if Nico had learned anything from all the time he had spent with Will’s half-siblings it was that children of Apollo for the vast majority were talkers. Will and his sibling's chit chatted about everything from the summer exchange program to the infirmary to the newest pop bands (and how many of the band members from said bands were related to them). It was nice just listening to the conversation go from one thing to the next.

After dinner Will lead Nico out to an out of the way spot. Actually, out of the way might have been an understatement. Nico hadn’t really been at camp long, and he would probably never know the place as well as Will did but the spot was so out of the way it was hard to imagine how Will had found it, or really how it was a part of camp still. When Will looked up from laying out a large blanket over an especially plush looking patch of grass he must have read the confusion and curiosity on Nico’s face because he explained he had found the place that day he had spent with Jason and Percy and had immediately thought that the spot could be romantic.  

He was right, it was incredibly romantic. They laid out on the blanket cuddled together with Nico resting his back against Will’s broad chest as they looked up at the night sky. They spoke in soft tones here and there but for the most part, they just laid together and enjoyed each other’s presence. Nico knew camp was actually close to New York City but the light pollution didn’t seem to affect camp, it must have had something to do with the magic around camp. The sky was clear and the stars seemed to glitter especially bright. “The stars look pretty,” he observed absently.

“They are,” Will agreed tightening his grip around Nico’s waist for a moment before unwrapping one of his arms and pointing up at the sky. “See that cluster of stars over there, that is especially bright?” Will didn’t wait for a reply before further explaining, “That’s Cassiopeia, it was named for some Greek queen.”

“The mother of Princess Andromeda,” Nico added as he tried to follow Will’s point to discern exactly which cluster of stars he was referring. It wasn’t a myth Nico remembered all that well although he was pretty sure the queen was one of the few that had been cast to the heavens as a punishment instead of an honor. He tilted his head back so that he could make out Will’s profile in his periphery. “Know a lot about the constellations?”

“Yeah, a bit. I just always found it interesting,” Will admitted with a bit of a shrug that Nico felt more than saw. “Plus, so much about the planets and constellation and stuff are named after Greek or Roman myths so I can easily relate it to things in my life.”

Nico grinned as he sighed back into Will’s arms. “Strange child of the sun god,” he teased.

Will placed a quick kiss on the top of Nico’s head before replied simply, “The sun is just a star.”

“Maybe,” Nico agreed, sort of, as he brought his hands up to rest comfortably on Will’s forearms. “But as a life form on this planet, I’d say it’s an especially important one.”

Nico didn’t have to see Will’s face he could feel the warmth of his smile. “If you ever meet my dad again tell him that, I’m sure he’d love it,” He informed brightly.

The thought made Nico smile too. He had only met Apollo once but the god had made a pretty lasting impression, or at least his ego did. “Having met him once I doubt his ego needs any additional stroking,” He declared with certainty.

He remembered that night well, after all, it had been eventful. At the time Nico had only just started to realize that he liked boys rather than girls and was still very much uncomfortable and scared of that fact which had just made the whole night more confusing. First, Percy shows up all dark hair, green eyes, and heroics (looking back Nico realized those heroics were a lot more spastic and uncoordinated than they seemed at the time), and then there was Apollo. He remembered feeling completely horrified when he found himself agreeing with Thelia that the sun god was indeed hot but at the same time Nico found his boisterous attitude extremely unattractive. That was one of the many reasons why Will was so perfect, he had definitely gotten the best of Apollo’s good looks but also a humble and down to earth personality.

Will chuckled softly spilling warm breath on the shell of Nico’s ear giving him a pleasant rush of sensation. “You’re probably right.”

Nico smiled to himself as he gazed up at the sky and let his mind wander until he realized Will had actually just said something about meeting his dad. And yes, Nico had already met the god but that was long before they had started dating or even knew each other. That thought brought him to another more unsettling thought, for mortals meeting their child’s significant other and their parents was a thing parents did, and much to Nico’s distaste Hades seemed dead set on doing what mortal parents did, at least when it came to Nico (Hazel seemed to have gotten a get-out-of-jail-free card for some reason). Maybe the fact that Hades had yet to bring it up was a good sign, maybe already knowing Apollo would be enough for him. Still, just to be safe….. “But while we are on the topic, if you ever met Hades in person you should probably avoid the topic of space and planets,” Nico offered, it sounded silly but the advice was sincere. “He is still a little touchy over Pluto’s demotion to dwarf planet.”

“As he should be, Pluto is totally awesome,” Will replied quickly and with enthusiasm like he actually had a strong opinion on the topic of Pluto’s demotion. Nico was pretty sure that the only person that he had heard talk with such animation on the topic was his father. “He got robbed, and as a Scorpio, I can feel his pain.”

Nico blinked a few times as he tried to pull together his extremely limited knowledge of the zodiac to attempt to understand what Will had just said. Unfortunately, Nico had never really had much of an interest in the topic so what he knew was very limited: He knew because of where his birthday fell he was an Aquarius, he was pretty sure there were twelve signs in the zodiac, and Scorpio was apparently one of those other signs. “Huh?”

“Every astrological sign has a ruling planet,” Will explained. “As an Aquarius, your ruling planet would be Uranus. Pluto is Scorpio’s ruling planet.”

“Oh,” Nico hummed with at least superficial knowledge. Although he quickly found himself smiling at the thought of Hades hearing that. Considering the lengthy tirades he had heard the god go into whenever anyone remotely mentioned the whole Pluto thing he imagined the god would be quite pleased to hear something like that. “Alright, you can tell him all of that.”

They shared a laugh at that which faded slowly and left them both in a comfortable silence. Nico had spent plenty of nights outside beneath the stars but this might have been the first on he had truly enjoyed. Will’s presence added a warmth and a sense of tranquility that Nico had never found on his own. Nico knew he could lay in Will’s arms and be content with their silence forever.

The perfection of the moment made its transient nature all the more present in Nico’s mind. “I wish you didn’t have to go back to Tennessee,” he admitted softly, his eyes still affixed to the dark sky. Not having to meet Will’s blue eyes made the confession, if not the thought, easier.

Will’s strong arms pulled him in more tightly before bringing his chin to rest lightly on Nico’s shoulder. “I wish you’d come back with me,” Will replied wistfully.

It wasn’t fair that with only a handful of words Will could say something so tempting. Nico may not have been the outsider at camp he once felt like but Will gave him a sense of home that he really hadn’t experience anywhere or with anyone else. The thing that gave him pause was the recent rise in monster activity, it was nowhere near as high as it had been before the war with Gaea, and even as a child of an Olympian Will was likely still in the clear but as a child of one of the big three Nico knew it was an added risk.

“Well….” Nico hummed as if he was actually considering it. It was just easier to play it off as if it was a joke rather than try to explain his concern. He knew his boyfriend too well, Will would tell him not to worry about stuff like that. “I would be able to eat your mom’s cooking.”

Will tilted his head slightly and placed a quick kiss on the curve of Nico’s throat. “She does adore you,” he pointed out with enthusiasm.

“So tempting,” Nico replied quickly, his voice coming out flatter than intended but that had to do with the sense of guilt because he knew while Will’s offer really was tempting it wasn’t actually an option. Sighing, he wished that it could be he truly hated every time he and Will had to part even though each time he knew it was temporary. “It will just be so much easier when we live together, then we won’t have to worry about being apart.” He stated. It was strange it was how accustomed he had become to the idea but he honestly couldn’t imagine anything he wanted more than to live with Will.

“Me too,” Will agreed, his voice distant and thoughtless as if he was lost in his own daydream. That general wistfulness seemed to remain for a few more moments before Will’s posture unexpectedly stiffened minutely, and he lifted his chin from its resting spot on Nico’s shoulder. “I actually have some news on that front.”

Nico sat up as much as he could while still remaining in Will’s arms and pivoted his torso so he could look back at Will and truly see him. Will typically wore his emotions plainly for the world to see, for which Nico was very grateful. Looking at Will in that moment his face was unreadable and that made Nico incredibly uneasy. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Will mumbled as he shifted so he was sitting up a bit straighter. “I was accepted to Columbia, early decision.”

“Oh my gods, Will!” Nico shut up detangling himself from Will’s arm and turning so he could look at Will straight on. Now that he had a better view of his boyfriend’s face he could see that Will was trying to hold back a grin. He was mostly successful but Nico could see the corners of his lips fighting to push upward. He smacked Will’s thigh to accent his point, “That’s amazing!”

Will dropped his gaze but he was absolutely grinning and might even had been blushing a bit. “Yeah,” he shrugged like he was uncomfortable. “It’s pretty exciting, I guess.”

“Will! That’s huge!” _How could Will not be more excited about this?_ Nico wondered. He knew, not that Will really talked about it, that college was hugely important to him and had been for awhile. From the bits Nico had caught from listening to Dean talking, Columbia was Will’s dream. It had to be so excited, Nico tilted his head to the side as he stared at his boyfriend inquisitively as he tried to figure what was going through Will’s mind. It wasn’t the first time that Nico wished he was better at reading people. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

Nico wasn’t sure if he could count Will’s motion as a shrug, it was more like an awkward shifting of his shoulders. “It’s your birthday,” he explained, “I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

“But it is a big deal!” Nico exclaimed completely shocked. He had a birthday every year, Will would only get accepted to his dream college once.

And, on a selfish note, Nico couldn’t help but think what that meant for them. If Will went to Columbia that meant that they would live in New York which could be great. Yes, there was the rise in monster activity that they would have to worry about but camp wouldn’t be far away. Nico would be able to finish school with Chiron without worrying about mail or shadow-travel. Should they look for an apartment with two bedrooms so Dean could live them? That had been Will and Dean’s plan for years before Nico was involved and he felt bad getting in the way of that. “If I had known we could have gone to the city and look at apartments,” Nico stated, it was the second time that day he had to try hard to hide his excitement.

“Um…..” Will hummed nervously before peeking up at Nico briefly before looking back down at his hands. “That’s actually not my only news.”

Maybe it was Nico’s lack of knowledge about what was involved with applying and getting into college because he couldn’t think of what other news Will could have on the topic. “What else?”

“I got accepted to the university at New Rome too,” Will stated and Nico could swear he winced as he let out the words.

Sometimes Will made just no sense, not often but sometimes. “[Oh my gods, that’s amazing]!” Nico exclaimed excitedly and smacked Will’s leg again for emphasis.

Will looked at him with clear confusion which was what actually cued Nico into the fact that he had said that last bit in Italian. He would blame his earlier experience with Anna, his brain was primed to speak in his native tongue. “Sorry, I didn’t catch any of that Darlin'” Will admitted nervously. That might have been the first time since Nico had assured him that speaking Italian during their intimate times was a good thing that he had heard Will sound nervous about him speaking Italian.

Nico felt too excited at the situation to translate for himself, he was sure Will would figure it out eventually. “Where do you want to go?” he questioned curiously. “You have your pick.”

Will’s expression was blank for a ridiculously long time before he looked down at his hands. “You already got into New Rome so I thought-” he started in a quiet voice.

“Will!” Nico reached out and smacked both of his hands against Will’s chest, cutting him off and issued an enjoyable smacking sound. “Whatever, we’ll make it work,” he assured. To be honest, Nico was surprised he even had to say it, he thought Will would know that.

Will looked up and blinked at him for a moment. Nico expected Will to look relieved but if anything he looked more nervous and _conflicted_. Watching that expression blossom across Will’s face Nico wondered if Will had been more hoping that Nico would just assume they would go to New Rome so he wouldn’t have to choose. “I guess I could check out Columbia with Dean,” Will stated sounding uncertain.

“Did he get in too?” Nico questioned. He had thought if they had both gotten into Columbia Will would have mentioned it by now.

Will shook his head in the negative. “He didn’t apply for early decision,” Will explained. “He submitted some stuff to a few writing contests and want the results before he applies.” It took Nico a few seconds to figure out what Will meant by that but then remembered Dean wanted to do something relating to writing and then figured that statement made some kind of sense. “He’s trying to beef up his resume to make up for failing bio twice,” Will smirked at that statement. To him, Nico was sure the idea was in fact amusing. Will had told him that he had taken his high school’s honors biology class his Freshman year and gotten a perfect grade. “But he should know by spring break if he got in we could check it out then.”

It sounded like a perfect idea and he was about to say just that when he remembered. “But you’re supposed to visit,” he reminded trying not to sound as sullen at the idea of losing Will’s visit as he felt. Will and Dean were so close, and if Will decided he wanted to go to New Rome instead of Columbia there would likely be the entire country between them so Nico really didn’t want to get in the way of the time they had left but he also (selfishly, he was aware) hated every second Will was gone and didn’t want to lose any of the limited time he would have with Will before the summer. Worse yet he knew if he let his more selfish feelings show Will would say forget visiting Columbia and then Nico would feel both elated and completely guilty. Dating and emotions were both very complicated.

“I still could,” Will was quick to assure. “I’d just spend a few days checking out Columbia first”

Well, Columbia was in New York City and Nico doubted it could really take a whole week for Will to look at a college so he guessed that made sense. Of course, that might complicate Nico’s plans to surprise Will with a trip to New Rome. And by surprise, it was more like Reyna had pretty much made Nico promise to bring Will to New Rome ASAP to meet her, and as it was the daughter of Bellona was getting impatient. Apparently, the fact that Will had earned Jason and Hazel’s stamp of approval wasn’t enough, Reyna wanted to assess him for herself (and yes, she actually used the word assess).

Nico had thought about telling Will about the plan to visit New Rome but ultimately settled on surprising him when he remembered Will had been pretty clear about how nervous he was to meet Reyna because, as he put it, “she could kill me”. Nico had pointed out that they had already technically met (even if Reyna couldn’t exactly remember), and that pretty much all of Nico’s friends were capable of murder but Will didn’t seemed to find any of that actually comforting.

“You know,” Nico began wondering if maybe he could use this new bit of information to spin a visit to New Rome in a way that wouldn’t sound like _meet my most scary friend_. “If we went to New Rome after you could visit the University for a comparison.”

Nico expected Will to reply the same nervous apprehension that he normally did when Nico mentioned a trip to New Rome. Instead, Will burst out in a wide and sincere smile. “Absolutely!” He exclaimed with unexpected excitement “I love that idea, but if we go you have to promise to do one thing.”

“What’s that?” He questioned. Nico had been so prepared to have to convince Will that a trip to New Rome was a good idea that he was pretty sure he would agree to whatever Will wanted.

It was so hard to tell in the dark but Nico thought he noticed a blush rise to Will’s cheeks. “You have to take me to your private room at the baths.” He stated.

Nico blinked once before asking sincerely, “Why?” It wasn’t that Nico didn’t love the idea of a little alone time with his boyfriend in his private room at the Roman baths even if his private room was a bit gouty, it was just he remembered Will expressing a genuine distaste at the idea of the Roman baths so he didn’t understand the sudden interest.

“Because we’d be alone,” Will stated plainly as a wicked grin spread across his face. Nico knew that grin too well, the sight of it alone was enough to make him blush and tingle all that the same time. “And you’d be all naked and glistening,” He stated and Nico could hear Will trying to picture it just from the sound of his voice. The cool January air suddenly seemed unseasonably warm and Will leaning into Nico’s space only made that worse. Will pressed a slow kiss on the soft spot right by Nico’s ear before stating in a husky voice, “And if I’m being real honest that turns me on.”

Nico’s stomach twisted and turned with want and anticipation as he felt the fire that seemed to be flowing in his veins began to pool low. He swallowed hard before speaking and was proud that he managed to keep some of his desire out of his voice. “And in this scenario, are you also going to be naked and glistening?” he asked coolly. The image of Will in such a state was already forming in his mind which only seemed to increase the heat and growing tension.

Will nodded with enthusiasm and beamed brightly at Nico as he spoke, “If you’d like.”

“I would, very much,” Nico admitted as he pushed up on his knees slightly in order to crawl closer to Will, not that there really was much distance between them to begin with. Nico promised himself if they did nothing else when they visited New Rome, they would go to the Roman Baths. He brought both his hands to rest on Will’s thighs as he leaned in and pressed his lips against Will’s. The kiss was one that lingered and was full of longing and when he pulled away even in the dark Nico could see Will’s eyes were blown wide with lust. “You know what else I’d like?” He questioned as he moved forward, his hands sliding up Will’s thighs, over his hips, across the hard plains of his clothes stomach to come to rest splayed on his hard pecs.

Will both let Nico into his space and leaned back so he was propped up on his elbows as Nico leaned over him. His tongue swiped across his lips before asking, “What’s that?”

Nico grinned and it almost felt predatory but not like the kind of thing that would distort his features on the battlefield. It was an expression born of a holy different time of primal instinct. “To finish what we started this morning,” he admitted as he once again leaned in, this time pressing a kiss along Will’s jaw.

“I thought we did in the shower earlier?” Will questioned, his voice low and completely lacking in any sounds of protest.

Nico pulled away from Will’s skin just enough to blink up at him through thick eyelashes. He found his boyfriend gazing back at him one eyebrow corked up in question. “I want to finish it again,” Nico declared without shame before turning attention back to the kiss of Will’s throat.

He left a trail of kisses from Will’s jaw to his collarbone. His hands gripped and clung to the fabric of Will’s shirt. There was just too much between them, Nico thought hungrily as he began to work Will’s sweater upwards in the desperate search to feel Will’s skin under his fingertips.

“Here?” Will questioned. Lust was still the primary note in his words but there was also an edge of nervousness that hadn’t been there before.

Nico paused in his attack on Will’s throat and looked up to see an expression of surprise on Will’s face. He glanced around quickly at the clearing to assess their surroundings. The space wasn’t quite in the woods surrounding camp but it was in an extremely out of the way spot so Nico doubted any campers would come wandering by. They were surrounded by trees so he guessed that there could be wood nymphs around but no one had popped their head out yet to bother them so Nico figured they were pretty much alone. “It’ll do,” Nico declared having decided that whatever risk there was that they could possibly be interrupted was worth it to avoid the torture that would have been the walk back to cabin 13.

Nico didn’t get a chance to gauge Will’s facial expression for a reaction before the son of Apollo pulled him into a searing kiss. Nico guessed that was a pretty clear reaction all on its own. Whatever semblance of self-control either of them had had was lost in that moment. They pawed at each other desperately as they continued to kiss. Will pulled away for the stretch of a heartbeat to rip his own shirt up over his head before once again pressing his lips against Nico’s.

Nico felt Will’s fingers entangle in his hair, pulling him in. He felt Will squirm under him seeking contact, seeking friction. As Nico let one hand begin to slide down Will’s chest toward the spot he knew Will was already desperate for him to touch he heard it. The sound was faint and sounded about a million miles away but it was still unmistakable. It was the five-minute warning for curfew.

Pulling away from Will’s perfect lips Nico couldn’t help the string of Italian curses that left him. Under him, Will whined with disappointment and longing, “Think we can ignore it?” Will panted out the question.

They were in a pretty out of the way part of camp but not that out of the way. Nico knew he could easily fight off the clearing harpies if he had to but he didn’t really want to worry about a potential harpy attack while being intimate with Will. “No,” he admitted with a disappointed shake of his head.

“We really can’t catch a break,” Will groaned, the sound of his hand hitting the ground decisively punctuating his point.

Nico glanced down at Will who still lay under him. Even in the dark Nico could see he was flush and his pupils were wide with arousal. His shirtless and sun-kissed chest just seemed to glow under the moonlight. Nico needed to make love to the beautiful man before him. Before he gave into that need he reluctantly pushed himself up to his feet. “Come on,” he declared offering Will his hand. “I need you naked and under me right now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the fade to black there, I promise it will be continued in the next chapter!
> 
> As always thank you for reading!


	51. Something New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good Morning and Happy Sunday!
> 
> SMUT WARNING: To be honest this chapter is pretty much all smut so if you're not into that you should probably just not read this chapter :)
> 
> For those of you also reading Outtakes I did post a new chapter this past Wednesday if you didn't see.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Will looked up from his spot sprawled out on the ground at Nico offering him a hand. “Come on,” Nico declared still slightly breathless from their intense make-out session. Will found himself resistant to take his boyfriend’s hand because he was just so close to living out one of his fantasies: Real live outdoor sex. He stared at the palm of Nico’s outstretched hand trying to think of a realistic reason they could stay where they were, doing what they were doing because it was HOT. Will was 100% willing to let Nico have his way with him right there and risk a harpy attack. Nico clearly had different things in mind as he pressed out his hand a bit further to stress his offer. “I need you naked and under me right now.”

Will doubted he had ever climbed to his feet so fast in his life. He took Nico’s hand with one of his as he scrambled with the other to grab his backpack. Nico tugged him up quickly and with little disregard to Will’s attempts to grab things. For someone who was small, Nico was very strong which shouldn’t have come as a surprise to Will but still the force of Nico’s grasp caused him to lose his grip on pretty much anything he was trying to grab.

Will quickly found himself tripping over his own feet and the trail of abandoned item as Nico pulled him back toward camp proper. Will was all for getting back to cabin 13 because if outdoor sex wasn’t an option sex in the Hades cabin was still a fine prize but he didn’t want to leave all their (mainly his) stuff behind. As he stumbled along behind his boyfriend who seemed seriously determined Will tried to say something along those lines but he didn’t get a chance.

They had taken maybe a half a dozen steps before the world seemed to drop away under Will’s feet. The university went black and seemed to twist and bend in on itself for a few seconds and then **_BAM_** the world came back to reality…. except they weren’t in the woods anymore. Instead, they were standing just inside the door of the Hades cabin.

Will was completely stunned. _They couldn’t have done what he thought they had just done,_ Will thought more out of an attempt to convince himself than actual belief because there was no other explanation.

Nico moved fluidly, unaffected by their change in location. He turned back so he was facing Will and started urging him backward until Will’s back was pressed against the closed door of the Hades cabin. Will was so stunned he couldn’t really resist, not that he actually wanted to. He didn’t come back to the moment until he felt the cold wood and metal of the cabin’s door against his bare back. “Ah,” Will managed, barely, as he looked around the space still a bit confused by his sudden change in surroundings. “Did we just shadow-travel?”

Nico pressed his firm body against Will’s and _gods_ he was practically radiating heat, Will just wanted to melt into Nico’s hard body and feel everything Nico could give him. “Ah-ha,” Nico hummed the response absently as he leaned more tightly against Will and began to kiss and- _oh-dear-gods_ \- suck at the hinge of Will’s throat.

Will had never actually shadow-traveled before, it wasn’t like it was something that he wasn’t open, it just never really came up. Plus, Will suspected that since he had been so resistant to the idea of Nico shadow-traveling that Nico avoided the situation. It actually hadn’t been bad, which from what Jason had said about it Will had expected it to be a pretty horrible. And, if Will was being really honest, the thought that Nico wanted him so bad he couldn’t wait the five-minute walk back to his cabin to have his way with Will was all manners of hot.

“I think I left my shirt in the woods,” Will panted out as he could feel Nico marking a spot on his throat.

“We’ll get it tomorrow,” Nico assured thoughtless barely pausing in kissing Will’s throat to do so. His hot breath on Will’s skin causing him to quake with sensation.

 _Oh,_ _dear gods_ Will loved when Nico got like this. Will could feel Nico’s hands pawing hungrily at his sides, and his lips, tongue, and teeth lavishing his throat with attention. The intensity of Nico’s hunger, of his need, all focused solely on him was like taking on a force of nature. Will could do little more than cling to Nico, grabbing fists full of his jacket, and letting his head fall back to allow Nico better access to his throat. He certainly wasn’t going to point out that the cleaning harpies would likely eat his shirt if they found it because Will couldn’t not care less about that.

Nico took advantage of every inch of Will’s skin that was exposed. Hungry lips kissed up Will’s throat and jaw until Will felt teeth nip at his earlobe. The sensation, hot breath and sharp teeth on his skin, the reverberation of Nico’s growl coursed down Will’s spine and left him quivering and clinging to Nico even more. Will felt like the rabbit caught by the wolf, he knew he was about to be devoured and there was no escape. Although, unlike the rabbit, Will was happy to let Nico devour him.

One of Nico’s hands slide from Will’s side to the small of his back and pulled Will’s lower half closer. Will could feel the cold of Nico’s belt low on his abdomen although that wasn’t what caught Will’s attention. The hard feel of Nico’s clothed erection pressing against the hinge of Will’s inner thigh was almost all he could focus on. He didn’t even realize that Nico’s other hand had moved to cup his butt cheek until Nico’s squeezed. Will moaned at the unexpected treatment and gods did he ever want Nico to do it again.

Will pawed and groped at Nico’s jacket desperate to touch as well as be touched. Nico was busying himself marking Will’s throat and groping at Will’s backside so he wasn’t as helpful as in undressing as Will would have liked but still he managed. Just as Nico’s leather coat hit the hard floor with a soft thud Nico’s knee pressed forward, pushing between Will’s legs and bringing the firm pressure of his thigh into contact with his groin.

The moan that escaped Will’s lips was almost embarrassingly wanton but Will couldn’t find it in himself to care about that. He hadn’t realized how badly he needed to be touched there until he felt the insistent slide of Nico’s thigh against his clothed erection. His hands were shaking as he tried to slide them under Nico’s shirt in an attempt to feel cool skin under his fingers. Will could feel his knees quivering as they just barely resisted the urge to buckle.

“Bed?” Will only barely managed to pant out the request. Nico’s response didn’t come in words but rather decisive movements. The word had barely left Will’s lips when he found Nico’s mouth pressing against his own, agile tongue demanding entrance which Will was more than happy to allow. Hands that had been groping at Will’s body took a hold of the waistband of his pants and pulled him forward.

Even though Nico was moving backwards and didn’t pause in kissing Will breathless as he directed them to the bed with practiced ease. Will let Nico lead him as they kissed, happy to let his boyfriend take control as he just focused on tried to pull Nico’s shirt up and off so he could properly touch the firm plans of muscles that Nico had hard won through battle and hours of swords practice.

Unexpectedly Nico spun him swiftly. Will couldn’t even lie, the action was so quick he yelped a little in surprise but Nico seemed unaware or at least unaffected by the noise. Will felt Nico’s hands pushing him down at the hips before he fully processed the feel of the edge of the bed against the back of his legs.

Nico’s hands on his hips were so insistent Will sat down on the bed annoyed at the fact that their lips had to part in the motion. He must have been pouting because Nico grinned down at him like he had won something (because Nico could totally be a little cocky when he got all confident and dominate in the bedroom). Then it was like Nico read Will’s mind because he grabbed his own shirt by the hem and pulled it over his head in what had to be the sexiest way possible.

Nico’s black shirt disappeared into the inky blackness, it could have been thrown into a black hole for Will knew his attention was elsewhere. Specifically, Nico’s rock-hard abs, toned pecs and insanely sculpted arms. “You must have read my mind,” Will commented not trying to hide as his eyes slide down Nico’s muscular abdomen to the prominent bulge in his too-skinny-skinny-jeans. _Oh, that looks hot_, was the only thing Will could think.

“Not difficult,” Was Nico’s reply with a voice that dripped with all the confidence that the son of Hades normally showed on the battlefield. “I know how you think.”

In the back of Will’s mind, he made a mental note to thank the gods for giving him such a sexy boyfriend because he doubted he had earned such a gift in his lifetime so far. Trying to match Nico’s confidence Will smirked up at his gorgeous boyfriend as he brought his hands to Nico’s belt. “Oh, really?” With slow but sure motions Will started working to undo the buckle. “Do you know what I’m thinking now?”

Nico’s dark eyes watched Will’s movements for a moment before he bit his lip and nodded in the affirmative. _Good_ , Will thought as he moved to unfasten Nico’s jeans and considering how turned on Will was he was pretty proud of himself for not fumbling with the button and zipper like he normally did.

He pulled down Nico’s jeans and briefs together as he dropped off the bed to stand on his knees. Will pulled Nico’s pants and underwear down his firm thighs until Nico’s length sprang free. Nico’s manhood was already thick and heavy with arousal, and the sight had Will’s mouth watering.

Nico’s eyes were on him, Will could feel the intensity of his gaze as he moved to wrap his lips around the blunt head of Nico’s erection. The only thing that Will found more satisfying than the familiar weight in his mouth was the contented sigh he heard Nico issue at the first moment of contact. Will would have made some cocky comment to Nico about how much he liked it but that would have involved taking his mouth away from his current activities and Will had no intentions of doing that.

He was happy to put on a show since Nico seemed so intent on watching him. Will let his eyes flutter closed as he stayed toward the head of Nico’s erection, licking and sucking all the while making lewd little noises. After a few seconds of that and another contented sigh from another above him, Will took more of Nico into his mouth slowly so Nico could watch himself slowly disappear behind the seal of Will’s lips.

Moving up and down the substantial length, Will kept his motions slow and deliberate, hoping he looked good from Nico’s perspective. The thought of Nico watching him certainly made him feel sexy. Above him, Nico let out soft sighs and little moans, all of which acted as encouragement for Will.

“Will, che si sente così bene,” Nico purred above him as his fingers began to run through Will’s hair reassuringly. “Sei così brava a me.” Will hummed happily at what he was choosing to interpret as praise as he continued to move along the length of Nico’s hard manhood.

The salty taste of precum just began to blossom on his taste buds when Will felt Nico tug gently at his hair. Will released Nico’s manhood reluctantly and blinked up at his boyfriend who was still staring down at him. Nico’s fingers fell from his hair, one hand coming to rest on Will’s shoulder while the other moved to cup his cheek affectionately.

Gently, Nico urged Will back to standing and then on to the bed murmuring in Italian as he did. Will kept his eyes locked on Nico as he laid back on the bed with his legs still hanging over the edge and his feet pressed on the cold floor. His boyfriend quickly moved to loom over him. Nico’s expression was lustful, determined, and solely focused on Will which just made Will wonder what Nico was saying all the more.

His mind definitely went to Lou Ellen’s potion as Nico leaned down to press the faintest of kisses on his clavicle before whispering against his skin in words Will could barely make out and definitely couldn’t understand. Unfortunately, that potion was sitting in one of the pockets of Will’s backpack which was still sitting in the woods.

“Il mio amore, ti farò sentire così bene,” Nico purred against Will’s skin causing him to shiver at the sensation of Nico’s hot breath, and the sound of his husky voice. Will was driven from any thoughts of the potion, Nico’s words didn’t need to be understood to be felt.

As Will felt soft lips kiss down his chest and nimble fingers began to unfasten his pants Will laid back and let himself relax into the plush mattress and soft sheets enjoying the sensation. He tossed his head back and moaned at the feeling of Nico swirling his tongue around one of hiss nipples. Nico let out the softest of laughs before pulling the sensitive nob into his mouth and began to suck.

Colors pulsed on Will’s eyelids as soft waves of pleasure pulsed through him. As Nico continued to kiss down his body Will let his fingers tangle in Nico’s silky hair. On the periphery of his senses, Will was aware of Nico working off his pants and boxers, exposing skin that was both felt too hot and too sensitive to the cool air.

Even though Nico wasn’t pressed tightly against Will’s body Will could the feel the heat of Nico’s skin. The awareness of Nico’s bare body so close just filled Will with a desperate need to be touched, to feel Nico pressed up against him tightly and moving. Unexpectedly and extremely frustratingly Nico did the exact opposite of what he wanted, pulling away and leaving Will feeling cold and wanton.

“Spiacente il sole,” Nico muttered as Will became aware of Nico patting down the bed around them. “Ho solo bisogno di trovare-” Nico stopped what sounded like mid-sentence and moved back to where Will was waiting, trying not to whine and beg. Nico placed a kiss on Will’s cheek before declared, “trovato.”

As Nico went back to moving down Will’s body, placing the most teasing of kisses just below Will’s navel, out of curiosity Will opened his eyes and glance down. Nico was moving to his knees between Will’s thighs in one hand he was holding a half used bottle of lube while the nimble fingers of his other hand were tracing little lines down Will’s body and along the hinge of Will’s leg moving toward his groin.

He knew where Nico’s hands were going, he knew the sensations that were coming and Will couldn’t contain the cry of anticipation that escaped him. “Nic!”

“Sì, sole?” Nico spoke and his voice had Will shuddering from the sound. Looking down his body Will found Nico grinning up at him waiting, once he seemed satisfied that he had Will’s attention he placed a deliberate kiss low on Will’s groin. Will could feel the heat of Nico’s skin so close to where he wanted, where he needed Nico’s touch.

“Please,” Will begged throwing his head back and letting his eyes fall shut. “Gods, Nico I….I can’t….” Will found himself babbling desperately as he closed his fists around clumps of sheets. Nico’s fingers danced across sensitive skin that was too rarely touched, moving inward from the hinge of his legs toward his throbbing manhood, driving reason from Will’s mind. “I can’t wait….just _please_.”

Part of Will was aware of Nico snickering in response to his pleas but his mind couldn’t begin to focus on that as Nico’s warm fingers finally made contact, running up his length and swirling briefly around the tip. The touch was the lightest of caresses and it filled Will both with the great relief because Nico was finally touching him and utter desperation because it wasn’t enough.

With each touch, Nico seemed to increase the intensity, if only by a fraction. It felt like the sweetest of agony and Will’s couldn’t help but squirm under his boyfriend’s torturous touch. It felt like _days_ had passed, even though Will knew it was only a minute or two before he felt Nico’s fingers curl around his girth and started stroking him properly. His touches were still torturously slow but still had the blood roaring in Will’s ears and a fiery heat coiling in his core.

Will whined and moaned desperately as Nico’s motions quickened and the heat in Will’s center felt like his own personal sun. It wasn’t for the first time that Will found himself thankful that cabin 13 had been built with a bit of distance from the other cabins. Will didn’t know if Nico had requested it out of a desire for privacy or if the demigods responsible for construction had just thought it was best to keep the children of death away from everyone else. Either way, Will reaped the benefits because there was simply no way they (he) wouldn’t have been overheard by other campers if the cabin was closer to the others. Will was glad he didn’t have to try to be quiet because he doubted he could manage it.

            Nico’s hand continued to move up and down Will’s length, sending shockwaves of pleasure through Will’s entire being. Will let himself get lost in the sensation, the pleasure of Nico’s touch, the pounding of his own heart, the growing heat within himself, the slow building of his own climax.

The feel of slick fingers pressing against sensitive skin before sliding against his crease. Cool fingers found Will’s tight rim and moaned at the feel of slick fingertips rubbing against his entrance and the anticipation that sensation filled him with. “Oh, Nic please yes!”

Fingers continued to slowly massaging sensitive skin while another hand continued to stroke Will’s length. “Così eccitato,” Nico commented confidently. Will was completely overtaken with all the different types of pleasure he was receiving to lift his head off the mattress but he didn’t have to know Nico was grinning, he could hear it in his voice. Will might not understand Italian but he could hear the cockiness in his boyfriend’s voice no matter what.

“Nic, Nic, Nic!” Will cried as he pulled at the sheets he was still clenching desperately. Everything Nico was doing felt so good but Will wanted more. He wanted the warmth of Nico’s mouth on his aching manhood, or the stretch of nimble fingers pressing inside his tight channel. Will just _wanted_.  

“Suoni in modo eccitante,” Nico purred spilling hot breath on Will’s skin. Nico sounded so sexy, Will didn’t know if it was because of the Italian or just the husky quality of Nico’s voice. A fingertip pressed just past his entrance and Will couldn’t think about anything else anymore, he certainly couldn’t evaluate exactly why Nico’s words were making him shudder with want while Nico’s fingers were causing him to shudder with pleasure. “Ti farò sentire ancora meglio.”

Nico’s warm tongue dragged along Will’s shaft before warm lips wrapped around Will’s sensitive head. Will tried not to cry out in the ecstasy at the warm feeling of Nico’s mouth on him but all he managed was a string of random syllables. Nico’s finger were slowly driving Will crazy with pleasure as it slowly worked in and out of him, opening him up with each thrust.

The feel of the back of Nico’s throat struck him at the same time as Will felt the stretch as Nico pressed a second finger inside his entrance. Calloused pads caressed that spot inside Will that had sparks playing across his eyelids and fire coursing through his veins toward his groin. Gods, Nico was doing that thing with his tongue too that made Will forget his own name it felt _so_ good.

The orgasm that overtook Will was both unexpected and blinding. The coiling heat of a thousand suns that had burrowed deep in Will’s groin snapped, flooding his being with a cold heat of pleasure. His toes curled up off the cold floor and he swore he heard the sheets tear in his grasp. His eyelids became a blinding screen of white and all he could hear was white noise. He shuddered and moaned wordlessly as he found his release in Nico’s warm mouth.

All the while Nico’s fingers continued to work him open slowly as _gods_ Will felt him as he swallowed every bit of Will’s release. Nico’s mouth didn’t release him until Will felt the last of the aftershocks were fading. It wasn’t until he lost the warmth of Nico’s pouty lips did Will realize that Nico had pressed a third finger inside him and was pistoning them in and out.

“Quello sembrava buono,” Nico commented clearly proud of himself, which was completely fair- what he had just done to Will was amazing.

Will couldn’t bother to look at Nico, he was still too overwhelmed with the fading euphoria of his orgasm, he could only moan wordlessly in response. Will’s moan quickly turned to a surprised and disappointed whimper as Nico retracted his fingers leaving Will feeling empty.

It was the sound of the creaking mattress, the feel of shifting weight, and the general sense of something looming over him that got Will to open his eyes. He saw Nico moving on to the bed with a wicked smile and a predatory glint in his eye. If Will were physically able just the sight would have had him painfully hard once again.

Will pushed himself further up on the bed and Nico followed, leaning in to press a soft kiss on Will’s cheek before whisper “Non ho fatto farti sentire bene, Sole,” Nico’s husky voice reverberated through Will’s very core, leaving him feeling just as desperate as before. Shuddering with desire, it was almost as if Nico hadn’t just completely undid him.

Nico pressed hot kisses on Will’s jaw and throat as Will felt the mattress give slightly under Nico’s weight as he settled in the space between Will’s thigh. Rough hands ran across the sensitive skin there in what Will recognized as a reassuring caress.

Will’s heart was pounding with anticipation, all the sensations that were to come, all the sensations he was craving. He wanted it but still surprised even himself when he spoke. “Um…wait,” his voice sounded so spent it was surprising. He must have been moaning more loudly than he had realized but that hardly mattered in that moment.

Will pushed up himself up first on his elbows and then so he was fully seated. The movement forced some distance between himself and Nico which just left Will feeling cold. If that wasn’t bad enough one look at Nico and all Will wanted to do was close that distance until they were once again pressed tightly against each other.

Nico was a vision of perfection as he kneeled naked on the edge of the bed. His light skin reminded Will of the pale glow of moonlight in contrast to the dark cabin. Shadows casted from low burning torches seemed to lick at his skin accenting the dips and curves of well-formed muscles. His manhood still stood fully erect and heavy between sculpted thighs. It took some effort on Will’s part to shift his eyeline upwards to meet Nico’s gaze. Nico was wearing an expression that was clearly a mix of confusion and disappointment and he was definitely trying not to pout which was the cutest thing Will had ever seen. “Quale amore sbagliato?”

Will crawled closer to Nico, he snaked one hand around the back of Nico’s neck and pulled him into a passionate kiss with the expressed purpose of leaving Nico breathless. As they kissed and Will felt Nico practically melt into him, Will felt around the sheets looking for where Nico’s had dropped the bottle of lube. When he finally found it, he pulled away from Nico’s lips (who whimpered which was the hottest thing Will had ever heard). Will slipped his hand away from the back of Nico’s neck to his muscular shoulder. He steered Nico back toward the mattress, Nico looked confused but let Will take the lead.

Nico laid back but pressed up on his elbows as Will moved to straddle his waist. Nico clearly wanted to question what was going on which just made Will grin brightly. “I want to do something we’ve never tried before,” Will admitted as he popped the cap off the bottle of lube and poured some of the slicking liquid onto his palm. He saw Nico cork his eyebrow at him questioningly. If he was actually going to ask they would never know, Will wrapped slicked palm around Nico’s swollen length and started to stroke slowly. Nico threw his head back and moaned dramatically.

Will moved his hand up and down Nico’s erection with slow deliberate strokes and enjoyed every little noise Nico issued at his motions. He almost hated to stop because Nico looked so good slowly coming undone under him but he knew it was just going to get better. When he was satisfied Nico’s manhood was slick enough he released his boyfriend’s girth. He shifted up Nico’s body slightly so he was straddling Nico’s waist instead of his thighs.

As he reached behind himself to once again grip Nico’s erection he saw understanding flash across Nico’s face followed quickly by pure lust. Will used his grip to line the head of Nico’s manhood with his entrance before pressing back. There was a moment that felt like an eternity where Will could feel the head of Nico’s hard length pressing against his rim before Will’s entrance gave way to him.

Will pressed his palms against Nico’s chest as he moaned at the stretch of penetration. Still especially sensitive from before he took his time slowly taking Nico in. His heart was pounding and his breathing was shallow and his eyes were screwed shut as he just tried to enjoy the flood of sensation: The feeling of Nico’s hardness filling him more and more as he pressed back, the little moans that escaped Nico as he continued to lower himself, the firm muscles of Nico’s chest under his hands.

It wasn’t until Will was fully seated that he took a moment to catch his breath as he opened his eyes to take in the vision of his boyfriend beneath him. Gods, it was quite a sight- Nico looked disheveled and lustful and utterly perfect. The dark-haired demigod’s face was flushed, and his chocolatey eyes were half-lidded with lust. Still, there was an intensity to Nico’s gaze which Will could feel solely focused on him as his eyes looked up and down Will’s bare body with a primal hunger.   

Will let his fingers run over a prominent scar that ran across Nico’s chest. “I like this view,” Will admitted with admiration, his voice sounding almost dizzy with pleasure. “We should have done this sooner.”

Nico hummed contently, strong hands ran over Will’s thighs reassuringly. “Ora sembri un dio. Non posso immaginare niente di più perfetto e peccaminoso.”

Will smiled brightly, he may not have understood Nico’s actual words but he recognized the tone well enough to know he was being complimented. Will leaned down to press a kiss on Nico’s lips, and DEAR GODS that caused some _fun_ sensations. When Will pulled away he started to move.

Will wished he could say that he was good at it right away but that wasn’t the case, it took him a bit of trial and error to find a position where he could get into a rhythm that worked. He ended up with one hand barely grazing Nico’s chest while his other hand rested on Nico’s thigh for support as he moved. Once he had managed to find a sustainable rhythm Will was once again completely lost in ecstasy. The angles the new position allowed were intense, it only took a few steady motions for Will to be seeing stars, he understood now why Nico always got so loud when he rode him. Will was sure the position made it impossible not to moan desperately.

Below him Nico moaned his name and bits of Italian, phrases Will suspected were left incomplete from the sounds of it. Calloused hands moved from Will’s legs to his backside, a firm grasp helping him keep a rhythm Will didn’t know he was losing.

 The Hades cabin felt like it was a thousand degrees, Will’s skin, his very core felt like it might burn away. The cold-hot tension was rapidly building low in his groin, like a snake coiling tighter and tighter until every cell within him seemed to snap, a thousand supernovas of blinding sensation overwhelming Will’s very existence.

Will hadn’t realize he had practically collapsed forward into Nico’s chest until he felt hot breath on the shell of his ear. “Will,” Nico’s voice was shaken and dripped with sex “Sono quasi …..” Will felt hands tighten their grasp on his backside helping him regain a rhythm he had lost in the wake of his own pleasure. “Sei così stretto e caldo. Sembra così buono!”

Wave after wave of aftershocks flooded Will’s senses and yet he still couldn’t help but become aware of Nico thrusting up into him. It felt so good and too good all at once, and Will could feel himself digging his nails into Nico’s chest but just couldn’t stop himself. It was all so much he just couldn’t stop himself from crying out, “ _Oh gods_!”

A half a second after Will’s cry stopped reverberating off the walls Nico’s grip on him tightened and he moaned loudly, “ _WILL_!” Will felt as Nico pulsed within him as he achieved climax. There was something deeply satisfying about feeling Nico react the apex of his pleasure within him and Will was happy to allow Nico to ride out his release.

Will fully collapsed into Nico’s chest because he was suddenly exhausted. They both were panting and Will couldn’t actually tell which pounding heartbeat he heard was his own and which was Nico’s. Cool hands ran up and down his back in a soothing fashion, and Will was pretty sure he could have just laid there forever.

“Will?” Nico questioned in barely a whisper barely breaking Will from his sleepy trance.

“Hum?” Will huffed more than spoke the question. _Why couldn’t they just go to sleep?_

He felt more than heard Nico let out a little laugh. “I kind of need you to move,” Nico explained softly. “Things are going to be uncomfortable in about a minute.”

“Huh?” Will questioned more out of reflex than anything else. He took a moment to take in their current position and realized Nico was right. “Oh,” he exclaimed with understanding as he reluctantly began to move. First, he pushed himself up so he was no longer draped across Nico’s chest before pulling up until Nico was no longer inside of him. He rolled off Nico and on to his back with a rather graceless humph.

Everything about Will’s existence felt heavy, he just wanted to slip into blissfully peaceful sleep. Soft lips pressed against his cheek lovingly. “Don’t move,” Nico ordered softly as Will felt the bed shift under Nico’s moving weight. “I’ll get a warm wash cloth to clean up,” He promised his voice more distance then Will would have liked, certainly too distance for the naked cuddling Will wanted.

“Humm…” Will barely managed to reach out to where he thought Nico would be based on the sound of his voice. He missed, he didn’t know by how much because he didn’t have the energy to open his eyes. “It’s feeling like my birthday again,” he pointed out lazily.

Nico’s laugh rang out brightly, “Will, after that I’m pretty sure I owe you for the next one hundred birthdays.” Nico’s voice was as bright and pleasant as his laugh and Will knew he meant every word he said.

Will grinned and stretched out on the bed even though he still felt too sleepy to bother opening his eyes. “Was I really that good of a lay?” He questioned teasingly. At this point, Will’s exhausted brain knew he was just asking for Nico to stroke his ego, which was normally one of those child of Apollo things that made Will cringe but he just couldn’t help but love hearing Nico tell him he was good.

“Absolutely!” Nico replied quickly and brightly. Will would have been happy fall asleep with those words still ringing in his ears. The bed shifted as Nico pressed his palms into the mattress as he leaned in and placed a quick kiss on Will’s cheek. “Um….” Nico hummed nervously “But when you phrase it that way you sound a bit like Austin.”

Well, that had Will’s eyes shooting open. It took a second but his eyes managed to focus on Nico’s face which was held in a pinched expression like he was uncomfortable about the thing he had just pointed out. “Oh gods, really?” Will questioned hoping Nico’s comment had been a joke.

“Yeah,” Nico nodded regrettable “A bit.”

“I will never say that again _ever_ ,” Will promised sincerely.

Nico grinned and gave Will another kiss, this time on his forehead “That would be great,” Nico admitted sweetly before adding “I’m going to go get that wash cloth.”

 Nico didn’t wait for Will’s reply before pulling away from the bed and starting toward the bathroom. Will stretched a little more and looked at the clock that sat on Nico’s nightstand, the time blazed in green digits against the dark backdrop of the Hades cabin. “You know,” he called after Nico with a wicked grin “There are still two and a half hours of your birthday left, time it right we could probably go two more times before midnight.”

“Already planned on it!” Nico called back brightly from behind the bathroom door. Will grinned up at the ceiling happily at that declaration, it was definitely going to be a good night.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget comments and kudos give me life!
> 
> Also, if you are following me on tumblr and enjoyed the 30 Day OC Challenge I did for Dean, I am planning to do something similar for Felix toward the end of September/beginning of October. I already have a list of topics but if there is anything you are dying to know or want me to cover shot me an Ask!


	52. What's Normal?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday!
> 
> Sorry for the late post, I was out and about most of yesterday so I had to edit this morning.
> 
> For those of you following me on Tumblr I'm taking asks for the 30 OC Challenge I will be doing for Felix starting in October so if there is anything you want to know about Felix send me an ask!

Percy was absolutely, 100% working on his paper for class if working was defined as sitting on the couch staring at a blank piece of paper with a pen tucked behind his ear and absolutely no idea where to start.

The University of New Rome was great, in that it was pretty much designed for having demigods as students. School work was more ADHD and Dyslexic kid friendly because even with legacies there was a high rate of occurrence for both disorders. It was awesome, a lot of Percy’s classes presented things in hands-on ways, teachers preferred projects and portfolios over tests. Homework was still, unfortunately, a thing but things like reading assignments and essays were less common- they still happened but they were less common.

Maybe that was why Percy was having such a hard time with starting this paper, he didn’t have enough practice. Yeah, Percy was going to go with that, it sounded better than the mix of procrastination and lack of general motivation he suspected was the real problem.

He was also distracted which was pretty much on him but it was still playing a part in his lack of productivity. Annabeth was in the kitchen and Percy was straining to hear the exchange that she was having with Leo via Iris message. Leo messaged Annabeth a lot since construction had started on the Roman Baths at Camp Half-Blood and the conversations were always beyond amusing.

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Annabeth questioned her voice taking on an agitated edge that Percy had only had been on the receiving end of on a couple of occasions and each time was completely terrifying. He almost felt a little bad for Leo. “Leo, what do you mean there was an explosion!”

 _Oh,_ _dear gods_ , Percy’s head whipped in the direction of the kitchen even though he knew he wouldn’t be able to see either demigod. He could hear the sounds of Leo talking back to Annabeth but couldn’t make out the words. He shot a look at the blank paper in front of him for a few seconds before coming to the decision that the paper could wait a little longer.

Percy slid down to the other end of the couch where he could get a better view into the kitchen. Leo had apparently just stopped talking, his image hung in the air and even at the distance Percy could tell the guy was completely covered in soot.

“What exploded exactly?” Annabeth questioned each word spoken like a shotgun blast. The daughter of Athena had her back toward the kitchen entrance so Percy couldn’t make out much more than her wild golden curls, and her tense shoulders. Even from such little detail, Percy could tell that Annabeth was at about a seven on the frustration scale which was seriously unfortunate for Leo, and potentially their kitchen walls. Percy made a mental note to offer Annabeth a shoulder massage when she finished her Iris message.

“You know,” Percy watched Leo shrug like the explosion he was talking about wasn’t a big deal. “The everything.”

Annabeth let out a frustrated noise that Percy was positive he had never heard before. Under the guise of getting a snack, Percy got off the couch and headed into the kitchen. If anyone would figure out how to strangle someone through an Iris message it would be Annabeth after all. He headed straight for the refrigerator shooting Leo a quick wave as he passed. “Hey Leo,” he greeted casually as he quietly noted how Annabeth had buried her face in her hands.

“Hey, Percy” Percy noted how Leo waved back before Percy ducked his head behind the refrigerator door and grabbed a can of soda from the small, cold space. 

After he straightened up and shut the refrigerator door, he watched Annabeth drop her hands from her face. “Please tell me you’re joking,” Annabeth begged Leo and she looked sincerely desperate. That wasn’t a look Percy was used to seeing on his fiancee's face but he wasn’t actually all that surprised. Annabeth had told him a lot about the Roman Baths at Camp Half-Blood and from what she had said there really wasn’t a lot of flex time in when the project was projected to be completed and when it _had_ to be completed. There just wasn’t enough leeway for errors, especially big, explosion-type errors.

“Most of the time,” Leo replied with an impish smile. Leo and Annabeth were actually a very good team on this build, largely because the two demigods handled stress so differently but Percy still wouldn’t be surprised if Annabeth tried to kill the son of Hephaestus before the end of the project. Leo shrugged before adding “But about this, not so much.”

Percy made himself comfortable by leaning up against the wall and then popped open his soda. Annabeth had dropped her hands to the kitchen table and gripped the edge like it was her only lifeline. “How did this happen?” She questioned sharply.

“I don’t know,” Leo replied quickly “It just sort of did.”

“Things don’t just explode!” Annabeth shouted with clear outrage. Percy sipped his soda and wondered if Annabeth was going to end up throwing the kitchen table through Leo’s iris message. He was definitely going to give her a backrub when this was over and maybe run her a warm bath.

“Annabeth, it’s not a big deal,” Leo reassured. He sounded convincing, at least in Percy’s opinion but he didn’t get as wound up about things like Annabeth did. “It was a medium explosion at best,” Leo added casually.

Annabeth looked completely horrified. She looked like she was ready to scream. Her eyes shot toward Percy for a moment and Percy gave a shrug hoping that she caught his meaning- Leo was her boots on the ground for the project, so to speak, so if he said it wasn’t a big deal Percy figured she should trust his word on it.

For a moment, Percy didn’t think Annabeth understood but then she let out a long sigh. Her posture relaxed somewhat and she questioned with a resigned voice, “How bad is the damage?”

“On a scale of one to ten?” Leo questioned and Percy wasn’t sure but he thought the guy sounded a little nervous. That probably wasn’t a good sign, maybe he had too much confidence in Leo.

“If that helps,” Annabeth replied through clenched teeth.

Leo was quiet long enough for Percy to take a couple of sips of his soda and decide that the answer wasn’t going to be good news. Finally, Leo let out a heavy sigh and his form took on a slumped posture which was visible even through the Iris message. “All of it,” he admitted heavily.

Annabeth’s grip on the table tightened minutely. “Leo,” Annabeth groaned. She clearly was displeased but she wasn’t screaming, Percy was impressed by her restraint. “I didn’t have these problems designing Mount Olympus,” she pointed out more like an accusation than a statement of facts.

Leo seemed completely unfazed by the comment. “Did any of those buildings involve warming large quantities of liquid on a daily basis?” He questioned in retort.

Annabeth didn’t come back immediately which was enough to tell Percy that she saw Leo’s point. “I thought you were good, Valdez,” She questioned, her tone wasn’t quite teasing but it was close enough for Percy to know she had come to accept the problem and now was ready to just deal with it. “So how off track are we?”

“Well….” Leo dragged out the word as he appeared to think over the question. Considering that from the sounds of it the entire building had exploded Percy felt safe guessing that they were pretty off track. The pained expression Leo was wearing wasn’t exactly inspiring confidence either.

Before Leo could say another word, there was a rapid succession of knocks from the apartment’s front door. “Oh gods I can’t,” Annabeth declared throwing up her hands as if to surrender. She looked toward Percy questioningly. “Percy can you…..?” She completed the question by sweeping her arm in the general direction of their front door.

“Yup,” Percy replied as he nodded. He walked out of the kitchen setting his drink on the table as he left. He had barely turned the corner before he heard Leo’s voice. He couldn’t make out the words but he was sure that the son of Hephaestus was explaining just how behind schedule they were on the Roman baths.

The apartment was tiny and it took Percy less than a minute to actually answer the door but that didn’t stop the person on the other side of the door from knock several more times. Pulling the door open, Percy wasn’t sure who he had been expecting, maybe Grover or one of Annabeth’s study buddies, instead he found Piper and Jason. Piper had three or four binders, a few spiral bound notebooks, and too many loose papers to count in her arms while Jason stood next to her looking apologetic.

“Hey guys,” Percy greeted brightly as he leaned on the doorway slightly. “Didn’t know you guys were coming over,” he admitted, Annabeth must have forgotten to mention it. Between homework and the Camp Half-Blood build she was so busy those things were bound to happen every now and then.

“Where’s Annabeth?” Piper questioned completely skipping the whole greeting. “It’s an emergency,” She declared seriously, which Percy kind of figured based on her tone. Although he could see Jason shaking his head no from the corner of his eye, so he guessed it wasn’t a serious emergency.

“Kitchen,” Percy replied jutting his thumb back toward the inside of the apartment. “Yelling at Leo for being incompetent,” he informed not that Piper really listened. She pushed past him using her arms full of binders and papers like a battering ram before Percy got the first word completely out. Percy watched her pass without complaint.

“What did he do?” Jason questioned stepping just past Percy to enter the apartment.

Percy let the door fall shut as he turned to the son of Jupiter. He shrugged casually as he spoke, “Blew something up apparently.”

Jason nodded like that wasn’t particularly unexpected which considering it was Leo they were talking about that was probably true. “So, the usual” Jason commented practically reading Percy’s mind.

Piper’s voice carried from the kitchen as the daughter of Aphrodite spoke excitedly. “Annabeth!” She exclaimed brightly. “Hey Leo, Annabeth is going to have to message you back important wedding stuff afoot.”

Percy looked toward Jason with curiosity, Jason’s only reply was to shrug suggesting he knew just about as much about what Piper was up to as Percy did.

“Piper!” Percy heard Annabeth exclaim from the kitchen and he didn’t have to see her face to know she was completely outraged he could definitely hear it in her voice. “The Roman baths at Camp Half-Blood are not going to build themselves,” She protested.

“I know,” Piper declared as Percy saw her turn the corner pushing Annabeth forward. Annabeth was clearly fighting Piper for every inch. “Leo is going to do it,” Piper pointed out chipperly.

“Piper,” Annabeth protested. Percy thought he saw Annabeth try to grab at the molding of the doorway to the kitchen for leverage to stop Piper from pushing her forward. Her efforts failed and Piper continued to drive her toward the door. “Percy and I haven’t picked a date yet I think we have to pause all the other planning until we get that figured out.”

Piper huffed dramatically and seemed to double her efforts to make Annabeth move forward. “If I waited for that, you two will have three kids and Nico and Will will be married.”

“Whoa” Percy interrupted more dramatically than was necessary but a bit of that surprised him. “I get the Nico and Will thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if we got that call today but why are we having three kids?” He questioned shooting Annabeth a curious look. Percy was totally down with having kids and would be completely cool with starting right away but he knew Annabeth wanted to finish college first (they had been that conversation already, multiple times). “Do you know something I don’t?” he asked turning toward Piper partially out of curiosity and partially teasing before adding. “Did you do something to our condoms that I should know about?”

“Oh gods no, nothing like that,” Piper replied with a laugh and almost snorted. It was very un-child of Aphrodite thing for her to do which was part of what Percy loved about Piper, she could be super pretty and a complete dork at the same time. “I don’t know you two just seem like the three kids type of couple,” She declared with a shrug like that was a completely normal thing to say to one of your friends. “Call it child of Aphrodite intuition.”

“Right,” Percy declared with mocking disbelief. He did shoot Annabeth a quick look- _Maybe Annabeth would rethink her whole one kid stance_.

Annabeth’s response to Percy’s look was to glare back at him so he was going to take that as a _no_ , at least for now. Then she turned toward Piper and audibly huffed, “Please tell me your theories on how many children Percy and I might have in the future is not why you interrupted my Iris message with Leo?” She questioned with annoyance.

Piper was completely unfazed by Annabeth’s irritation. “Annabeth, listen to me very carefully,” she declared firmly she held up her hands like she was about to present Annabeth with seriously important information. The action made Percy realize that somewhere Piper had lost her insane stack of binders and notebooks, she must have deposited them somewhere in the kitchen. “Leo can handle it.”

Annabeth took a deep breath and Percy could tell she was about to launch into a long-winded explanation of why exactly Piper was wrong about that. “But-”

“But nothing,” Piper cut her off decisively. Percy was seriously going to have to ask her how she did that because whenever Percy tried that it didn’t work. Piper waved Annabeth off as she continued to talk. “The best salon in New Rome had a last-minute appointment open up in ten minutes so we _need_ to get going.”

Percy had to work hard to hold in a laugh because the way Piper said need, it was like how he would have guessed people talked about vital organs, not salon appointments. Percy glanced toward Jason to try to gauge the son of Jupiter’s reaction. Jason met Percy’s gaze took a visible breath and made a show of shaking his head from side to side which told Percy exactly what Jason thought about this whole thing.

Annabeth blinked at Piper with confusion, “Why?” Percy smiled a little to himself because that was totally his Annabeth, she just didn’t really get into the girly stuff. Percy wouldn’t really care either way but he appreciated how Annabeth did her own thing.

“For practice hair and makeup,” Piper declared like it was the most obvious thing ever and she was completely bothered that she had to actually explain.

“Piper,” Annabeth protested although Percy could hear the sound of her giving in in her voice. “I really don’t….”

“Hush,” Piper said with finality as she reached over and patted Annabeth’s arm reassuringly. “It’ll be fun.”

“I doubt that,” Annabeth sighed heavily. She looked at Piper suspiciously for a second before questioning. “How do you even know about this last-minute opening?”

“Reyna,” Piper replied like it was yet another obvious fact that she shouldn’t have to explain. “She’s going to meet us there with hot chocolate,” Piper pointed toward the door and Percy looked expecting to see Reyna walking through the door.

“Piper, I really don’t know if I have time,” Annabeth stated with a heavy sigh and slumped shoulders. “I was going to help Percy with his paper,” she gestured toward Percy with the same general air he suspected that she would use to talk about a sick cat she had to care for. Plus, Percy did not remember them ever talking about her helping him with his paper. He wouldn’t lie and say he didn’t need it, even if it was just Annabeth telling him to focus and stop procrastinating.

“What am I, your kid?” Percy questioned. It wasn’t that he was mad or anything, he just didn’t want to be the thing that got in the way of Annabeth having fun. Annabeth glared at Percy meaningfully and Percy released he had misread the situation. Annabeth was using him as an excuse to get out of doing something she wasn’t keen on doing. “Oh, right” Percy hummed with new understanding as he turned to Piper and hoped he sounded convincing. “Yeah, Annabeth was going to help me with my paper.”

“Not a problem,” Piper waved off the idea clearly undeterred. He turned toward Jason with a serious expression. “Jason-” She pointed at the son of Jupiter. “Make sure Percy finishes his homework,” She ordered before starting to dig in her pockets. After a second or two she pulled out a slip of paper and handing it over to Jason aggressively. “Then, if there is time to try on suits.”

Jason took the paper with a look of confusion but didn’t really argue. Annabeth had clearly run out of excuses and ended up letting Piper pull her out the door. Piper grabbed her insane stack of binders and papers from the kitchen and drove Annabeth out the door as she talked excitedly about ethereal French twists and Dutch braids.

The door slammed shut behind the whirlwind that the girls had became leaving Percy and Jason staring at the empty space they had left behind. After a few seconds, Percy and Jason turned to each other. “So,” Jason said casually breaking the silence left in the girls’ wake. “What is your paper on?”

“No idea,” Percy shrugged. That wasn’t exactly true, Percy knew the general area he was supposed to cover he just hadn’t picked the specific topic yet. He really wasn’t too worried about it, he had a few days before it was due. “Want to go get something to eat?” He questioned, “I’m starved.”

Jason seemed confused for a second before his expression passed and he shrugged. “Yeah,” he replied. “That sounds better than homework.”

“Nice,” Percy whistled with satisfaction. “Let’s go get a bite.”

Percy grabbed his jacket and the keys to the apartment and he and Jason headed out the door. Stepping out of Percy’s apartment building, he was surprised to find it was much cooler than he had been expected. Percy would swear it hadn’t been a purposeful thing but after he pulled the building’s door shut and turned back to where Jason was waiting and without thinking Percy reached out to grab Jason’s hand. Thank gods he caught himself before he actually slipped his hand into Jason’s because that would have been just weird.

As they started down the street they walked in relative silence which was fine because they were bros so they could do that. It also gave Percy a minute to figure out where that bit of weirdness came from. It _had_ to be some weird leftover reflex from walking places with Annabeth. When he and Annabeth walked places around the city and it was cold they always walked hand and hand. Of course, he was in a relationship with Annabeth and he and Jason weren’t completely….

 _Ya know_ , Percy thought as he decided trying to figure it out was just making it seem worse and was giving him a headache, _Jason didn’t notice so he shouldn’t worry about_.

Once Percy decided that he was able to enjoy the walk much more. They walked through the city at a leisurely pace clearly with no specific place in mind although after a few minutes Percy realized they were walking in the general direction of the university. Percy didn’t know if Jason was leading the way or if he was but whoever was making the decisions made a smart choice because there were lots of little spots to eat around the university.

As he and Jason got closer to the university they talked about random stuff like how different Percy found New Rome when compared to New York City (it was just _so_ different) while Jason talked about going to school in California and what it was like living with Piper’s dad. Occasionally, Jason would point things out as they walked past that he remembered from growing up in the city. It was an interesting reminder that Jason was actually much more familiar with the city then Percy probably ever would be, Percy often forgot about that.

As they made their way through the city Percy _definitely_ didn’t have to repeatedly fight back the urge to take Jason by the hand or put his arm around Jason’s shoulder. _That just had to be some weird by-product of physical intimacy_ , Percy decided.

That had to make sense, that day was the first time Percy and Jason had hung out together since they went to Tennessee and that had been a totally different situation, like a mini vacation from their normal lives where they were like on another extended double date with Nico and Will like they were an actual couple- they definitely weren’t a couple in their normal lives. He could probably ask Piper about that since she was so into that psychology stuff. Again, Percy decided to just ignore it and it would go away eventually. They just had to get back to the routine of hanging out like they normally did.

Jason started talking about studying for his admissions exam for university. By talking it was more like complaining that even though he has already been accepted he had to take the admissions exam which had Percy laughing. Percy had gone through the same thing the year before and had been equally as annoyed by it. It was funny hearing Jason repeat some of the same things Percy was sure he had been complaining a year ago.

When Jason stopped dead in his tracks and grabbed Percy roughly by the arm stopping him too. Percy looked around them confused, he didn’t see anything wrong. “Wait, is this Pomona’s garden?” Jason questioned pointing toward the opening to one of the city’s many gardens.

“Ah,” Percy hummed confused. New Rome had about five hundred parks and gardens and Percy didn’t normally pay them any attention. Why would he, they all were pretty much the same: Some statue of whatever god or goddess the place was dedicated to, flowers, trees, and maybe a bench or fountain. They may have been the most boring places in the city! The only reason Percy was aware of half of them was because of Annabeth taking an interest. Pomona’s garden sounded familiar which meant it was probably near the university. He didn’t know why but Pomona’s Garden brought to mind large fruit trees and the trees he could see over the garden’s wall could possibly be fruit trees. “Yeah, I think so,” he answered not at all confident about that answer.

“I know this place,” Jason declared. His grip on Percy’s arm loosened but didn’t completely release. His bright blue eyes remained looked on the entrance of the garden a few feet away.

“I would hope so,” The statement seemed odd considering how Jason had been pointing out places he remembered from his childhood as they walked. “You lived in New Rome for how many years?”

“Yeah, but that was Camp Jupiter.” Jason offered as an explanation which didn’t actually seem like much of an actual explanation to Percy. “It was different.” Unexpectedly, Jason tightened his grip on Percy’s arm and started pulling him toward the garden’s entrance, “Come on, I want to show you something.”

Jason really didn’t leave Percy much choice on the following him point considering how tightly he was gripping Percy’s arm or how strongly he was pulling him along, not that Percy planned on fighting him on it. As they walked through the gate Percy saw a small wooden sign hanging from the low wall that read _Pomona’s Garden_ , so Percy was right at least he had that.

They were only a few steps into the garden when the place started to look familiar. Percy was pretty sure it was actually one of the first places Annabeth had insisted on visiting when they moved to New Rome because of some impressive bridge (that in real life was shockingly small). From what Percy remembered there was a footpath that led through the park under various fruit trees and over a small pound (hence the bridge). He distinctly remembered the trail smelling amazing and making him incredibly hungry. Oh, and there were also some statues and stuff.

Alright, Percy was a little worried about getting hungry. That was short-lived because Jason quickly pulled them left when the trail went right. At first, they were on a trail, it wasn’t as well-worn as the main trail but it existed at least for a little while. As Jason lead them the trail faded to nothing and then the brush and trees seemed to be more tightly packed in the space until Percy felt like he was constantly getting whacked in the ankle by branches.

An especially low branch hit Percy’s ankle, he tripped forward, and nearly took Jason out. Luckily, Jason didn’t have to physically catch him because that would have been embarrassing but he did have to grab Jason’s shoulder pretty hard. That was how Percy realized Jason had stopped and dropped his grip on Percy's arm. Percy guessed that meant they had reached their destination.

Percy couldn’t imagine that there could be anything that cool tucked into a park in the middle of New Rome. The park couldn’t be that large, it wasn’t like it was Central Park or anything. He had been completely wrong. Looking around Percy found that they were standing on the edge of a large clearing that was surrounded by a few large trees. “What is this place?” Percy questioned stepping past Jason and into the clearing to get a better look at their surroundings.

The place didn’t seem like it could be hidden in a medium size garden in the middle of a major city. There seemed to be five trees surrounding the clearing, each looked seriously old but no two appeared to be the same type of tree although fruit still hung off each one.

“I don’t know,” Jason replied. Percy turned to see the son of Jupiter shrug with that non-answer. “A clearing, I guess.”

“Right,” Percy dragged out the word in hopes that would prompt Jason to actually give him a real answer.

“It’s not important,” Jason stated as he waved Percy off dismissively. He started across the clearing toward one of the trees on the far side. “Come on, look at this,” the blonde called back to Percy without looking back at him, although he did wave for Percy to follow.

What the hell, Percy thought. He followed Jason although maybe not with the same amount of enthusiasm that Jason seemed to have about this clearing with trees. He stopped next to Jason, quickly glanced at the tree (surprise, it was a really old tree) before turning back to Jason. “It’s a tree.”

“Yeah,” Jason agreed with a quick little annoyed look before turning back to the tree. Apparently, Percy was ruining Jason’s nostalgia which, if Percy was being honest, he did actually feel a little bad about it. Jason pointed aggressively at a spot on the tree trunk, “look,” he ordered.

Percy looked to at the spot where Jason was pointing, carved into the old, knotted bark were the letters JG. It took a few seconds for Percy to process what he was seeing and then when he finally understood he looked back over at Jason. “Are those your initials?” he asked both curious and a little impressed.

“Yeah,” Jason agreed with a nod although his eyes were still on the tree trunk. Percy tried to follow the son of Jupiter’s eyes, and now that he was actually looking at the details of the tree he noticed that there were other letters carved all over the place. Just below where the main branches connected to the body of the tree, larger than any of the other initials was a large V. It took Percy an embarrassingly long time to realize that it was a Roman numeral for five. With that everything else clicked into place: Five trees, one tree for each of the cohorts of the Roman army.

Percy didn’t normally get impressed by stupid history stuff but that was freaking cool. It must have read on his face because Percy saw Jason grin from the corner of his eye before pointing to another set of initials. “And there are Dakota’s initials and then there are Gwen’s.” Percy followed Jason’s finger in awe. “I don’t know how far it goes back but the initials of every Centurion from the fifth cohort is carved into this tree.” Jason declared.

“That’s kind of awesome,” Percy declared seriously. He took a moment to look around the tree at the various sets of initials wishing he knew more about the Legion or even the Fifth Cohort so he could try to guess who some of the initials and guess who they belonged to. He turned toward Jason after a couple seconds and asked, “When did you carve your initials here?”

“I was fourteen maybe,” Jason answered uncertainly “It was right around the time Reyna and I took the quest to Charleston I think.”

Jason’s eyes stayed locked on the tree and he seemed lost in his own thoughts. Percy understood that for Jason, it must have been like looking at a huge part of his childhood. He was so glad that Jason had thought to bring him to see this but at the same time, it felt like something deeply private.

Again, he had the urge to put his arm around Jason’s shoulder or maybe take ahold of his hand. He stopped himself because as he reminded himself, they weren’t actually dating they were just friends that fooled around on occasion. “That’s intense but very cool.”

It was a massive understatement but he didn’t know what to say and he honestly didn’t think Jason expected him too. So he stood in the silence soaking up the gravity of the history of the place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me at: delta-roseblr.tumblr.com


	53. New Normal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday All,
> 
> This is sort of a continuation of the last chapter, which I know is a bit different but I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Next chapter is back to Will and is very interesting (or at least that is what I think).
> 
> I'm currently doing a OC challenge for Felix on Tumblr and I will be doing a ficlet of Felix and Dean meant as well as when Felix realized he liked Dean so if that something you want to read check out my Tumblr ( delta-roseblr.tumblr.com ). I'm also taking requests for that so if there is something you are dying to know about my boy Felix drop me an ask.

Jason had been so excited when they had come upon Pamona's Garden because he remembered when he had carved his initials into the fifth Cohort’s fruit tree (which was a cherry tree not that it mattered). It had felt like such an honor at the time, it had felt like a coming of age moment and in the Roman legion, those were hard won. He thought Percy was probably one of the few people who could appreciate it but wouldn't already know about it. After all, Percy had served in the fifth Cohort even if it was only for a short time.

Jason hadn't really expected to get lost in memories seeing his initials carved into the bark. Even after his memories returned after Juno's little amnesia stun it was easy for him to feel removed from his childhood as part of the Roman Legion. He didn't visit New Rome all that often and rarely actually saw people he knew back than excite for Reyna. Jason had chosen to be Greek, and since that point, he had surrounded himself by people and things that represented his Greek life. Because of that, it was easy for New Rome and his childhood there to seem distant until it was staring him in the face.

_Reyna's name was carved on one of the trees too._

_And so was Octavian's. They had never been friends or even friendly but he had still been a person who died in battle, even though that had largely because of his own greed._

If he looked hard enough would he be able to see Micheal Vanus' initials somewhere on the Fifth cohort's tree? Did the tradition go back that far? Did it go back farther?

Jason wasn't sure exactly when the moment changed from Jason showing his friend something cool to something else, something private that left Jason feeling exposed and vulnerable. And to make matters worse Jason almost reached out and pulled Percy in a half hug at least twice which would have made things so weird. Jason didn't even understand where that desire came from, it wasn't like he and Percy ever hugged, that just wasn't something he could remember them ever doing. Occasionally, Jason had managed to get a few hugs of a mostly uncooperative Nico or a few bro-type hugs with Leo but not with Percy.

At least Percy was cool about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely interested in what Jason was showing him and didn't make a comment (or joke) when Jason got lost in his own head. That was probably the only thing that kept Jason from feeling like a complete idiot.

Alright, that and he could have sworn when they had first stepped out of Percy and Annabeth's building Jason thought he saw Percy reach out to take his hand. The son of Poseidon didn't actually do it so he couldn't know for sure but he was pretty sure of what he saw.

Jason may have had a panicked moment before they left the park- _Had he and Percy messed up their friendship with the whole polyamory thing?_ He hadn’t ever had the urge to hug Percy before and he didn’t think Percy had ever gone to grab his hand before. This was the first time he and Percy had hung out since Tennessee. While they were in Tennessee, he and Percy were practically a couple for two days, maybe they just couldn’t go back to hanging out as friends.

The moment past pretty quickly because Percy seemed completely oblivious to Jason’s internal panic and just started chatting about things like nothing was different. Before long they were strolling toward the university talking like they normally did with only the occasional out of place thought slipping into Jason’s mind which could easily be ignored (he was not going to hold Percy’s hand).

After a while Jason was able to forget about the odd little blips of wanting to treat Percy like they were dating and things began to seem like things were back to normal between them. Actually, Percy acting so much like his normal self he had Jason laughing a lot of time. They were talking about a lot of the normal stuff: school, girlfriends, how the lack of monster activity felt weird and wrong.

As they reached a street near the university that was heavily lined with restaurants and other shops the conversation turned to how Percy had been helping do some training for the Roman army. A lot of what Percy talked about was the difference in dealing with the Romans when compared to the Greeks. Being familiar with both groups Jason could imagine there were quite a few differences but his mind more quickly went to being jealousy. Since leaving Camp Half-Blood he hadn’t seen much action.

Percy shrugged after an uncharacteristic long ramble and declared, “Training the Romans isn’t bad though.” After thinking on it for a few seconds Percy added, “Actually, in some ways it's easier.”

Jason couldn’t help but let out a laugh at that. “I’d hope so,” he declared. He was pretty sure that had to be the understatement of the century. “Half the time training the demigods at Camp Half-Blood is like trying to herd cats.”

“Hey, bro” Percy replied with clearly fake defense “Don’t knock the independent Greek spirit!”

“I’m not!” Jason assured with a bit of a grin “On the battlefield what the Greeks lack in organization they more than makeup for in enthusiasm.”

“Damn straight!” Percy nodded with visible pride.

The Greeks really were impressive on the battlefield, Jason had seen that during the Battle of Camp Half-Blood. He would never seriously underestimate the Greeks on the battlefield (after all he had chosen to be Greek) but sometimes the Greek verse Roman thing got pulled into Percy and his competition so he couldn’t help but go for a bit of a jab just to annoy Percy. “Just during training half of them have the attention of your average goldfish,” he pointed out teasingly.

Percy didn’t react with his fake-offense he normally did when they got into their Greek verse Roman debate, instead, he laughed. “Well, half of them were just there to check me out shirtless, so you have to take that into account.” Percy shot him a cocky grin.

“Oh really?” Jason questioned with fake outrage. He didn’t exactly doubt that was the truth and Jason hadn’t thought much of at the time but there always seemed to be a lot of giggling during sword practice class. Actually, now that Jason was hearing that it made a lot of sense.

“Yeah,” Percy shrugged clearly proud of himself and amused the topic of conversation. “Or you shirtless,” he declared pointing casually at Jason before adding with a grin. “Which I really can’t fault them for,” Percy said it so casually and kept talking like it didn’t even matter. As annoying as that was Jason was at least grateful that Percy didn’t look in his direction because he was pretty sure he blushed a little at that. It was practically impossible not to when an attractive person casually mentions they think you're attractive- and he couldn’t even think it was weird at this point, after all, they had already seen each other naked (and more). Jason quickly shut down any panicked thoughts that the whole friends-with-benefits idea was a horrible idea. That ship had sailed and there really was no going back so freaking out about wasn’t going to help with anything. Luckily, Percy kept talking completely unaware of any internal conflict Jason was facing. “Or to check out Nico’s ass in pants that I _swear_ he must paint on each morning they’re so tight.”

“Oh gods!” Jason protested with a bit of disgust. It was bad enough that he had to hear Will wax poetic about Nico’s butt, and Will did that a lot, he always apologized once he did it but he did it a lot. Jason did not need to hear Percy draw attention to the son of Hades’ clothing choices and whatever features those choices may highlight. “Way to make me feel dirty,” Jason exclaimed with a laugh. He couldn’t really get mad at Percy about it, in a weird way it was Percy’s way of treating Nico like his brother. Jason worked hard not to think of Nico in any sort of sexual stuff but Percy took a completely different approach, he just acted like Nico was just another guy friend. Jason kind of envious of that because it had to be easier than Jason’s approach.

Percy laughed sincerely, “We’re eye candy.” He nudged Jason’s shoulder playfully as they continued to walk down the block. “You’d think you’d be used to that by now.”

“Whatever bro,” Jason replied skeptically and nudged Percy back for good measure. Any of Jason’s previous concern seemed to fade. He and Percy had seemed to have fallen into their normal back and forth after a few little stumbles. He actually felt a little silly being kind of panicked, Jason had even had a weird moment where he found himself wondering if he and Percy were on some kind of strange date.

He turned toward Percy and was going to make some comment about Percy’s was proving his point about the Greeks being undisciplined but the words never made it out of his mouth. Looking over at Percy Jason realized they had already walked well passed all the restaurants on the street and were now entering an area that Jason was pretty sure was just student housing. “Aw?” Jason stopped and gave one last look around in confusion. _Where exactly was Percy taking them? Or was he supposed to be the one leading them?_ “So, where are we going to eat?”

Percy stopped in his tracks. “Aw….?” He looked around, his expression quickly turning to confusion. After a few seconds Percy turned back to Jason and exclaimed sounding impressed, “Whoa, we totally passed everything.”

“Yeah,” Jason agreed. He reached over and gave Percy’s shoulder a little shove “Way to lead the way bro.”

Percy shoved him back with a bit more force then Jason had shoved him but it still fell in the teasing category. “When did I get nominated to find the restaurant?” he protested “You lived in New Rome way longer then I have, you pick.”

Jason could point out again that being a part of the Roman Legion growing up got in the way of actually experiencing the city of New Rome in a lot of ways but didn’t see the point. Instead, he thought about what was close. He really wasn’t familiar with New Rome and the only place he could think of was the coffee place Percy worked. “We could just go to the café,” he suggested vaguely gesturing back the way they came. “It’s right there and it probably won’t busy.”

Percy made a face at the suggestion. “But I work there,” he reminded clearing finding the idea of eating somewhere he worked completely unappealing.

“Yeah, but lucky us, you aren’t working tonight,” He pointed out with a teasing grin. He nudged Percy with his elbow to drive home the point. “So, we can order coffee and it won’t be burnt.”

“Asshole,” Percy grumbled although he clearly wasn’t actually offended.

Right after Percy had gotten the job at the café he had been pretty open about just how bad he was at making coffee. Jason had made the mistake of thinking Percy was joking because honestly how bad could one person be at making coffee? So the first time that he and Piper had visited New Rome Jason had ordered some latte even though Percy was making it and he found just how wrong he was. It might have been the worst thing Jason had ever had in his mouth (and yeah, he was including _that_ ). Considering Jason managed to choke it down, he felt he had the right to tease Percy about his horrible coffee making skills.

After thinking about it for a second Percy seemed to become resigned to the idea. “Fine,” he shrugged as he turned on his heels and started back the way they came. Jason followed silently. He didn’t need to say anything, he and Percy both knew he had won which with him and Percy that was what really mattered.

The café was a block or two back the way they came but it was still one of the closest places to get food that Jason knew. As they made their way back the street seemed less crowded then it had before not that Jason had really been paying that much attention as they had been walking. When they had first started walking from the park Jason had been a bit lost in his own thoughts so the people passing by didn’t completely register. But as they walked back toward the café he found it weird that there were so few people walking around. It must have been much later at night than Jason had realized.

_How long had they been at the park?_

When they reached the café it looked completely empty, if Jason hadn’t known better he would have thought the placed was closed. Before they walked in the door Jason was sure that there had to be customers there just out of the view but as soon as they walked through the door Jason realized he was wrong.

The café where Percy worked at was a bit more kitschy than a lot of the places in New Roman but that wasn’t completely uncommon closer to the university. It definitely embraced its ancient Roman heritage judging by the décor. The walls were a marbled plaster in a cream color that people somehow always seemed to associate with old Roman architecture and of course, it had a few useless arches creating what Annabeth explained once was called an accent wall. And there were big clay vases everywhere for some reason even though they clearly served no purpose.

Even if all the decorations weren’t too cheap to be convincingly old all the fancy latte machines and other hi-tech coffee making equipment that Jason couldn’t name if his life depended on it. Since the place was completely empty Jason wasn’t really surprised to see the only two employees were hanging around the counter.

Jason had been to the café a few times with Piper and the others to visit (read: tease) Percy while he worked so he recognized a few of Percy’s co-workers by face if not by name. One of the guys that were currently present was on the shorter side with dark hair, a darker complexion than the California sun alone couldn’t explain, and a wealth of visible piercings and tattoos. Jason thought he remembered that guy’s name starting with an R but he couldn’t be sure and it really didn’t matter. The other guy was _pretty_ with perfectly styled jet-black hair and porcelain skin- he might have been the only guy Jason had ever seen in person that he thought would fit in with Nico and his modeling gig (sorry Will). The tattooed guy was at least cleaning, wiping at the counter without any real urgency but the pretty guy wasn’t even faking interest instead he was draped gracefully against the counter.

The door made enough of a noise that both employees turned toward the door expectantly. The pretty guy’s excitement was short-lived when he saw him and Percy standing at the door and with the apparent realization that they weren’t anything exciting he went back to slumping against the counter. The tattooed guy paused in his lazy work long enough to give a weak wave, “Hey, Percy.”

“Hey, Rory,” Percy replied with a mix of disinterest and familiarity that had to be solely reserved for co-workers. Jason gave the tattoo guy a quick nod in acknowledgment, secretly happy to hear that he had been right about the first initial of the guy’s name, as he moved past Percy to take a seat at the nearest table. He was about halfway into a chair when Percy seemed to notice what he was doing, the sign of that was a sharp slap on Jason’s shoulder. Jason stopped mid-sit and stared back at the son of Poseidon confused. “Dude, not there,” Percy stated like that explained anything. “Let’s sit at that table-” he paused for a second as his finger scanned the café space before settling on a space toward the back of the café where there were a few tables were hidden in an alcove behind yet another unnecessary arch. “Over there,” he insisted before adding “it’s better.”

“Okay,” Jason hummed uncertainly as he stood up and moved away from the table he had been going to sit at which had seemed perfectly fine. The other table Percy had indicated wasn’t all that much further from the entrance but since it was tucked into a corner and blocked from the view of most of the café it seemed out of the way. If Jason had been there with Piper he would have totally picked to sit at that table because it was the kind of table where if they started making out it wouldn’t be seen by most of the café.

 _Was it weird that Percy wanted to sit at what seemed like a date table? Were they on a date? Was that even something he and Percy did?_ Jason quickly shut down the string of increasingly panicked questions that were running around in his head as he dropped himself into the chair across from Percy. _They were friends hanging out, there was no point in overthinking it_.

They had barely settled in their seats when the attractive guy showed up at the side of the table. “Hey, Percy” Attractive guy greeted Percy with that fake sweetness that would have made Drew of the Aphrodite cabin proud. Now that the guy was standing next to the table Jason remembered him from when he and Piper first had come to visit Annabeth and Percy. How he didn’t immediately recognize the guy, Jason didn’t understand. The guy has spent the entirety of Piper and Jason’s first visit to the café hitting on both of them which included suggesting a threesome at least three times. The guy was attractive and everything but _no_.

“Hey, Cal,” Percy replied with even less enthusiasm then he had with his initial greeting. “How’s it going?”

“Slow,” Cal replied with a bit of a shrug. He turned slightly and eyed Jason with almost predatory interest that had Jason struggling to resist the urge to squirm in discomfort. “You know I think I need to save the world or something,” he declared turning back to talk directly to Percy. “You always have the cutest dates.”

Jason’s face definitely betrayed him, he felt his face grow hot with embarrassment. He had no idea if Percy had the same reaction, he couldn’t bring himself to look up at the son of Poseidon. He did hear Percy groan so there was that. “Gods,” Percy complained before demanding with clear annoyance, “just take our order.”

“Fine,” Cal replied with the same disinterest he seemed to say everything as he took a small pad and pen from his packet. “I’m just saying,” he shrugged and clicked his pen against the pad of paper. Jason was one-hundred percent positive he didn’t want to know what Cal was saying. He was also sure he didn’t have any choice but to hear it. “Maybe you should consider sharing,” he stated in a tone that reminded Jason of a parent chastising their small-ish child. “It’s not fair to the rest of us that you hoard all the cute blondes.”

 _It was stuff like this that caused people to spontaneously combust_ , Jason thought as his face heated up to the point he was surprised his face wasn’t melting off.

Percy groaned again, this time with more force. Jason looked over just in time to see Percy shift in his seat and lean out so he could see the rest of the café. “Rory!” Percy shouted sounding completely exasperated. “Cal is….” He spared their waiter a quick glance before once again looking into the café proper, “he’s being Cal!”

“Cal!” A guy’s voice came from the café proper. The guy sounded just as exasperated with Cal as Percy, “just take their fucking order!”

Cal sighed like he was surrounded by idiots before turning to shout back toward where Jason assumed Rory was still standing, “You know it’s only hot when you are demanding in bed!” Cal turned back to Jason and Percy like that was a completely normal thing to say to a co-worker (which Jason was pretty sure it wasn’t). “What can I get you guys?”

They managed to order without anymore unbearable awkwardness which for Jason’s personal well-being was probably for the best. The both ordered something pretty basic and Jason got a coffee (because since Percy wasn’t working it wouldn’t be burnt past the point of safe consumption). Cal seemed annoyed the whole time he took their order and walked away when they finished without much fanfare. Jason figured he was the type of guy that thought of himself as being too pretty to work.

Once Cal walked away Jason felt the need to fill the silence. “So, they’re a couple?” he questioned pointing back toward the counter (even though from where they were sitting Jason couldn’t see it) at where Rory and Cal likely were.

“What?” Percy questioned as he turned to look in the direction Jason had pointed. “Rory and Cal? No,” he answered turning back toward Jason. “Cal’s just like that,” he explained sounding more uncertain with each word. A look of confusion slowly overtook Percy’s features and he once again looked back toward where his co-workers were likely standing. “I don’t think they’re a couple,” he stated more to himself this time rather than to Jason.

Jason shrugged, he wasn’t all that invested in the situation it was just something to fill the silence. “Guess you’d know,” he stated.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Percy questioned genuinely confused by the statement.

Jason stared at Percy for a few seconds in doubt that he was actually confused. It was just a known fact that Percy could call a couple from about a mile away, and Jason just figured that Percy knew about that. “Dude,” Jason declared with a grin as he realized he just stumbled on something new he could tease Percy about. “You’re better at spotting couples than half the Aphrodite cabin, everyone at camp knows that.” It was funny watching Percy’s expression go from one of confusion to realization to annoyance. Jason couldn’t help grin wider and question, “Are you sure you’re a child of Poseidon?”

Percy sighed and rolled his eyes which Jason knew meant Percy didn’t have a good comeback. “Whatever, _flyboy._ ” Percy retorted.

“Flyboy?” Jason questioned with a laugh, he really was expecting Percy to have a better comeback. “Is that supposed to be an insult?”

“Well, it wasn’t a compliment,” Percy grumbled as he started to fiddle with his napkin and silverware on the table.

“Wow, that is so weak,” Jason chuckled. “I think you’re losing your skills in your old age, Jackson.”

“Whatever,” Percy retorted sounding outraged as he started to drum his fork against the table lightly. “Like you could do better.”

“Dude,” Jason looked at Percy in shock for a moment. He couldn’t possibly be leaving himself completely open for it. Jason knew it would drive Percy crazy but how could he waste such a golden opportunity. “Aquaman.”

Percy audibly gasped at that and looked at Jason with an expression of utter betrayal. “Oh, that is just not cool,” He shook his head disapprovingly at Jason. “Not cool.”

“Sorry,” Jason shrugged not actually feeling all that sorry. It wasn’t like anyone could seriously question Percy’s badassness so it was good to have a little fun at his expense to help prevent him from getting a big head (not that he could imagine Percy ever being like that). “But you did ask for it,” He added with little sympathy.

“Yeah, but that is _so_ low,” Percy replied disapprovingly “Low.”

Percy was clearly trying to look bothered, that was obvious, but he was only about seventy-percent successful so Jason couldn’t stop grinning at him. “It’s not my fault you have a lame comic book superhero,” Jason teased.

“Like yours is better,” Percy scoffed in retort.

“Superman?” Jason questioned because there really didn’t seem to be a question that if Jason was a comic book superhero he would be Superman. “Yeah, that’s better,” Jason stated pretty confidently in that even though he had never picked up a comic book in his life. They made kept making Superman movies but Jason had never heard of an Aquaman movie.

“I guess,” Percy declared doubtfully. He was still drumming his fork on the table but he had changed the rhythm. “If you’re into classically handsome blonde guys in glasses,” Percy huffed dismissively.

“Aren’t you?” Jason questioned seriously without even pausing to think about it. It was amusing to watch there was a long second before Percy realized what he had just said and then he was ducking his head a bit. Jason couldn’t tell for sure because Percy was ducking his head but Jason thought he was blushing slightly. Jason should have probably been embarrassed by what he had just said but he wasn’t, Percy’s reaction just had him laughing. He was surprised when Percy joined in a few seconds in.

“Oh yeah,” Percy managed through his laughter “I guess you got me there.”

They both kept laughing even though it really hadn’t that funny. Jason couldn’t speak for Percy but for him, it felt like they had hit a moment of balance. It was strange that the thing that seems to bring them back to their normal back and forth was blatantly pointing out the elephant in the room rather than ignore it or just pretend it wasn’t there.

After a few minutes, their laughter began to subside but it was a voice calling from the café proper, “Jackson!” Jason was pretty sure that the person who was shouting was Rory just from the sound of the voice. “Come get your food!”

“Dude!” Percy shouted back “I’m not working, deliver!”

Jason expected either a witty retort or for their food to appear but as time passed neither happened. Percy eventually let out a heavy sigh and moved to stand up looking annoyed. “I guess I’m going to get our food.” He informed without enthusiasm.

Jason moved to get out of his chair as well as he spoke, “I’ll help.”

Percy was quick to wave him off. “Nay, I can get it,” he assured.

“Alright,” Jason said uncertainly as he settled back into his chair. He was more than willing to help but if Percy said he got it he wasn’t going to argue. “If you say so.”

“Yeah,” Percy shrugged turning back to him. “But thanks.” Percy leaned in toward Jason and before Jason could think about what was happening Percy’s lips met his in what had to be the most awkwardly unintentional kiss he and Percy had ever shared (the fact that there were other kisses to compare it to was probably weird).

It lasted for _maybe_ fifteen seconds before Percy pulled back. Their eyes meant and Percy’s eyes were wide with panic. “I ah…..” Percy stammered desperately.

Jason should have been freaked out about such a domestic show of affection from Percy because that wasn’t them but he just didn’t feel it. Percy looked so panicked but Jason knew exactly where the act had come from and all Jason could think was how he had almost made the same error about ten times that day. It was all so….. funny.

Jason burst out laughing even harder than before. It was the only response he actually could muster. Percy stared at him at a complete loss for about thirty seconds before he visibly relaxed. It wasn’t long until his laughter rang out as well

“Dude,” Jason struggled as he whipped a tear from his eye. “What was that?”

“Reflex, muscle memory. I don’t know, your face!” Percy replied through his own laughter and heaving. “You kissed back,” Percy pointed out.

“I know,” Jason admitted. There was no point in denying it and really why would he? Sure, the kiss had been unexpected but it was still a kiss from an attractive person that he liked. Why wouldn’t he kiss back?

That reply only seemed to ignite a new fit of laughter from both of them. Percy ended up with both hands pressed against the tabletop as he heaved for breath between laughing fits. Eventually, he even ended up leaning against Jason’s shoulder.

They both lost track of time and any sense of where they were until Rory, the tattooed guy showed up at the side of the table looking annoyed. They both stared at him not saying a word, in a strange way it felt like he was interrupting a private moment. Rory deposited two plates of food on the table. “I don’t want to know,” he declared before walking away.

Jason and Percy exchanged a silent look before breaking into another fit of laughter. Somehow all the underlying tension and questions seemed suddenly gone or, at least, unimportant. It seemed like they had managed to stumble on a new sense of normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


	54. Stereotypes and a big Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy y'all!
> 
> I'm apparently really channeling Will this morning. :)
> 
> Slightly off the topic of this chapter but still relevant: For those of you interested that didn't see my response to comments from the last chapter I will be posting the Ficlets from the Dean and Felix OC challenge here so if you aren't on Tumblr you will get a chance to see them. However, this is going to be a post-completion of Normal Lives and Outtakes project for me (I've already got a lot of balls in the air) so it is going to be a while. For those of you that are now following me on Tumblr, thanks for the support and I hope you are enjoying the content!
> 
> Now on to the chapter at hand! This chapter sort of took on a life of it's own while writing so it's long but I know you guys won't complain. See the notes at the end for more info, and as always I hope you enjoy!

Will thought he was completely prepared for Monday back at school to suck. Leaving Nico in New York sucked, school was boring considering Will had already taken all the classes he needed to graduate, and it definitely sucked that Dean and Felix were now officially dating, so of course, the day was going to suck. It was so much worse than Will anticipated.

He got a ride to school with Dean as usual but now that Delix was officially a thing Felix was there too which wasn’t so much fun. Classes dragged, and since he had gotten most of his homework done on the plane he had absolutely nothing to do. And then there was the general weirdness: it seemed like every time he got a second to talk to Dean, just the two of them which never happened anymore, someone was coming up and pulling Dean aside and Dean was acting all sort of weird about it.

The whole gang decided on going to the café after school and even though Will felt completely exhausted from the weekend (between the jetlag and very little sleep because of other activities) Will agreed. He agreed for exactly one reason he did agree was the ride over would be him and Dean and maybe they could talk about college and stuff like that: That wasn’t what happened.

The last bell of the day rang, they were all hanging out around the lockers, and then suddenly Dean was all “So Will, you’re going to get a ride from Wash and Watts, right? Great! See ya guys there.” And then Dean and Felix were fucking gone! If Will didn’t know better he would have thought they shadow-traveled away.

So Will got a ride with Wash and Watts to the café in Watts’ car, which was about ten years newer which should have made it nice but Watts was a slob so it was just disgusting. To make matters even worse, they got to the café and Dean and Felix were nowhere to be seen.

Time passed and still no Dean and Felix. Will actually ordered a coffee he was so tired, the waitress actually asked about Dean which was a bit awkward but between Wash, Watts, Ruby, Nora, and himself they managed to scramble up an excuse. Dean and Felix may have been an official couple but they weren’t advertising which Will understood.

Will was halfway through his coffee (and regretting the caffeine a bit) when Dean and Felix finally sashayed in. Both were all smiles and that was just weird seeing on Felix’ face. They just dropped into a couple of chairs like it didn’t take them fifteen minutes to show up somewhere that was no more than a five-minute drive from the school.

Will knew he shouldn’t ask, just let it go because he most certainly didn’t want to know what they were doing. That was the linchpin of Will’s whole dealing with Dean and Felix being an item thing. “What took you two so long” Will questioned as the two dropped into their saved seats (like idiots).

Everyone else around the table snickered at the question like it was obvious, which Will guessed if he let his mind go there he knew what they were up to more or less. The most shocking reaction out of all of it was Felix- The guy was so brash about just about everything Will never would have expected him to be the one to blush and shy away from talk of physical intimacy but that was what happened.

Dean, on the other hand, grinned like it was nothing to worry about, and that was the thing about the Solace family, sex was never treated like it was something they should be ashamed of. It was one of the few things that Uncle John and Will’s mom actually agreed on, Will suspected it had something to do with their strict Catholic upbringing but Will had never been brave enough to ask. In the end, it didn’t really matter, the result was the same he and Dean didn’t have much shame when it came to sex.

“Had to make a stop,” Dean explained as he situated himself in his chair with his drink like that was a completely acceptable thing to say. He was grinning like the cat that caught the canary and if it didn’t involve Felix Will would have questioned but he just couldn’t handle know exactly what that grin meant, and Dean would tell him he just knew it.

“Quickie?” Wash questioned under his breath with a snicker. Will turned to glare at him because in no shape way or form was that little question necessary. What made it worse, Wash seemed to find the whole thing amusing somehow. Moral of the story, Will have to murder Wash.

Will had been through Dean dating before and he remembered how his cousin was when he was actually getting laid. He might not have been the type to brag but he sure as hell didn’t mind talking about it. He expected Dean to make some sort of comment or at the very least smirk like he had won some sort of a prize. It wasn’t something Will wanted to know (hence avoiding the topic of Felix like the plague on the rare occasion he and Dean were alone). Will didn’t get a chance to gauge Dean’s expression before Felix leaned forward on the table slightly to glare at Wash. “Fuck off,” he hissed flatly.

“Yeah,” Will declared wincing slightly at the thought of actually agreeing, even only remotely, with Felix. To distract from that more than anyone else, Will focused on Wash instead. “And please don’t put that visual in my mind,” He practically begged. As much as he didn’t want to think about it, his brain immediately went to the worst possible scenario: Dean and Felix getting naked and sweaty in the backseat of Dean’s shitty Honda. The same car that Will rode to school in most days, the backseat he usually shoved his bookbag and soccer gear. “I ride in that car.”

Felix shot him an annoyed look or at least that was how Will was interpreting it. Felix had always glared at Will with barely concealed hatred which considering the feeling was mutual Will ignored. Since the birth of Delix, some of the heat seemed to have dissipated and was replaced with something else. As long as Dean was happy Will would do his best to get along with Felix but they weren’t going to be friends, not really, so Will wasn’t going to waste valuable brain power on trying to figure out the guy’s moods. That was Dean’s problem.

Dean smacked Will’s arm like it was all a joke, and for him it probably was (or he was trying to defuse some tension Will wasn’t aware of but that seemed less likely). “Calm down, I’m not a complete heathen,” he stated with a grin “I’d lay a blanket down.”

Will made a face, he couldn’t help it. The unfortunately vivid image Wash had conjured in Will’s mind wasn’t even remotely improved by the addition of a hastily thrown down blanket. He might have shuttered too, the thought was so vile. Felix found his reaction pretty amusing if the grin that spread across his face was any indication. Will saw him nudge Dean’s arm lightly to gain his attention. Dean was quick to turn back to Felix, they definitely shared a look, and then Felix’ grin widened into an actual smile. “Nice,” Felix said under his breath but still loud enough for everyone to hear and the two actually hi-fived.

Will had the sad realization that this was going to be his life until the terrifying experiment that was Delix ended (probably in a ball of literal flames considering Felix’ personality and Dean’s track record in dating). Will couldn’t deal with Felix, he got too much enjoyment from Will’s discomfort so Will focused solely on Dean. After all, he had a lifetime of experience dealing with Dean. “Please tell me you’re joking,” Will questioned keeping his voice serious without sounding downright desperate.

A little bit of Dean’s good-natured expression faltered, not a lot, not even enough for anyone else to notice except for Will. Dean wanted Will and Felix to more than just barely get along, Will wished that he would give up on that pipe dream because that just was going to happen- that was probably the one thing Will and Felix would agree on. “Does it really matter?” Dean questioned, his voice was light enough but there was a subtle undertone of something to more serious.

Will knew the signs, Dean was about two more snarky exchanges or comments for verbal ripping Will a new one (in private- Dean was a big believer in family matters being handled in private). Will’s mouth spoke before his reason could fully think out what he was saying. “Yes!” Will exclaimed with too much emphasis to really be considered appropriate.

 _Fuck_ , Will cursed himself internally as soon as the word escaped his mouth. D _id he have to start trying harder with the whole Dean and Felix thing_?

Felix leaned back in his chair and Will thought he saw him shot Dean a look as he grabbed his own drink. If Will didn’t know better he would have sworn it was an I-told-you-so look but that just couldn’t be. Dean and Felix had been a couple for all of five seconds, there was just no way they were at the silent conversation phase.

Will didn’t know if it was the look Felix had given him or what Will had actually said but this time the change in Dean’s expression was more than obvious. Will wouldn’t say his cousin looked angry but Will knew Dean well enough to know he was close. “I ate Thanksgiving dinner off a table I _know_ you and Nico banged on,” He reminded flatly. Will winced, suddenly realizing that telling Dean that story might not have been the best idea. “I got over it,” he pointed out with emphasis.

“What the fuck!” Felix exclaimed dramatically his head whipping between Will and Dean like he was trying to make sure he heard correctly. Will was vaguely aware of the disapproving headshakes that were aimed in his direction from Nora and Ruby. Apparently, kitchen tables were not on their list of socially appropriate places to have sex. That was their loss because that had been _hot_. The memory had Will thinking that he and Nico should make sure to buy a sturdy table when they moved in together because they were definitely doing that again.

Felix quickly lost interest in Will and focused solely on Dean, so at least that much hadn’t changed (and really it was Felix’ own redeeming quality). “Why am I just hearing this? I was at that dinner!”

Will bit his lip and swallow any comment on how Felix’ voice had come out about an octave too high to be considered masculine. _See, he was trying!_

Dean took a long pull from his coffee before returning it to the table. He fixed Dean with a serious but (gods!) affectionate look. “Does knowing make you feel better?” he asked sincerely.

“Fuck no!” Felix exclaimed his voice still a bit high but it wouldn’t have dogs howling at the moon so that was an improvement. “Why would that make me feel better?” He questioned with what sounded like repulsion.

Dean’s only reply to Felix was to pat his arm dismissively (Felix didn’t seem to appreciate that one bit). He looked at Will with a satisfied grin as he gestured toward Felix like he had just provided a point. “There you go,” Dean declared with a finality that suggested he had proved something, or at least he thought he had.

This was Will’s golden opportunity to get off the topic of Dean and Felix even if it was just for a little while (because since they became a couple the conversation always seemed to go back there). All he had to do was seize the moment and at the very least just keep his mouth shut. Will could do that easily. His mouth didn’t quite go along with the plan, he stared back at Dean seriously in contemplation for a moment before actually asking in all seriousness, “If I paid for it, would you get the inside of your car steam cleaned?”

“No,” Dean replied flatly turning back to the others as he grabbed his cup and swirled it in his hands without taking a sip. “You’ll get over it.”

So Will had officially crossed some sort of line for Dean that was clear, at least for Will. This time he would actually make his mouth listen to his brain. Watts smacked Will’s arm drawing his attention away from Dean who was acting oddly if Will was being completely honest. Will knew him well enough to see Dean was annoyed with him- Dean had always made his feels about Will and Felix getting along pretty clear and those feelings only seemed to get more intense when Dean and Felix actually became a thing. Dean should have told him to fuck off or stop being an ass by now but he was sticking to more subtle cues which was unlike him. The only person Dean didn’t just straight out tell they were pissing him off was Uncle John. But at the moment Watts acted as a distraction to any of Will’s concerns about Dean’s behavior.

“Dude,” Watts proclaimed “fiscally that wouldn’t even make sense considering.”

Felix, in typical Felix fashion, glared fire, “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Watts seemed unaffected by Felix but that wasn’t really unexpected, at this point they were all pretty habituated to Felix. “You guys know,” Watts declared with certainty.

Will was pretty sure he got what Watts was suggesting and really wanted to slap him for it. They had just gotten off the topic of Dean and Felix’ sex life he didn’t want to go back. Dean and Felix exchanged confused looks before Dean turned back to Watts and stated sincerely, “No, we don’t.”

As much as Will really didn’t want to listen to yet another conversation about the potential sex Dean and Felix could be having, the way Watts mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water was amusing enough for him to sit back and watch at least for a few seconds.

Watts had a couple more failed attempts to explain before he apparently gave up. Wash jumped in which was pretty typical for the two of them, Wash was usually the one to cover the inappropriate sex comments. It was a strange and unspoken little agreement the two guys seemed to have considering Watts was the one that kicked out of Catholic school for hooking up with the headmaster’s daughter in the school’s chapel. “You know,” Wash did an awkward shoulder shift that suggested even he was a bit uncomfortable with the topic. “Since you guys are probably going at it all the time.”

To spit his better judgment Will shot Dean a questioning look. Will knew that with the first girlfriend Dean actually had sex with they waited a while but after that Dean hadn’t been much for actually waiting. Maybe that was why all the jokes and comments bothered Will so much he knew it was probably true. Dean didn’t shot him the cocky grin Will would have expected instead he just rolled his eyes but said nothing.

Felix reaction was a bit more forceful but was that Felix in a nutshell. He placed both elbows on the table and leaned in to scowl at Wash and Watts with an impressive level heat. Honestly, even Nico would have been impressed. “What the actual fuck is wrong with you?” He questioned with heavy disapproval.

Dean didn’t tell Felix to cool it. Before they started dating, Dean at least sometimes told Felix to chill but that was one of those things that went out the window post-championship game. “You guys realize we just got together, right?” Dean slouching down in his chair slightly and stretched out his arms bringing one to rest on the back of Felix’ chair. His posture was so casual the gesture could easily pass for a guy with little respect for personal space but it still seemed like a bold move. It didn’t help that since Dean had shifted it was pretty obvious that Dean and Felix had their knees pressed together under the table. If it was any other couple Will would have found the hidden display of affection cute but with Dean and Felix….well, he was still not there.

“It’s literally been two weeks,” Dean stressed bringing Will out of his own train of thought.

_Gods, had it only been two weeks? It felt like it had been so much longer._

“Yeah,” Watts scoffed dismissively almost like two weeks was an eternity, “but you’re guys.”

Will picked up his drink and sipped it to stop himself from making a face. There were certain stereotypes about gay guys that bothered him to no end, the idea that liking guys meant that they would sleep around was the main one. Will remembered when he first started to think he was gay, it wasn’t long before he first went to Camp Half-Blood and he didn’t know anyone who was gay. Being the south, people had some pretty strong opinions about being gay and they were happy to try to pass them off as fact but since Will didn’t want to hate himself listening to that wasn’t an option. In the end, Will did what every pre-teen in the modern age did, he went to the internet. The internet wasn’t much better than the south in a lot of ways, and it was just filled with false information, the most memorable being that gay men average over 100 sexual partners in a lifetime. Will had been completely horrified at the thought. It wasn’t until he got to camp and met Michael and Lee and learned that all of that crap was lies, half-truths, and B.S.

“Wow!” Dean whistled like he was genuinely impressed as he looked from Wash to Watts and back again. “That statement is just laced with so many stereotypes I don’t even know where to start.”

Will notice Felix grin in Dean’s direction before moving to sit back in his seat. Will watched as Felix back hit his chair he noticed Dean’s arm, after a quick and slightly panicked look around the very empty café Felix shot Dean a warning look. Dean’s response was a barely audible huff before dropping his arm from its perch.

Watts and Wash exchanged a look unaware of the more subtle domestics they were missing. Of course, they were having domestics of their own. That had been the running joke going around the group since Dean and Felix became a thing, Wash and Watts would be next. Honestly, sometimes the way the two acted Will would have thought they were already a couple if it wasn’t for the two girls they always had in tow.

When the two finished their silent conversation Wash and Watts turned back. Wash was the one to talk for them, “So, you’re saying you guys haven’t…..?” Wash let the question drop at the end. He finished the actual question with a bunch of hand gestures which made his point more than obvious.

Will tried to stop himself from laughing but was only about seventy-five percent effective. At least his snickering was masked by Dean’s. “Please tell me you are _not_ actually asking what it sounds like you are asking!” Felix practically growled clearly not finding it amusing. “How do you think that is any of your god-damn business?”

Will was actually a little worried that Felix might actually throw a punch, he looked that pissed off which, if Will was being honest, wasn’t something he saw from Felix often. The guy usually hovered at annoyed and frustrated. Will shot a concerned look at Dean but his cousin didn’t appear at all worried. Still, Will felt like he should step in and try to defuse some of the tension. “Welcome to the LGBT+ community,” Will offered leaned on the table to look around Dean at Felix. “Straight cis people now think your genitalia and your sex life is totally their business and completely normal to bring up in polite conversation.” Will shot Wash, Watts, Nora, and Ruby disapproving looks because all four of them were bad about that in their own way.

There was a second of confusion before anger once again overtook his features, defiance flashed in his hazel eyes. “Fuck that!” Felix exclaimed rebelliously shaking his head no like there was any question about his feelings on the subject.

Will never thought he would find a silver lining to Dean and Felix but he had to admit it was nice to have someone else around to call the others out when they asked inappropriate things. And if there was one thing Felix could be counted on for it was telling people when he thought they crossed a line. Running off at the mouth might have been Felix’ only quality.

“Not that it’s any of your business,” Dean cut in holding up his hands like he was a parent breaking up a potential fight between a cluster of kids. He looked around the group, lingering a little longer on Felix before stating matter-of-factly. “But we haven’t done _that_ yet.”

“Dude!” Felix hissed in protest as he smacked Dean’s arm and glared at him disapprovingly. It actually reminded Will more than a little of Nico when Will let go of sensitive information about their sex life. The thought initially made Will feel nostalgic but that quickly dissipated as the weirdness of finding himself drawing parallels between Nico, his soulmate, and Felix really settled.

Even though Felix seemed genuinely annoyed Dean didn’t seem particularly bothered. Actually, if anything he seemed downright amused as he picked up his coffee cup. He stopped short of actually taking a sip, gave the cup an experimental shake before shrugging and placing what Will assumed was an empty cup on the table. “It’s just quicker answering their questions,” he offered in his own defense.

“Or they could not ask questioned that are none of their fucking business!” Felix retorted with aggressively (although it was Felix so that was pretty close to his normal level).

“Yeah,” Dean laughed at the thought “In a perfect world.”

“Yeah, and no offense but I don’t buy it,” Wash declared dismissively. Both Dean and Felix’ heads whipped in Wash’s direction so fast Will wouldn’t have been surprised if at least one of them managed to give themselves whiplash. Neither of them looked particularly happy: Felix looked ready to rip Wash’s throat out, Dean didn’t look quite so hostile but he still looked annoyed. Wash either didn’t notice or didn’t care because he kept talking which honestly made the whole situation more amusing (yeah, it might make Will a horrible person but he was finding the whole situation incredibly amusing. He honestly wished he was taping this whole thing because he was sure Nico would enjoy it too). “What were you two doing over championship weekend in that hotel room by yourselves then?”

“Two people can share a bed without fucking,” Dean retorted and he was actually sounding like he was starting to get genuinely bothered with the topic. Wash and Watts exchanged another look before turning back to Dean and Felix looking unconvinced. Dean groaned and actually throw up his hands and actually turned to Will with an expression of sudden exasperation. “Will, help me here?”

Will picked up his drink and took a sip more for the chance to think than anything else. He had been too wrapped up in enjoying the actual spectacle of the whole conversation to really process its content. He regretted it as soon as the lukewarm liquid passed his lips, in the no-mans-land between hot and cold the caffeinated beverage managed to be both too bitter and too sweet, Will only barely managed to choke it down. Setting the cup back on the table, mentally noting to leave it there, Will met his cousin’s gaze with an inquisitive expression of his own. “How exactly?”

Dean actually glared a genuine glare. In the whole ridiculous conversation Dean had managed to keep a general air of amusement until that moment, it seemed unfair. He sighed like the whole conversation was exhausting which the guy was _dating Felix_ , he had had to have more exhausting conversations than this on a daily basis. “How long were you and Nico together before you two…?” The question trailed off at the end being replaced by vague and generally nondescript hand gestures. Dean was toeing a personal line and Will knew it, Dean never had a problem talking to Will about his would sex life and it never bothered either of them but Dean was like Will’s big brother it seemed right that he was getting some action. It was different for Will, at least for Dean, not that he had ever said that. Dean was all about being the proud papa bear knowing that Will was getting some action in the abstract but he wasn’t keen on hearing the details.

The question was an unexpected turn in the conversation for a number of reasons, Will didn’t really get how this was getting turned around on him especially from Dean. “Um…actually dating?” Will questioned thoughtfully. The start of he and Nico’s relationship, once it actually started, had been kind of a whirlwind. Thinking about it was kind of a rush everything felt so fast in hindsight but still incredible. He actually had to focus and count to come up with any sort of answer. “Three or four months,” Will managed as his final answer.

Will wasn’t even sure that was accurate. Had so much time past from the when he and Nico started dating to their first time? Had so little time past? Had everything really moved that quickly for them?

Dean seemed to talk the answer at face value ignoring any of the uncertainty in Will’s voice. Apparently, Will’s statement proved Dean’s point and in the end that was what mattered, Will guessed. Dean pointed at him like he was the key evidence in a murder trial. “There, see” Dean declared with a finality that didn’t seem warranted.

“Yeah, but they were both virgins,” Watts commented in an aloof tone that was almost offensive although Will wasn’t sure why he felt that way. After all, Watts was right, he and Nico had both been virgins when they had started dating. “The get-up-and-go in the bedroom is going to take a little longer,” Watts talked like he was giving a lecture a subject which he was a kid who had went to Catholic school most of his life so he had probably been subject to more than a few lectures on the topic, although probably from a less cynical perspective. “It’s all that cultural crap about virginity and how the first time is supposed to be all magical and perfect.”

Watts’ whole tone had been dismissive and Will hated to admit it but he did have a point. Will considered himself lucky, his first time had been pretty good but he remembered the pressure leading up to the moment. He remembered once he knew _it_ was actually going to happen he felt like a kid waiting for Christmas and Nico was the present but he also remembered how jittery Nico had been and how much it took to get him to relax. Looking back the lack of pressure or expectation for that night could have only made that better.

Will became painfully aware of Wash’s eyes focused on him but didn’t get a chance to question before Wash pointed at him in an almost accusing manner and stated, “And I don’t buy for one second that it was just kisses and hugs for four months.” Wash took a long swig from his drink before, “I’ve seen you and Nico together, and at least from what we have heard of Thanksgiving you two aren’t exactly good at keeping your hands to yourselves.”

“Didn’t say that it was,” Will replied dragging out the words as he tried to figure out where this was going. He really didn’t like how the conversation had suddenly become about him and his sex life. Will wasn’t ashamed of his physical relationship with Nico, far from it, but Nico would probably kill him if he told anyone else those stories. Plus, Will wasn’t exactly sure why but he just didn’t have the same level of comfort talking about private stuff with his school friends as he did with his friends from camp. It was just the way it was.

“So how long were you two together before you did anything sexual?” Watts questioned flatly. The expression he was directing at Will said he wasn’t buying any of Will’s denial.

Oh yeah, this was a bad path, a very bad path. Will felt his mouth open for a moment before he snapped it shut realizing he didn’t know what he was going to say in response to that. Luckily a nervous looking Dean leaned forward and started talking. “I didn’t say we haven’t…..” Dean began gesturing between himself and Felix.

Whatever the end of the sentence was, was lost when Felix reached out and smacked Dean on the chest, hard. Will wouldn’t have been surprised if the smacking sound could be heard for blocks “Shut up,” he hissed.

Will noticed how Dean actually winced at the contact. From the sounds of it, it had to hurt so he couldn’t exactly say he was surprised. He watched Dean gave Felix a wounded look, Will didn’t see the expression Felix shot back but if the pleading look Dean shot in his direction was any indication it wasn’t a sympathetic one.

Will sighed heavily and had to think hard not to squirmed uncomfortably. Great, Will thought cursing his luck, now he was getting roped into a private conversation about his sex life, which talking about with other people historically wasn’t great for his sex life, and it was all to save Dean’s chances of getting some action from Felix of all people.

“Define sexual?” Will questioned partially in an attempt to push off answering the question but also partially out of curiosity. Like did they have to be naked for it to count or did it just matter if someone became aroused? The answer would be seriously different depending on the answer to questions like that.

“At least one of you getting off as result of something the other did to the person with the intent of providing sexual pleasure,” Wash replied quickly, so quickly, in fact, there was simply no way he had thought that answer out.

Nora, the genius that she was, seemed to practically read Will’s mind and voiced the question he was thinking before he could even finish thinking it, “That was a very specific definition.”

“That you came up with very fast,” Ruby added eyeing Wash like he was an especially curious creature.

Watts jutted his thumb between himself and Wash before explaining casually, “Catholic school.”

Sometimes Will forgot that both Wash and Watts had gone to Catholic school (different schools). From the stories they told, it was fifty percent strict rules and scary speeches about hell and fifty percent debauchery that would make Dionysus proud. Will honestly hadn’t believed half of them when he first heard them- like a bunch of the guys from the soccer team doing coke in the back of study hall sounded too insane to be true.

“Ya know,” Will hummed trying to hide any discomfort he had with the topic. “I really don’t know how my sex life is relevant.”

Will looked at Dean for a little help because it was Dean’s fault they had gotten onto this conversation in the first place. The expression on Dean’s face was not the helpful one he expected instead he found his cousin grinning at him mischievously, “Yeah, now you have to answer.” He informed.

Will could hear the barely restrained laughter in Dean’s voice. So that was what he got for coming to Dean and Felix’ rescue. He shifted slightly in his chair hoping to find some sort of harmonious state and failing miserably. “Technically….um….by that definition…um…” Will picked up his cup and almost sipped it to stop himself from stammering like he knew he was but then remembered his drink was cold and kind of gross and put it down. He shifted his shoulders uncomfortably, he knew the answer to the question and he wasn’t assumed of it but he knew it didn’t sound particularly …. Classy. After one last deep breath, he spoke quickly wincing with every word, “The night we started dating.”

Will didn’t even realized he had closed his eyes while speaking until he heard the snickering. Once he actually opened them again it was a whole lot to take in at once; Nora and Ruby were both shooting him seriously disapproving looks (Will wasn’t sure if he had ever been on the receiving end of that before), their counterparts where trying to hold in laughter as they looked at the newest couple at the table like Will’s confession proved something. Maybe it had, Will had honestly lost track of where this conversation was going at this point. Dean looked a mix of shocked and disappointed as he shook his head in Will’s direction. “God damn it, Will,” Dean sighed without any real heat in his words.

Before Will could say anything in defense of his own actions (which he honestly didn’t see why he needed to defend them but whatever). Felix smacked his hand on the hardwood surface of the table drawing everyone’s attention before declaring decisively, “All that proves is Will’s kind of a slut.”

“Alright, it was a complicated situation,” Will declared probably more defensively than was entirely necessary. “Nico and I were totally doing that whole friends-that-wanted-to-be-more thing for close to a year before we started dating.” It was an oversimplification of the situation, to say the least, but it was still the truth, and they really didn’t need the details.

“Oh, gee who does that sound like?” Watts declared dryly as he shot Dean and Felix a knowing look from across the table.

Will hadn’t really thought about it that way but he guessed that had been the situation for Dean and Felix as well, or at least for Felix. The thought almost made Felix seem sympathetic, almost. Whatever Felix’ experience had been Will still glared at him for the slut comment. Felix may not have known it but that was a sore spot for Will- too many of his half-siblings lived up to that titled and then, of course, there was his dad who was practically the god of sluts. Will may have had his fair share of sex but it was just with the one person so he didn’t meet the criteria of a slut even if he and Nico had moved a little fast in some areas.

From the corner of his eye, Will saw Dean pinch the bridge of his nose as he heard him let out an exaggerated huffing sound. “Will, remember when I asked you to help?” Dean questioned rhetorically. He dropped his fingers from his nose and held out his hands in the universal signal for surrender. Or looking at Dean’s face it could have been the universal signal for stop. “You’re not, so stop talking.”

Will sighed and threw up his hands. Wasn’t Dean supposed to be on his side? “It’s really not like it sounds,” Will offered in his own defense. It wasn’t like they had actually had sex the night they started dating, it really wasn’t a big deal.

“It’s just as slutty as it sounds,” Felix snickered matter-of-factly like he knew anything about it. Yeah, any sympathy Will could feel for Felix was officially dead. _What did Dean see in him_?

“I don’t know who I’m more surprised by, you or Nico,” Dean mused. He was still shaking his head disappointedly but he was also wearing a little smirk that told Will at this point Dean was just fucking with him.

“I’m personally proud of both of you,” Wash laughed. Will turned to tell him to shut up or something along those lines just in time to see Nora smack him on the arm. Wash turned to Nora with a hurt expression as he rubbed at the spot. “Ow!”

“What is wrong with you?” Nora directed the clearly disapproving question at Wash.

“Oh, now you have an opinion?” Dean laughed looking back and forth from Nora and Ruby with clear amusement. “I can’t believe you two of all people didn’t jump on them for questioning us on our sex life,” he stated as he gestured between himself and Felix with his own disapproving look.

Dean had a point, one of the few good things about Ruby and Nora always being around is that the two were usually good at stopping conversations when they started down what they deemed an inappropriate path. The fact that they had remained quiet during the conversation so long was very uncharacteristic of the two.

Neither Nora or Ruby immediately responded to Dean’s point. Instead, the two girls exchanged a look. There was a minute where the two seemed to have a silent conversation which seemed to kill some of the joking mood that had hung around the table. When they both turned back to the rest of the table it was Ruby that spoke, “So, we have a question.”

“Oh my god!” Nora exclaimed with a nervous sort of excitement evident in her voice. She looked at Ruby like she was completely shocked, “You’re going to ask?”

“Yes, it’s driving me nuts!” Ruby replied animatedly “I _need_ to know.”

“Oh my god,” Nora replied before giggling nervously.

_This couldn’t be good._

“We’ve-” Ruby gestured between herself and Nora quickly as she continued to talk “-been talking about this for a while now.” Her tone was so factual she could have been talking about last night’s history homework it was more than a little unnerving. “So Dean-”

“Felix,” Nora quickly interrupted “We aren’t trying to exclude you from this or anything we just haven’t known you as long.”

Will relaxed a little as he realized whatever ridiculousness was coming was going to be directed at Dean and Felix and not himself. After months of awkward and inappropriate conversations about his own love life, it was nice that someone else was the target for a change.

It was nice for him, not for Dean or Felix. Both of them seemed to be realizing they were in for all the random questions and weird conversations Will had been at the center of for months. Dean was taking it in stride, or at least he acted like he was in public. Felix was more transparent in his annoyance whenever it happened. In this instance, Felix slumped back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest, and looked generally dejected. “I’m not going to like this, I can already tell,” Felix grumbled under his breath.

The girls ignored Felix which in all fairness they all had plenty of experience ignoring Felix’ grumbling. Ruby remained focused on Dean as she picked up right where she left off. “Okay, we weren’t friends with you or them but you had girlfriends.”

 _Oh_ , Will thought he saw where the girls were going. He had to bite down on his bottom lip to stop from snickering. If he was right this might even try Dean’s infinite patience.

“Yes?” Dean responded uncertainly.

Will turned back toward the girls in time to see them exchange another meaningful look. Apparently, it was in for a dime, in for a dollar type situation because Nora let out a heavy breath before picking up where Ruby had left off. “Like, did you know then you were gay when you were dating them or….?” She stopped mid-sentence and let the rest of the question hang there.

Will didn’t get it until he looked at Dean. Any amusement he had once had was gone from Dean’s face. He didn’t look annoyed, but his expression was serious, more serious than Dean normally got with his friends. It was weird, it wasn’t that Dean hadn’t seen a serious expression on his cousin’s face it just usually was the result of uncle John doing something stupid. “I’m not gay,” Dean asked plainly, his voice carefully neutral.

“ _We’re_ not gay,” Felix added with far more emphasis. Felix was the opposite of Dean (in so many ways), he made no attempt to hide his offensive at the question. It might have been one of the few times Will appreciated Felix’ approach, it was a pretty offensive question.

It should have been quick apologies all around but it wasn’t. Instead, it was silence and blank stares. The silence stretched out so long Will started to feel uncomfortable and this whole mess wasn’t even about him. Nora was the one to finally speak and Will really wished it was to say something that would improve the situation but it wasn’t. “But you’re dating.”

“Yes,” Felix replied through clenched teeth his voice strained.

It would probably seem strange to anyone who didn’t know Dean as well as Will did but the sound of Felix on the verge of throwing a punch seemed to calm him. Will only caught the signs out of the corner his eye but he still saw them. Dean seemed to ease back in his seat a little and he didn’t even try to hide the way he brought his hand to rest on Felix’ wrist in a reassuring way (and it seemed to work too but that was another point altogether). If there was a single moment that captured Dean more perfectly Will hadn’t seen it. When everyone else got stressed, Dean just got calm- Will was envious of that skill, whenever Will had to deal with a real crisis in the infirmary he thought of Dean and his ability to handle drama. Will always guessed Dean had gained that skill from years of dealing with uncle John which wasn’t something to envy but still….

“We’ve actually talked about this,” Dean offered like nothing like it was a totally normal thing for him to talk about himself and Felix as we even though that was the first time Will had heard him talk like that. Worse yet Felix didn’t seem to pull his hand away from Dean’s lingering touch, just the opposite he seemed to lean into Dean a little like he was taken solace in Will’s touch. Will didn’t like it, it wasn’t a good sign for the relationship’s longevity or, more accurately it was a great sign for their relationship, it was just strange. Whatever Will’s feelings were they must not have shown (or was being ignored) because neither Dean or Felix commented, instead Dean continued to address their other friends in a calm and matter-of-fact way. “We both identify as bisexual.”

Damn, did Dean seem so casual about the whole thing, like he and Felix had actually talked about that sort of stuff? Knowing Dean, they probably had but that didn’t seem the thing to question either way at the moment. Will made a mental note to maybe try to talk to Dean later when they were alone but he certainly wasn’t questioning it at that moment.

Ruby scuffed dismissively before declaring what might have been the most backward, southern thing Will had heard in his life and that included the homophobic stuff he heard whispered behind his back at school since he came out. “But you’re boys.”

Will felt a bit like he was watching a tennis match as his eyes darted back to Dean and Felix to see their response. At some point, Felix’ hands had balled up into fists and his knuckles were white proving that Dean’s touch was apparently only calming to a point. “Last time I checked,” Felix retorted, his voice dripping with hostility.

“Not really seeing how that’s relevant,” Dean offered in the same carefully controlled voice as before.

“Girls can be bisexual,” Nora stated matter-of-factly “guys can’t.”

Well, Will had been right about where the conversation had been going not that that meant much of anything. Will hadn’t for even a second considered he might be bisexual, girls really had never had an appeal in that way but he was still familiar with the common misconception that a guy saying he was bisexual really meant he was gay and lying about it. If he had to guess the idea went back to the idea that bisexuals were just confused which made no sense to him but whatever he guessed.

He had absolutely seen this path to the conversation coming but he really hadn’t figured anyone would say it so plainly. At Nora’s wildly misinformed declaration Will couldn’t help but laugh a little it was just so ridiculous. He caught himself when he noticed Felix glaring in his direction. _Yeah, because he was the problem in this_.

“Nora,” Dean spoke his voice no longer had that force neutrality to it but it wasn’t heated either. In a word, he sounded exasperated. “That’s not how bisexuality works.”

Nora didn’t look convinced, not by a long shot, and for that matter neither did Watts and Wash who had remained silent but interested throughout the little exchange. Ultimately, it was Ruby who voiced the group’s doubt, scoffing dismissively before issuing a challenge. “If that’s so, name one bisexual guy you know?”

“Us,” Felix shot back almost immediately as shucked Dean’s hand so he could gesture between the two of them.

Felix was so obviously done with the conversation, Will was back to feeling sympathetic, or the closest thing he could to it considering the situation involved Felix. The answer was a valid one but Will doubted it would convince anyone, and he didn’t seem to be the only one at the table to realize that. Dean let out an audible sigh before turning to him with a questioning expression. “Will?”

“Will’s gay, not bi” Ruby declared quickly. She was right but it seemed a little…out of place that she was the one to point that out.

“No, I’m asking Will for help,” Dean explained the tiniest bit of annoyance finally starting to show in his voice.

“I thought me talking wasn’t helping?” Will offered teasingly. Yeah, he should be helping and he would but he was going to have fun with his cousin. After all, isn’t that what family is for?

“That was before,” Dean stated as he shot Will a Don’t-Play-With-Me-Right-Now look. “Will you just name some bisexual guys you know, please.”

Will decided to start taking the question seriously for Dean’s sake. “Personally?” he questioned for clarity. His mind ran through all the people he knew, his friends and siblings from camp. He knew plenty of people that fell in the LGBT+ community but he wasn’t even sure what some of them actually identified as. “Are we talking about bisexuality on the ally side of the spectrum?”

“No one here has any ideas what that means,” Dean replied flatly as he gestured around the table at the rest of their friends.

Dean had a point, Will was shocked at how open-minded his school friends were but just because they were open-minded didn’t mean they were well educated on the subject. After all, Tennessee and the south, in general, wasn’t known for being an open-minded or progressive place so unless they were actively seeking out the information, which considering the conversation they were currently having Will doubted they were, they just wouldn’t know.

“Right,” Will nodded as he figured for the sake of his own sanity he would just lump the pansexuals and omnisexuals under the umbrella of bisexual for the moment. No point in trying to explain the difference between the three and confusing everyone. “Percy, Jason, Austin, Mitchell, Ka, I know Nico had questions about Leo, and there were always rumors about Luke.” There were more, most of camp fell somewhere on the sexuality spectrum that wasn’t exactly hetero but he figured that was enough to prove Dean’s point.

“Yeah,” Watts interjected humming with uncertainty skepticism written clearly across his features. “Are you sure about Percy and Jason?” It was a question directed at Will but from the way Watts said it, it sounded like he was already sure of the answer. “They seemed pretty into each other at the championship game.”

Dean laughed, loudly before Will had a chance to even think about how to the best answer. “You have _no_ idea” Dean commented.

Will shot Dean a look, he didn’t know much more than Wash and Watts. Sure, he had walked in on Percy and Jason cuddling a few times, and there was that one time they had been kissing but it wasn’t like he had to listen to them fool around (which seriously impacted Will’s ability to fool around). Dean just shrugged and gave him a questioning expression and Will let it go, at least for the moment. Turning back to the others and the question at hand, Will gave a casual shrug of his own. “Yeah, they are,” he agreed. There really was no point in trying to deny Percy and Jason’s obvious attraction to each other. “But they are also pretty into their girlfriends, or fiancé in Percy’s case,” Will explained before adding to drive home the point. “That’s what bisexual means.” Wash, Watts, Nora, and Ruby stared back at Will clearly unconvinced. Will guessed he could get where they were coming from, the whole Percy-Jason-Annabeth-Piper thing was a bit more than an example of bisexuality. Will was willing to admit defeat or whatever when he was faced with it. “And to be fair there is a dash of polyamory going on there but still the point stands.”

“Sure, dude,” Wash chuckled as he spoke clearly not convinced “Whatever you say.”

Well, it couldn’t be said that Will didn’t try and he shot Dean a look to that effect. Dean seemed cool with it, Felix still liked like he was about to blow a gasket but that was definitely Dean’s problem. It might actually be kind of amusing to watch how this whole thing turned out.

 _Or not_ \- before Felix could even start running off at the mouth a voice came from toward the entrance of the café. “Dean?” A male voice called from the door. Will looked toward the entrance at the same time as Dean and saw one of the football players heading their way. It wasn’t one of the assholes from the team that seemed to think that because Will was gay he just had to be into them (no thank you). It was the one that threw the New Year’s Eve party who actually seemed nice enough. Will might have even had a few classes with the guy even but Will still could only remember his name about half the time. The guy waved excitedly and bee-lined it toward their table. “Hey!”

“Hey Kyle,” Dean greeted answering the questioned that was rattling around in Will’s head (what was that guy’s name). Dean waved back at the guy casually. “What’s up man?”

Will didn’t know if Dean noticed the way Felix’ eyes went from Dean to Kyle with a suspicious sort of disdain but Will found it hard to miss. Will hadn’t really given it much thought at the time but for that month Dean wasn’t talking to Felix he had hung out with Kyle a few times. It really hadn’t seemed like a big deal, Dean had always been good at making friends, but Will was guessing the budding friendship hadn’t gone unnoticed by Felix and if the way he was glaring was any indication he didn’t appreciate it.

“I’m so glad I ran into you,” Kyle stated with too much cheer than seemed entirely necessary. The football player was oblivious to the fact that Felix was most likely plotting his murder at that very moment. “I kind of want to ask you some questions like if that is cool and I’m not interrupting or anything.”

“Ah….” Dean shifted slightly in his chair nervously as his fingers began drumming against the hard surface of the table. “Yeah, I…..” Dean looked in Will’s direction. It was a felting glance at best but Will still saw it and he swore Dean looked guilty. The look was gone almost as soon as Will noticed it but whatever was behind it had Dean looking away silently.

If it was the first time Will had seen this strange behavior from his cousin he would have let it go (probably) but it wasn’t. It had been an all-day thing, people would come up to Dean all excited wanting to talk or ask him questions and Dean would shot Will these guilty looks before making some excuse to sneak off. Dean was definitely actively keeping something from him which wasn’t like him. After Will had come clean about all the demigods stuff they had practically promised not to keep any other secrets from each other. Unfortunately, Will was pretty sure if Dean was going to divulge the secret he was keeping of his own free will he would have done so by now.

“Why has this-” Will questioned gesturing toward Kyle to indicate what he was talking about not really caring that he was interrupting “-been happening all day?”

Dean literally slumped down in his chair which was definitely not a good sign. “Oh hey Will,” Kyle exclaimed again too cheerfully as he turned and acknowledged Will for the first time. “Totally didn’t see you there!” Kyle was a nice enough guy but he always seemed to be trying too hard, Will didn’t really get it and he definitely didn’t get why. He was a pretty popular kid if for no other reason than his brother had been a legend. He was on the football team which provided him with popularity and privilege unlike anything else in high school really did. He didn’t need to try at all, so why did he try so hard. “You weren’t in U.S. government on Friday, was everything alright?”

Will actually blinked at the guy for a few minutes before he could figure out what he was talking about. He was definitely blaming the sleep deprivation and jet-lag for completely forgetting he hadn’t been in school the previous Friday. “Yeah, I wasn’t sick or anything,” Will assured casually once his brain caught up to the conversation. “I was visiting my boyfriend in New York for the weekend, it was his birthday.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” Kyle replied although he didn’t sound like he was particularly sure on that point. Will starting to wonder if Kyle was one of those people who acted like they were fine with homosexuality but really could only handle the abstract concept, not the reality. The few times anyone brought Nico up when he was around, the guy just got weird. Kyle jammed his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels slightly, “If you need the notes or anything let me know.”

“Thanks, but I got everything before I left” Will replied with a bit of a shrug. The guy actually seemed disappointed which was a bit weird but at this point in Will’s life, he really didn’t think he was in the place to judge other people’s weirdness. “But I appreciate the offer,” he offered as some sort of condolence although he didn’t really get why that was even necessary.

“Yeah, anytime,” Kyle replied back to his typical good-natured smile back in place. He still had a bit of an air around him like he wanted to say something else or something more. Whatever it was Will didn’t get a chance to question it before Kyle turned to the rest of the group and declared just slightly too loud to seem as casual as he wanted it to. “Ah, so I was probably totally interrupting.”

Will went to shot Dean a questioning look because he knew the guy better but Dean didn’t notice. More interestingly, Will caught sight of Felix who wasn’t glaring anymore but he was looking curiously between Will and Kyle and back again before the light of realization crossed his features. “Oh man you might be right, I think I see it now.” Felix declared.

That had two reactions (or at least Will only noticed two); Dean actually chuckled and Will felt annoyed because he had no idea what they were talking about. “Of course I’m right,” Dean replied which just annoyed Will more- How were they already at the secret conversation stage of the relationship? They had been dating for like two weeks! Will was about to call Dean out on it for no other reason than it was rude but Dean changed the topic before he could. “We were just discussing southern ignorance,” he told Kyle cheerfully that Will could tell was fake but doubted anyone else could.

Kyle chuckled and gave an uncertain look around the table before questioning, “Anything in particular?”

Will expected there to be awkwardness, it wasn’t like their conversation was a typical one for kids in high school. Okay, well maybe somewhere but not in rural Tennessee. The closest thing to awkwardness was a suspicious glance shot around the room by Felix. Dean was the exact opposite of his nervous boyfriend ( _Gods was it weird to even think about Felix being Dean’s boyfriend_ ). He shot the girls a look before turning back to Kyle and explained: “Apparently guys can’t be bisexual.”

There was a loud sigh that Will couldn’t identify until Nora actually started talking. “We didn’t mean any offense!” She proclaimed defensively.

Before Will could even manage a grin at the memory of the ridiculous conversation Kyle laughed and it wasn’t a little _oh-that’s-funny_ kind of a laugh it was a full on _that's-fuck-ing-stupid_ laugh. “That is just not true,” Kyle stated in such a matter-of-fact way it sounded like he was reading it from a textbook.

There was another huff and this one Will was able to recognize as Ruby because it sounded different from the one Nora had issued moments earlier. “Okay,” Ruby sounded more defensive and far less apologetic then Nora had. “Maybe not on paper but name one bisexual guy you know?” she practically challenged. And if the triumphant look that crossed her face was any indication she clearly didn’t think that Kyle was up for the challenge.

Kyle shrugged before replying casually, “My brother.”

Will didn’t really know what he had been expecting. Actually, that wasn’t true, he expected Kyle to shy away from the topic like most southern kids did. Even if he did have some sort of comment Will hadn’t expected that. Will remembered Kyle’s older brother, Ian, he was a few years ahead of Will in school so it wasn’t like they were friends or even interacted but Will knew him. Ian was kind of hard to miss around school when Will was a freshman; he was captain of the football team and unlike Kyle he was actually a really good football player (or at least that was what Will was told), he was insanely popular but wasn’t a dick about it, he was also pretty decent academically because he got some scholarship to some college in Boston.

As a closeted gay kid in high school Will had spent plenty of time speculating who else in the school was secretly in the closet. It was like a fun thing to do when he wasn’t worried about potential monster attacks and the impending apocalypse. Will had never figured Ian as gay, Kyle he had wondered about once or twice until he started dating some girl on the track team. Will had wondered about Wash and Watts a few times when they first meant, and he never once thought Felix was even remotely gay and then there was Nico who he hadn’t dared to hope. He probably needed to readjust his gaydar.

“What!?!” Wash exclaimed loudly, really too loudly. He was lucky the café was pretty much empty because if it hadn’t been he would have definitely been on the receiving end of some weird looks. At least Will knew he wasn’t the only one surprised by that bit of information.

A look around the table and Will saw everyone was staring at Kyle in complete shock. Kyle probably hadn’t thought through what he was saying before he said it but still, he had Will’s sympathies. Will knew how his little group of friends could be with things- they didn’t let new information go and they gave no thought to being politically correct.

Watts at least managed a full sentence, it was a short one but it was still more than Wash had managed. “The _freaking_ football star?”

Kyle gave a little laugh. Will didn’t know the guy well enough to know if it was a nervous laugh or an amused one. The guy didn’t look nervous but maybe a little uncomfortable. He shrugged slightly awkwardly, “Only have the one brother.”

“Holy fuck,” Wash practically gasped with amazement.

There was a long stretch of silence where everyone around the table seemed to digest that information. Or, more accurately, Wash, Watts, Nora, and Ruby seemed to be taking in the information, Dean seemed mildly assumed like he had just read especially interest fact on the cap of a Snapple, and Felix just looked bored.

“But didn’t Ian date Amelia Evans for like three years?” Ruby questioned in time to prevent the silence from crossing the threshold into uncomfortable territory. “Amelia is definitely a girl.”

“Yeah, that’s why I said he was bisexual” Kyle offered and to his credit, he still didn’t sound annoyed which he would have had the right to be. “Not gay.”

There was another long stretch of silence before Wash voiced the question that always seemed to come whenever straight people find out someone they have actually meant isn’t straight. “When did this happen?”

Will probably have kept his mouth shut, Kyle was the one to drop that bomb he really should be the one to deal with the fallout but the sound of complete disbelief in Wash made that difficult. Apparent Wash had met his quota of not straight people he has interacted with. “Moment of conception,” Will answered dryly. Kyle grinned in Will’s direction at that, apparently, he was thinking the same thing or at least along the same lines.

“Dude, I didn’t mean it like that,” Wash declared defensively. Will just smiled, he wasn’t really offended but it would probably do his friends some good to learn to think before they speak before they went off to college and got their ass kicked. “I meant,” he stressed looking back toward Kyle “when did you find out.”

“Ian brought his boyfriend home for Christmas,” Kyle explained with one of those supposed-to-be-a-smile-but-failed-miserably types of expression. “No warning really, just said he was bringing home someone he was dating, and it turned out to be a guy.” Will couldn’t even imagine doing something like that, he had been nervous about bringing Nico home for Thanksgiving and his mom had known he was gay for years, she hadn’t even been surprised when Will first told him. Her actually response was _I know sweetie_. Points to Ian for sheer boldness Will guessed. “Yeah it was a bit of a surprise,” Kyle shrugged and Will got the impression surprise wasn’t the first word Kyle wanted to use to describe the situation.

Dean chuckled as he sipped from a cup, Will wasn’t sure if he noticed that he had grabbed Felix’ drink or if he just didn’t care. _Certainly, he and Felix weren’t at the sharing food phase_. “Sounds like” Dean commented.

“His boyfriend is pretty cool,” Kyle continued even though no one had asked. “He is a rugby player which I think helped my dad not completely lose his mind over the whole thing. He might actually be the only guy I’ve ever meant that is more butch than Ian.” Kyle kind of trailed at the end like he was thinking or that he had something else he wanted to say. Whatever it was Kyle seemed to consider it for a few seconds before he seemed to snap out of it and look around the table curiously. “How you guys get on this topic anyways-” His eyes bounce from each person around the table before settling on Will questioningly, “Are you-?”

“Bi?” Will finished the question before Kyle had a chance and the word felt weird. Being bisexual or pansexual was pretty common in the Apollo, it was actually far more common than being straight or gay. When Will had first shown up at camp he knew he liked boys (it wasn’t something he had ever told anyone at that point but he knew), it was probably why he had gotten in so many fights when he was younger, in the deeply religious south even second graders throw around homophobic slurs like it was nothing. Camp was supposed to be a new start with no judgments but Will had found he was still the odd one amongst his siblings or that was how he had felt until Michael had pulled him aside and talked to him about it. The Apollo cabin as it turned out was far more accepting than a lot of people in the south which really helped Will get comfortable with his own sexuality. Now it seemed almost laughable to even think about being anything but gay. “Gods no, I’m 100% gay.”

Will didn’t exactly know how he expected Kyle to respond to that statement but his thoughtful expression and little nod seemed wrong for some reason. At least it passed quickly and then the guy’s attention was back on the rest of the group. “So what got you guys on the topic?”

That was the first time Will had seen Dean and Felix reaction to a question that led to the fact that they were a couple and it was almost laughable. The couple shot each other a look that practically televised their relationship and Felix shifted in his chair with visible discomfort. Dean’s reaction was more subtle, but by the barest amount although he seemed more frustrated than nervous.

Will understood Dean and Felix not advertising that they were in a relationship, it was actually one of the few things he did understand about the whole situation. He hadn’t really talked to Dean about it or really anything about Felix, they really hadn’t been dating that long and well, he wasn’t super supportive of the idea at first, he was getting better but he wasn’t actively asking questions either. Will had just assumed the keeping things quiet idea was a mutual thing but Dean’s reaction Will wondered if maybe it was more complicated than that.

“I read a thing,” Felix replied quickly and far too aggressively to not be hiding something. If they were going to stick to the plan of keeping their relationship a secret they were going to have to work on that. “Didn’t you have a question or some shit?”

“Oh right!” Kyle declared, his previous question seemingly forgotten. He grabbed a chair from a nearby table and started pulling it over. It was halfway to the table when Kyle paused, looked up, and questioned pointing at the chair as he did, “Do you mind?”

“Go ahead, I guess,” Dean responded uncertainly. He suddenly looked more uncomfortable than he had when the fact that he was in a gay relationship was almost revealed. He shot Will a worried look too which just seemed weird.

No one else seemed to notice Dean’s sudden oddness. Kyle pulled the chair up to the table and took a seat and started talking excitedly. “So, I read your story,” he stated like that made sense which it really didn’t but no one else seemed to think anything of it. “Congrats, by the way, winning a national writing competition through UC Berkley must look great on a college resume.”

“Oh, ah…” Dean shifted in his chair as he shot Will another look and this one was one hundred percent guilt.

“What!?!” Will questioned, there was so much involved in what Kyle had just said. He had known Dean was entering a bunch of writing competitions to bulk up his college resume and maybe make a little extra cash but Dean hadn’t mentioned getting the results from any of them. He looked to Dean questioningly but his cousin seemed resistant to meet his gaze so he looked around the table at the rest of his so-called-friends. “How am I only just hearing about this now?”

“We assumed you knew,” Watts replied like it was nothing. The thing was, there was a time Will would have known, he would have been the first-person Dean would have called. Will didn’t know when that changed. Yeah, they were both in relationships that took up some of their time but ever since Will had come clean about the demigod stuff he didn’t think there were any more secrets.

“It’s not a big deal,” Dean grumbled as he slouched down in his chair like a pouting child. Will hadn’t seen Dean act like that since they were kids.

“It’s a huge deal,” Felix declared insistently. After giving Dean a curious look he turned back to Will and started explaining rather excitedly, “His story was picked out of thousands and it comes with a partial scholarship.”

Felix actually seemed genuinely proud, it was kind of sweet and very weird. Will’s brain could only process so many things at once when he was still recovering from the weekend so he just had to put a pin in the idea of Felix actually being a good boyfriend for Dean. “Dean, that’s awesome!” he declared sincerely. Kyle was right, winning something like that would look great on Dean’s college resume and the money definitely wouldn’t hurt.

“Yeah,” Dean replied without even a hint of excitement.

First chance Will got he was making Dean tell him why he was being so weird about this whole thing, but now wasn’t the time. Instead, he just wanted to hear all the little details, he was genuinely so excited for Dean. “What was the competition exactly?”

Dean sighed heavily like he would rather have a tooth pulled without anesthesia then actually have this conversation. Unfortunately for Dean he now had a boyfriend that clearly had no problem talking for him. “Creative fiction” Felix answered plainly.

That was really unexpected and Will hoped his surprise didn’t show on his face. “Really?” he questioned. Dean was definitely a good writer so he wasn’t surprised that he won a writing competition but he had never expressed an interest in creative writing. Actually, on more than one occasion Dean had commented that people who wrote fiction were just too lazy to do research or fact check.

“You haven’t read it?” Kyle questioned. His tone was a mix of surprise and sympathy. It was one thing that some random dude from the football team knew stuff about his cousin and best friend before him but now he was on the receiving end of his sympathy.

“No,” Will bit back any resentment he might be feeling because he knew it was petty. “I guess not.”

“Seriously, it’s so good,” Ruby commented casually.

“Probably the best thing I read this year,” Nora added.

“That is saying a lot because she-” Wash pointed toward Nora like there was any question who he was referring to “-reads constantly.”

Will didn’t really know what to say, he was still trying to process that Dean hadn’t told him about any of this, or Dean writing fiction. Before he could find words Dean, who still looked weirdly guilty, stated insistently, “You wouldn’t like it.”

“Why are you being so weird about this?” Felix was quick to question turning to Dean to look at him dead on for a moment. Dean didn’t respond, at least not verbally, he just shrugged and slouched down further in his chair. Felix seemed to accept that as enough of an answer, although he didn’t seem happy about it. He turned back to Will and explained, “I’m not a big reader and I’ve never been into the whole fantasy genre but it’s pretty freaking cool.” Felix shifted in his seat and started digging in his pockets. It took a few seconds before he found what he was looking for, which was rather unimpressively a folded-up piece of paper. Felix started unfolding it and Will realized it was a copy of the school’s literary magazine just before Felix tossed it on the table in Dean’s direction. “It starts on page five, read it,” Felix practically ordered.

Alright, it was pretty freaking cute that Felix was carrying around Dean’s short story in his back pocket, even Will had to admit that.

Will reached out to pick the thick card stock booklet off the table but Dean got to it first, snatching it out of Will’s reach. “Seriously,” Dean spoke and it sounded like he was pleading for his life at this point. “Dude, you won’t like it” he stated with such certainty it was strange.

“Dean,” Will reached across the table and grabbed for the paper. Dean knew Will too well and pulled the paper out of Will’s reach before he could get his hands on it. “I hate to agree with Felix on anything but you really are acting weird about this,” Will didn’t hide his annoyance because he was beyond trying and Dean really should know that. “Hand it over.”

Dean stared at him and Will could practically see his cousin weighing his options. Will was completely ready to jump over the table and rip the papers out of Dean’s hands if that was what it came down to. One heartbeat, then two and Dean let out a heavy sigh as he held the magazine out for Will to take. “Fine, but you were warned.”

All Will had to do was to turn the page to Dean’s short story and see the title for everything to make sense: Dean acting weird and guilty, why he didn’t tell Will about winning the competition.

In the big, bold text at the top of the page it read: Modern Demigods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Few things:  
> -The Catholic school story that Will mentions is a real story that someone who actually attended a Catholic school told me. I'm not suggesting that is everyone's experience but apparently that sort of stuff happens.  
> -In doing research for writing I have come to discover that the internet can be a less then helpful place for find actual facts about homosexuality- the "gay men have on average over 100 sexual partners in a lifetime" was one of the more memorable BS facts I found. Moral of the story, don't believe everything you read on the internet kids :)  
> -Bisexual erosion is totally a thing that exists- if you are a bisexual woman people assume your a slut, and if you are a bisexual man people tend to assume you're really just gay- My sympathies to Dean and Felix on this
> 
> Since I have gone this question on Tumblr, and I sort of reference it here I might as well address it- Delix smut will happen I just haven't decided if it will be in Normal Lives, Outtakes, or a Tumblr ficlet to be posted here later.
> 
> If you can't tell I clearly have a lot of headcannons about what Will's early camp experience was like, maybe some day I will write them down somewhere.
> 
> There will be more on Dean's story in the next few chapters.
> 
> Remember, comments and kudos give me life!


	55. Fanfiction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday All,
> 
> Wow, did the last chapter get a reaction- it was awesome!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this continuation. :)

Will sat at their normal table in the café and proceeded to read the story of one of the most traumatic events of his life while his friends (and Kyle) talked casually about the fucked-up things that had happened to him none the wiser that it was all real. It was so surreal it might have been the weirdest thing to ever happen to him, and as a demigod, the bar for that was set pretty high. The fact that Dean’s story was actually pretty accurate only made it worse. It wasn’t one-hundred percent on point, although Will suspected some of that had been intentional on Dean’s part.

As Will skimmed through he found that all of the names had been changed; some were so obvious it didn’t take Will much thought to figure it out like himself (who was called Liam in the story) or Annabeth (who was Elizabeth), others were so odd or off the mark it took Will a painfully long time to figure out who they were supposed to be like Percy (who was Peter), and Nico (who was Anthony). Most of the godly parents had been changed as well- Instead of a daughter of Aphrodite dying in battle and her best friend a daughter of Ares avenging her death it was a daughter of Eros and a daughter of Athena (Will was pretty sure Clarisse wouldn’t have appreciated that change). Annabeth was now a daughter of Nike, Will was a son of Asclepius, Nico was the son of Thanatos (Will wasn’t sure if that particular god even had any demigod children but whatever), and Percy was the son of Triton (that one might have been the most strange). Oh, and everyone seemed to be at least three years older than they had been during the battle.

There was more that was different, more subtle, likely less intentional. Everything seemed smaller, less threatening, less horrifyingly nightmare-inducing somehow. It was a little like one of those bad book adaptions movies where your pretty sure everyone involved in making the movie had never even read the book.

After reading the first paragraph or so Will quickly skimmed the rest to make sure it actually was what he thought it was. His second read through he actually tried to read it, of course, ADHD and Dyslexia didn’t really make that easy. His friends chatting away didn’t help with that either.

“I love the whole boots on the ground approach to a battle story,” Will was aware of Kyle commenting as he just got to the part where Nico’s character appeared. “And the medic point of view was great.” Kyle was over-enthusiastic but Will was starting to think that was just the guy’s natural state. “It’s a great unsung hero’s story,” he offered a little too insistently to be completely believed. “But I need to know what happened on Mount Olympus,” Kyle sounded like he was practically begging, which Will couldn’t completely attend to as he probably should, considering he was just getting to the part where Nico came into the story.

On the second read, the way Dean described Nico at first seemed crazy over the top. It was like the description from a bad teen romance novel. Granted, it was supposed to be from Will’s perspective but still.

“Forget Mount Olympus!” Ruby declared and while that was something Will had actually heard before from various demigods but it usually was said with more anger and typically more cussing. Will paused in his reading and looked up just in time to see Ruby bounce excitedly in her seat as she spoke toward Dean. “I want to know more about Antony.” Will caught Dean’s eyes dart in his direction for a split second before once again averting his gaze. “He’s so dark and mysterious.”

“And by dark and mysterious she means he sounds absolutely gorgeous,” Nora clarified matching Ruby’s. Well, at least that was something Will agreed with, Dean’s description may have been like four levels of over the top but it was accurate, at least how Nico was now. During the Battle of Manhattan Nico was at the height of his rebel demigod phase, living on his own gods-know where, probably constantly fighting off monsters, shadow-traveling all the time, and generally not taking care of himself. He hadn’t looked like he was on death’s door like he had at the Battle of Camp Half-Blood, but he was still underfed and a bit scraggly which had only made the way he fought off a bunch of monsters and saved Will’s life all the more impressive. Dean had never known Nico that way so Will guessed it made sense Dean would describe Nico more as he is now. “Now, please tell me Anthony and Liam fall madly in love and get married!”

Will was reminded that he liked Nora, it was short-lived but it was nice while it lasted. Ruby snorted before interjecting, “Yes that, but most importantly that they bang, like frequently.” Ruby giggled.

It is extremely weird to hear one’s friends (or friends girlfriend) talk so blatantly about his sex life. Will guessed that after he came out his sex life had become a common enough topic of conversation but this was different and weird. “Oh yes and that,” Nora agreed with a giggle of her own.

“Whoa,” Watts exclaimed cutting into the girls’ ramblings. To be honest, Will found it as a relief, Watts was usually good for reigning the conversation in, at least a little. “Are we just making assumptions about people’s sexual preferences?” He questioned but he lacked the note of disapproval Will would have used but to each their own. Okay, considering Liam was based off himself and Anthony was Nico, the assumptions about their sexuality were one-hundred percent accurate but that didn’t seem to be the point. Watts scoffed before adding, “Anthony is a total badass so obviously he’s straight.”

“Wow, that’s a fucking offensive stereotype,” Felix declared with clear repulsion. It was actually a little disturbing that Will’s exact thoughts had come out of Felix’ mouth. The silence that followed was probably the only thing that could have been more shocking.

He didn’t want to but Will paused in his reading for a second time and looked up: Felix was slouched in his seat looking sullen (although that was his resting state), Dean was actually chewing at his nails which was a nervous habit Will hadn’t seen from him since he was twelve, and Kyle was looking toward Felix (and to a lesser extent Dean) with a questioning expression.

Will actually felt a little bad for them- he might not have known the exact details of the why behind them not telling people but he did know Dean and Felix did want to keep their relationship status to themselves. Kyle didn’t look like he had figured it out but he definitely looked like he was on the road.

Will’s first instinct was to jump in and help, divert the attention off his cousin and his new boyfriend (gross!) but he pushed that down. His cousin had turned one of the more traumatic experiences in his life into like a gods-damned young adult novel or some shit he was on his own.  

They didn’t flounder long before Wash of all people stepped in and diverted the attention off Dean and Felix. “I don’t know, I got the feeling Anthony had a thing for Peter.”

 _Why did he have to save Dean and Felix by saying the most awful thing possible_ , Will thought mournfully. Sure, he was past getting freaked out about the history between Nico and Percy but that didn’t mean he wanted to be reminded of it either.

“Oh, fuck Peter!” Ruby declared with what sounded like genuine distaste. Will had barely gotten a paragraph past where he had stopped the last time but that caught his attention. Will looked up from the paper in his hand to see Ruby dismissively wave her hand, “He’s a distraction.” She took a long sip of her own drink. Mid-sip something seemed to occur to her and it looked like she almost choked as she attempted to swallow. It took her about half a minute and she coughed slightly before recovering and pointing a threatening finger at Dean. “And Anthony better not actually fuck Peter or I swear to god I will hate you forever,” she declared seriously.

Will wanted to give Ruby a hallelujah before assuring her that Nico and Percy…or Anthony and Peter never had sex and never will. Will caught how Dean shot him an apologetic glance and immediately dropped his gaze back down to the paper in his hands. He wasn’t going to risk Dean reading something like forgiveness in his eyes, Will felt no forgiveness and Dean wasn’t likely to find any from him anytime soon.

The conversation went on in the periphery of Will’s awareness as he read Dean’s interruption of a conversation that Will had obviously only told him about in broad detail.

“Let’s put the sexual orientation question aside for a minute” Will was barely aware of Kyle trying to play the voice of reason. Good luck with that, Will thought with a smirk as he continued to read. “Liam and Anthony? I just don’t see it.”

Will’s eye’s flicked upward involuntarily to glare at Kyle. Doesn’t matter if you can’t see it, it happens, Will thought just barely managing to keep his mouth shut on the subject. His first thought was how rude everyone was being, talking about their opinions on his life right in front of him. Will actually had to remind himself that they didn’t actually know, to them it was just one of their friend's fictional stories.

Wash seemed to be working overtime to make himself Will’s new second-favorite person (Nico was first, obviously) even if he didn’t know it. Will noticed him out of the corner of his eye staring at Kyle with an expression that could only be described as bewilderment. “Did we read the same thing?” Wash directed the question to Kyle sounding sincerely confused.

“Sure,” Kyle replied quickly with a shrug that Will noticed as he tried to return to reading (he really did try). “I just think that what you were reading as the potential for romance was more like hero worship,” he stated. “Anthony did save Liam’s life.”

There was a long stretch of silence that Will should have been thankful for but was surprised that he wasn’t. Instead, Will literally had to bite down on his tongue to stop from feverishly correcting all of his friend's misconceptions about his life, and Nico, and what war was generally like. He resisted the urge to talk by purposefully ducking his head and focusing on the pages in front of him although he was pretty certain at this point that actually re-reading the short story was going to be impossible.

“I …..ya…… “ It was surprisingly Dean’s voice that broke the silence sputtering uncertainly. Will didn’t have to look to know his cousin was staring at him nervously and apologetically, he could feel it. He had to wonder what everyone else thought about Dean’s behavior, it must have seemed odd to them but no one had said a word. “I really wasn’t thinking about the different romantic angles.”

“Why would you?” Watts declared dismissively, still, no one commented on Dean’s seriously uncharacteristic behavior. “It’s a war story, there shouldn’t be romance.”

Will really wanted to point out how wrong Watts was on that. Will could think of at least two dozen couples that formed on and around the Battle of Manhattan with Percy and Annabeth just being the most high profile. The same thing had happened in the months leading up to the Battle of Camp Half-Blood, couples were popping up left and right more than a few were more than unexpected. There was just something about the imminent threat of death or the exhilaration of surviving a true battle that you probably weren’t meant to survive that had people re-evaluating their wants and needs. It was possible that the phenomenon was unique to demigods, after all, they were young and practically hard-wired to be impulsive, but Will doubted that.

“You have a solid point,” Kyle commented agreeing with Watts’ inaccurate assumptions about the presence of romance in war. “And I’ve got to admit I’m more interested in the high-level story. I want to know how they beat Kronos.”

Kyle’s comment seemed to get at the heart of what seemed unique about the way Dean had written the story. At least from what Will had been able to glean from his first read-through, Dean focused what had happened in the streets of Manhattan as they demigods who fought could only hope that those on Mount Olympus found a way to beat the Titan. Kronos (or Luke) never made an actual appearance, Kronos was only mentioned a few times by name, instead, there was this general sense of impending doom that seemed to carry through the story. Dean actually did a pretty good job capturing the feeling of uncertainty Will remembered.

“That wasn’t really my aim,” Dean replied, sounding like the only person at the table that was enjoying the conversation as little as Will.

Will wasn’t sure if his statement was the truth or not. The way Dean seemed to have told the story was actually pretty compelling in Will’s opinion. If it hadn’t been his life, and if he wasn’t wildly offended that Dean had written out and was selling it as fiction, Will might have actually enjoyed the piece because of the way it was written. Still, Will didn’t know if the focus on the frontline story had been a creative decision on Dean’s part or a forced choice. Dean had far more information about what had happened on the frontline because that had been where Will was during the battle for the most part.

“Would you consider a sequel?” Kyle questioned thoughtfully. Gods, he sounded fucking hopefully.

That was what had Will completely giving up on trying to read the story. He dropped the papers on the table and openly glared at his cousin. Will wasn’t particularly violent or impulsive at least not by demigod standards but if Dean even considered writing more of his life out as a sequel Will would have to kill him.

Dean noticed which was good because Will wasn’t even trying to be subtle. “Um..” he hummed nervously. Will couldn’t be sure but he thought he noticed Dean slide down in his chair slightly.

“You have to make a sequel,” Nora declared matter-of-factly. “I can’t go back to reading the dystopian young adult crap I’ve been reading after that.”

Dean opened his mouth to say something, seemed to think better of it, and shut his mouth. His eyes fleeted from Will to something to his right, and then down at the table as he seemed to choose to be silence. Will followed the path of Dean’s eyes, at least as much as he could, and that was when he realized Felix, who was sitting to Dean’s right, had his eyes solely focused on Will with an intensity Will wasn’t used to. Will should have probably noticed sooner that Felix had been far too quiet for far too long but he had been too overwhelmed with everything else going on.

“So?” Felix questioned. It was the first question that had actually been directed at Will, and the way Felix said it, it practically sounded like an accusation. “What did you think?” Apparently, Felix was the only one observant enough to notice Will wasn’t reading anymore. “Good, right?” All things aside, it was cute how a little smile played on the corners of Felix’ lips as he asked that. It was like he couldn’t help but smile thinking about Dean or anything related to him.

Once Felix pointed it out everyone seemed to suddenly notice Will and his lack of reading all at once. With everyone’s attention on him, Will knew he had to say something. Almost anything would have been acceptable as long as it was something far from the truth. Will froze, he could think of about a million things he wanted to say to Dean but none of them were things he could say in front of present company. Dean noticed Dean knew him like the back of his hand, of course, he noticed. “It’s alright if you don’t like it,” Dean assured the look of guilt so intense Will almost wanted to feel bad for being angry.

“Will you stop, it great,” Felix told Dean insistently. If Felix was any other guy, or person really- Will really had never thought he would see the day that his cousin was dating another guy- Will would have really liked him. The way he looked at Dean, there was affection but he didn’t look blinded by love (if what they had could be called even anything close to that). Felix looked at Dean like he was the only person that could really see him. It was sweet, or it would have been if it wasn’t Felix. The look only lasted a few seconds before Felix diverted his gaze like it wasn’t something meant for public places. Before Will’s brain could try to find a way to interpret that as anything but enduring Felix turned on him and stated firmly, “Tell him.”

“It’s….” Will fiddled with the corners of the papers as he tried to make himself say the word good. He couldn’t, he physically couldn’t get his mouth to form that word. Pushing the paper away from himself slightly he stated with uncertainty, “Interesting.” That was clearly not the reaction everyone had expected, that was clear from their expressions. It dawned on Will that he looked like an ass from there point of view which seemed more than a little unfair. “Fantasy really isn’t my thing,” he explained trying to justify his reaction somehow but it didn’t seem to help.

“I get it,” Dean assured and it really wasn’t clear if he was offering Will assurance or the others. At least Dean didn’t seem surprised by Will’s reaction, although why should he be? He was the only other person at the table that actually knew all the facts. He shot Will a meaningful look as he added, “That’s cool.”

Well, all the happy chatting around the table about Dean’s story (and Will’s life) seemed to be over which should have been a good thing. It surprisingly was not, everyone around the table seemed suddenly uncomfortable and the silence was incredibly awkward. What was worse was that Will wasn’t even sure if that was all in his head or if it was the truth. Either way, it was too much to handle. “Excuse me” Will grumbled under his breath as he got up and made a quick escape to the restroom toward the back of the café.

It wasn’t a surprise to find the men’s room was empty considering the café wasn’t overflowing with customers currently but Will was still thankful. Without an audience, all the emotions he was feeling about what Dean had actually done could bubble to the surface of his mind. Will had thought he had explained the importance of keeping all the demigod stuff a secret to Dean. He had gone over all the dangers of other people finding out about a million times.

_How could Dean just ignore that?_

And why out of everything Will had told him about did Dean have to write about the Battle of Manhattan?

_How could he trivialize a war? People’s deaths? Some of the scariest moments of my life?_

All of that felt like a betrayal, and Will was definitely upset about it but weirdly it didn’t seem to be the thing that was bothering Will the most. Dean had won, and from the way everyone was talking it was a pretty big competition, and he didn’t tell him. He hadn’t even thought to mention it.

Will turned the cold water on at one of the sinks, cupped his hands, and held them under the water. Once his hands were full, he leaned in and splashed the water up onto his face. Will did that three or four times before shutting off the water and grabbing a few paper towels to dab his face dry.

Was he making too big of a deal out of all of this? Will wondered feeling increasingly uncertain. Dean had changed everyone’s names and godly parent in the story. The details of the battle itself were still unmistakably the Battle of Manhattan, but it would be hard for anyone to figure out how Dean had gotten the information. The story had been well-written and generally respectful to the various demigods mentioned.

Will sighed heavily to himself as he pushed away from the sink. His reflection was no longer particularly comforting. He had to have a right to be angry about this but he felt like somehow he was being overly dramatic about the whole thing. He wished he could just talk to Dean about all of that but with everyone else there that wasn’t an option and with Felix Will doubted it would be an option anytime soon.

When Will had learned he was a demigod, he remembered thinking his life couldn’t get any more complicated. Boy, had he ever been wrong about that?

Will had taken maybe a step and a half toward the bathroom door when it pushed open, and Felix of all people walked in. It was a free country, and everyone could use the restroom when they needed. Will took a half a step to one side planning to walk past without a word. The was practically the man code for dealing with another dude in the bathroom, after all.

Felix did the exact opposite of what Will would have expected or what years of enculturation told him he would do. Felix stepped into Will’s path and reached his arm out pressing his hand against the wall further blocking Will’s exit. His whole posture was aggressive to begin with, but he added an accusatory finger pointed at the center of Will’s chest for good measure. “What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?”

Will might have stared at Felix for a solid minute before he gave up completely on trying to figure out what was going on. “Felix,” Will sighed, “I can’t do whatever this is with you right now.” He shifted slightly on his heel to change his path and walk past Felix on the other side, but Felix moved so he once again was solidly in Will’s path.

Not only was Felix in his path but, somehow, he managed to get more in Will’s space. They were close enough that Will could distinctly make out the scent of Felix’s cologne which actually, wouldn’t have been too bad if it wasn’t for the Felix of the thing. “Dean practically lives or dies by your opinion, you have to know that!” Felix growled jamming his finger into Will’s chest for emphasis. “You know that, right?”

Well, that seemed like a massive exaggeration. Will and Dean were close Will wouldn’t deny that. They practically grow up as brothers there was no way they would be any other way. Will definitely looked up to Dean as an older brother. Okay, Will was aware that sometimes Dean would come to him for advice or help beyond _Dad’s-stumble-down-drunk,-and-I-need-help-hauling-him-to-his-bed again_ kind of help but that was what family did. Felix was obviously an only child, so there was no way he could understand their family dynamics, and Will didn’t feel like explaining. Plus, he really didn’t know how much Dean wanted Felix to know (historically, Dean wasn’t big on sharing stuff about his family with people he was dating). “I guess if you say so,” Will replied uncertainty as he made a second failed attempt to move around Felix.

Felix switched from jamming his finger into Will’s chest to splaying his hand in the same spot pushing Will back half a step. Were they going to end up in a fist fight, Will wondered nervously. He highly doubted Dean would be happy about that, and Will was sure he would be the one blamed for it.

“He does, jackass.” Felix hissed. The heat in his eyes seemed to subside slightly as something seemed to come to him. He shook his head dismissively, “I swear if I didn’t know better I’d think Dean was the younger one.”

“Okay?” Will had no clue where Felix was going with this, and he already had too much on his mind to try to figure it out. “So?”

“ _So_ ,” Felix was back to looking pissed. He removed his hand from Will’s chest, and Will almost flinched back expecting a punch. Instead, Felix jutted his thumb over his shoulder back toward the café’s main room. “That story was really important to him,” Felix stated with force. “There is a pretty big fucking scholarship attached, and some big-fucking-deal professor from Berkley actually personally wrote Dean a god-damned letter telling him how impressed he was. Still, all Dean could worry about was what you’d think.” Felix jabbed Will in the chest again for emphasis. Will was probably going to have a bruise from all the poking when this was over. “So, get the fuck out there-” He once again removed his accusing finger from Will’s chest and pointed toward the restroom door. “-and tell Dean you love it. Tell him it’s perfect because it is even if you can’t see it.”

“Why?” Will questioned somewhat amused. Whatever point Felix had or however valid it might have been, Will didn’t appreciate feeling like Felix was telling him what to do. That was just one of those demigod traits Will definitely inherited. He didn’t like being bossed around. “You’ll kick my ass if I don’t?”

“I’ll fucking try,” Felix stated with certainty as he crossed his arms over his chest in a show of defiance. “I don’t care if your fortune five hundred boyfriend breaks my face for the effort.” He arched his eyebrow like he was daring Will to argue with him on that one. Will had no intentions. He might not have been quick to resort to violence but the same could not be said for Nico. “But that’s not why you’re going to do it.”

“Oh?” Will questioned curiously. At this point, it was clear he wasn’t getting out of this bathroom until Felix spoke his peace, and Will had to admit he was a little interested.

“Yeah,” Felix nodded confidently. “You’re going to do it because it is what he would do for you,” He stated. “Dean always does that sort of shit for you.”

Will really wished Felix had just punched him in the face, it would have been preferred. He blinked at the brunet in complete shock. Will was still pissed about what Dean did and getting cornered in a men’s restroom by Felix. Yeah, he was still angry, but Felix had a point. If Will had to describe Dean in one word, supportive seemed like a good one and putting aside the whole fictionalizing Will’s life thing, this was a big deal.

He opened his mouth to say something but honestly, he had no idea what he wanted to say. He certainly didn’t want to admit Felix was right. Before making a sound, Will shut his mouth and went back at staring back at Felix dumbly. The silence stretched, and Felix shifted seeming to pull his arms more tightly around his chest. “What?” Felix questioned in an overly aggressive tone that Will suspected was his way of hiding discomfort.

“I just…” Will paused trying to think of the best and least offensive way to put say what he was thinking. “I guess….well, I guess I never thought I’d see the day Dean’s _boyfriend_ was threatening to kick my ass.” That was the truest statement Will had ever spoken. He had always thought he knew Dean so well, but he really hadn’t seen Dean being bisexual coming. But that really wasn’t the only thing about this situation that was completely out of left field for him. He gestured toward Felix weakly as he admitted, “let alone that boyfriend being you.”

Felix smirked, and if Will didn’t know better he might have taken it a friendly expression. “Yeah, well welcome to the new world order,” he declared with a shrug before stepping out of Will’s way. He tossed his head back slightly toward the door and instructed, “Now, get out there and be supportive.” Will got a half a step to the door when Felix’s hand clapped down on his shoulder stopping him in his tracks. “And make it fucking convincing,” Felix stated and it felt more like a threat than a suggestion.

Will didn’t know if he actually managed convincing, but he thought he managed to at least not seem quite so suspicious about the whole thing. The energy around the table managed not to get too awkward as everyone chitchatted about nothing of importance. No one brought up Dean’s story again which probably helped.

When everyone got ready to leave Dean offered Will a ride home (as did Kyle which was a little weird but Will really couldn’t worry about that). Felix looked less than pleased with the offer or at least until Will turned him down. Will and Dean were going to have to have a conversation, but until that actually happened Will didn’t think being around each other was the best idea, and since Felix was definitely getting a ride from Dean too it wasn’t the time. He ended up catching a ride from Nora and Ruby, which was interesting for all of two seconds before they started hounding him with questions about Nico. Will suffered through, and was thankful that his house wasn’t too far from the café.

Stepping into the front door of his house Will was amazed by how exhausted he was. All the drama of the day in combination with his jetlag and the sleep deprivation from the weekend Will was completely spent. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep until his phone date with Nico.

Will shut the front door and turned to see that the drama of the day wasn’t over yet. Sitting on the couch with the school’s literary magazine in hand and a serious expression on her face was his mom. Will stopped in his tracks in the shock of everything Will hadn’t even thought about his mom. Of course, she would have seen Dean’s story. She was a high school English teacher at their high school, there was no way she wouldn’t have seen it.

 _Fuck!_ Will cursed internally. He tried not to let the panic he was feeling show. Worst case scenario: he and his mom have a fight like the one they had after Dean’s leg was broken by that cyclops, and Will would just leave like he had then. He wouldn’t have to hitchhike this time, because at twelve that had been terrifying and he doubted that would have changed much, he could just call Nico and they could shadow travel.

That was the worst-case scenario, it wouldn’t necessarily happen. That was what Will focused on as he took a few steps into the room. “Hey mom,” he greeted cautiously. “Something wrong?”

She took a deep breath like she was steeling herself. “How much of it is true?” She asked seriously. Will couldn’t help but notice how his mother’s eyes seemed red like she had been crying. There was no way this wasn’t going to be bad.

“How much of what?” Will questioned playing dumb. It was probably stupid but Will was hoping he could avoid the whole conversation by acting ignorant. After all, ignorance was bliss so acting that way had to get him somewhere.

“William,” his mother spoke firmly. She was using his full first name, this was absolutely not good. “I’m putting a serious pin in the fact that you told Dean when we agreed you would never,” She sounded angry but there was something else in her voice that Will couldn’t quite name. That probably not a good sign, Will wanted to slink away but she didn’t give him the opportunity. She held up the literary magazine up like the evidence it was and repeated her question with more force, “How much is true?”

Will sighed, whatever was going to happen was going to happen Will knew that. Fighting the situation was only going to make things more unpleasant. “Ignoring the name changes and godly parent swap?” He questioned a little of the exhaustion he was feeling slipping into his voice. He didn’t what for her to answer before continuing. “I would say Dean got it about 98% right,” he shrugged, he hadn’t even admitted that to himself until that moment. “There were definitely some rose-colored glasses effects at parts.”

The space of a heartbeat passed, maybe two where nothing happened. For nothing, it felt remarkably uncomfortable but it was better than when something did actually happen. His mother stood quickly, crossed the room, and pulled Will into a hug before he could even think to do something in response. As soon as her arms wrapped around him she started sobbing into his shirt.

Will stood there frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do. He had seen a pretty wide range of emotional reactions from his mother but he couldn’t remember the last time he had seen her cry. The longer he stood there the worse he felt, this was his fault. “Mom?” he questioned uncertainly unsure of what else to say.

“My baby!” She sobbed louder and hugged him more tightly. “You could have died….I could’ve….”

Will finally thought to hug her back. It was the only reassurance he could think to offer her. “I’m okay mom.”


	56. Apologies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all and Happy Sunday,
> 
> First and foremost, I want to apologies for any comments from the last chapter that I didn't respond to. Generally I really try to respond to most everything even if it is just to say thank you because all your comments make me so happy and keep me writing. But if I'm being honest I got a comment that generally pissed me off (it has been a shitty week and the comment wasn't at all constructive), and after responding to it I found just opening Ao3's site killed any drive I had to write. I normally wouldn't even bring it up because I feel like I'm calling someone out (even though they exercised poor commentor etiquette) I usually think that is rude but I know I didn't respond to a lot of comments which makes me feel horrible so I wanted to explain why. So all of you amazing commentors, I adore you and thank you for taking the time to write such supportive and wonderful comments. You are truly the best.
> 
> Now that I got that out of the way. I outlined this chapter in the middle of the OC challenge so Dean and Felix sort of took over a bit but I loved their part too much to take out. :)
> 
> There are some really mild references to smutty things (I don't feel like it warrants a true warning, more like a heads up)

Dean tried to focus on the road, but one thought kept cycling in his mind, _Will is going to kill me_. He managed to keep his eyes on the road and the car (for the most part), but it wasn’t the best show of his driving skills. Considering that multiple people had told him he was a shitty driver on his good days that probably wasn’t a good sign.

Will was definitely mad at him, he had tried to hide it at the café for the sake of the others’ but he didn’t do a particularly good of it. Granted, Will did seem a little better after whatever happened with Will and Felix in the bathroom (Dean was too scared to question what happened there). Dean should have told him about the story earlier in the day, and it wasn’t that he didn’t try. Dean really had tried, but things just kept coming up (or at least that was what Dean had told himself). He could have probably tried harder, maybe given Will a ride to school without Felix so they could have talked.

It was worse than that though, even if Dean didn’t want to admit it to himself because there were a lot of should-haves involved in the whole situation. When Dean had first started writing the story it wasn’t meant for other people, it was just him putting together the pieces that he was able to get from Will, Nico, and the others so he could better understand. The only reason he had even started putting pen to paper on the subject was the look Will got whenever he accidentally stumbled onto the subject (and it always was obviously an accident), he looked haunted. Dean had just wanted to help, and he couldn’t help until he understood. Ever since Dean was a kid he best understood things through writing. He had had the best of intentions…..

Applying to college was just so mother fucking expensive, and his chances of getting in felt so slim (all because he failed fucking biology, otherwise his grades were practically perfect). He was applying to writing contests to bulk up his resume (and some paid so that was a plus) but there was next to nothing for non-fiction.

Dean had gotten a bit discouraged, and it hadn’t been particularly good time for him personally (it had been in the middle of him and Felix not talking and trying to deny that he had ever been attached to his now boyfriend) so when he saw how many competitions there were for fiction he gave into the temptation.

He had thought about asking Will before he submitted it to the Berkeley competition but …. he just didn’t. It was probably because deep down Dean knew Will would have told him no. So he changed enough of the details that everyone’s identities were protected and he submitted it without a word. Afterwards, he thought about telling Will but didn’t see the point of picking a fight when the likelihood he would even place was slim to none. Hindsight was twenty-twenty, Dean guessed but Will wasn’t going to care.

“You're being quiet,” Felix commented from the passenger seat, his voice was emphasized with a gentle squeeze to Dean’s thigh. Felix’s hand had been stationed there most of the ride, and it probably wasn’t improving Dean’s driving any. The horny teenage part of Dean’s brain kept short-circuiting his reasoning and attention skills and all he wanted to do was beg Felix to move his hand a little further up and slightly to the left. It probably didn’t help that Dean knew Felix would do it without hesitation either.

Considering that he was already struggling to pay attention to his driving, Dean knew he should probably keep his eyes on the road, but he didn’t. He glanced toward Felix in the passenger seat as long as he could dare. Felix was staring back at him with a thoughtful and expectant expression. Dean shrugged and turned his attention back to the country road that led between town and Felix’s house. “I’m always quiet,” Dean pointed out which wasn’t exactly true. He could be chatty and he knew it. Still, he pushed back his anxious thoughts as best he could and smiled teasingly at Felix, “You’re the talker.”

“Fuck you,” Felix responded with a bit of an amused huff sound that let Dean know he was joking. Back when Dean and Felix had just been friends, Dean had gotten used to the way Felix’s used the phrase as a show of amusement. Now that they were a couple (a thought that Dean was both still adjusting to while at the same time it felt so natural it was like it had been that way forever) Dean was getting used to the way Felix used _fuck you_ as a term of endearment. In a strange way, it was kind of nice, it was like their own language.

Again, Dean’s horny teenage brain was more than happy to jump off the rails of his stressed thoughts to something more carnal. He turned to grin at Felix in the passenger seat. It was a shame that Dean needed to pay attention to the road because pulling Felix into a kiss would have been nice. Well, it was at least nice to imagine, and yeah, he was imagining more than just kissing. “Promise?” Dean questioned suggestively, he even tried to do that eyebrow wiggle thing even though he thought his meaning was plenty clear.

The weight of Felix’s hand lightened slightly on his thigh for a moment. Dean spared Felix the quickest of glances. He couldn’t be sure but he thought Felix was blushing slightly (which was super cute and a little hot). Either way, Felix let out a small laugh that had a slightly strange note to it, that Dean would have called nervousness if he thought Felix was capable of such an emotion. “Just say the word,” Felix declared with what Dean wanted to call false bravado.

The thing was they were taking it slow on the physical front, sort of, even though neither of them seemed particularly keen on it. It was like they were stuck in some weird sort game of sex chicken and Dean really had no one to blame but himself. He was the one to suggest that they take some time figuring things out before they actually had sex. Objectively, it was the right decision but that didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult. Felix really needed to stop being so god-damned tempting all the fucking time. Dean wasn’t going to say any of that out loud, Felix hadn’t been in love on the idea of taking it slow to begin with, and seemed rather content to make it as difficult as he could.

They drove in silence for a few minutes, and it was really nice. Felix was the only person Dean had ever been in a relationship with where they could just sit in silence and it felt natural, he didn’t realize how important that was until Felix. In the silence, Felix’s hand seemed to settle back on his thigh more comfortably and maybe half an inch higher, and Dean managed (barely) to not drive into a tree.

Felix’s house was way out on the outskirts of town which worked out well for them since they couldn’t really be obviously couple-y at school or around town. The ride was a nice chance not to just be without worrying about people figuring them out (Gods, was that beyond fucking stressful). Even with his stressed filled thoughts, the ride went by too quickly and he was pulling up in front of Felix’s house before he knew it.

Oddly the driveway was empty. Dean had quickly become acquainted with Felix’s dad’s work schedule. Leonard was a cool enough guy Dean was sure, it was just so much better to be able to hang out when he wasn’t around. Dean put the car in park and looked over at Felix, and since he didn’t actually have to attend to driving he could really take Felix in. His chocolatey hair seemed darker than it had a few weeks early which Dean suspected had to do with soccer being over for the year; Felix was spending more time indoors on the computer and less time outside. The darker shade of his hair seemed to make Felix look fairer. And then there were Felix’s eyes, Dean could probably describe Felix’s eyes a million times and it would never be the same. Today they looked more green than brown and were still entrancing.

“Where’s your dad?” Dean asked coolly. Dean figured that was the unexpected benefit of being in the dark about his own sexuality for so long. Felix had always been hot, Dean could always see that, and while he was more attune to it now that they were together he had a lot of practice taking all his thoughts about Felix’s good looks, and amazing body, putting them in a box, and shoving them to the back of his mind so he could function like a person and not a babbling idiot.

“It’s Monday,” Felix shrugged his broad shoulders. “He meets with his supervisor or some shit every other Monday and it always runs late,” He explained before pausing. Something sparked in his eyes. Ever since Will came out about being a demigod, Dean had been doing a lot of reading in the area of mythology. It had started with Greek mythology for obvious reason but it spread from there. One of the myths, or more appropriately mythical category, that really stuck with Dean was the story of the tricksters. It probably had to do with Dean’s deep love of Shakespeare, Puck and all of that shit, but that wasn’t the point. One trickster myth Dean found especially interesting was that of the Kitsune. A kitsune was this Japanese fox, and in some descriptions, their eyes were said to glow with mischief. That was like Felix’s eyes in that moment, they glowed with mischief. _Gods, that was really hot_ , Dean thought much to his own disadvantage.

Dean needed to stay focused, he knew that. He needed to drop Felix off at his house and then go talk to Will before he successfully plotted his murder. He could not get distracted by Felix being hot, Felix was always hot, if he allowed himself to get distracted by that he would never get anything done.

Felix had very different things in mind apparently. He leaned in so close all Dean could feel practically was his warm breath on the sensitive skin of Dean’s throat. Dean felt a little like he was about to be devoured, like in one of those cheesy vampire movies and Dean was playing the role of the enthralled damsel. He didn’t mind, he should, but he didn’t. It only got worse when Felix pressed the lightest of kisses on the soft spot just behind Dean’s ear. The contact had chills running down Dean’s spine, and while it may not have been the most dignified thing to admit, he may have whimpered a little. “He’ll be home in a few hours,” Felix informed in a breathy whisper as Dean was keenly aware of Felix’s hand moving up his thigh. Well, that was what Dean had wanted. Felix pulled back slightly as his hand found the hinge between Dean’s thigh and his groin just centimeters from Dean’s prize so to speak.

 _Oh, dear gods_ , Dean thought ready to pray to every deity he could name, _focus_.

“You’re coming in, right?” Felix questioned sincerely, curiously. Dean knew it was risky but he dared to look at Felix in the passenger seat. Felix was watching him with interest. It wasn’t exactly the lust filled gaze Dean was expecting but it wasn’t a turn off either.

“I want to,” Dean admitted hating himself as he said it. Dean didn’t think he wanted anything as much as he wanted to go inside with Felix. He was positive that this was some sort of karma for not telling Will about the stupid story. The fact that he was painfully aware of Felix’s hand rubbing the no-mans-land between his thigh and his dick was making him feel desperate was only making the whole situation seem a million time worse. “Gods do I want to,” he reiterated because it was worth repeating. “But I really have to run an errand,” he admitted regretfully as he dropped his hand to still Felix’s. He didn’t pull Felix’s hand away, he was not that strong of a person, but he still the brunet’s hand enough so he could think at least. He hated doing this but he had to set things right with Will before he could really enjoy his time with Felix, and he _really_ wanted to enjoy his time with Felix. “Can I come by later?” he questioned nervously.

“Depends,” Felix replied thoughtfully as he carefully pulled his hand out of Dean’s. It wasn’t a gesture of frustration or disapproval, his movements were too soft to be mistaken for that. Still, even if Dean was worried Felix’s actions quickly put a stop to any such thoughts. Felix brought his hand up and brushed a stray strand of hair behind Dean’s ear before asking, “Is the errand about your cousin being a jackass?” The question was dry but not particularly antagonistic, Felix was actually doing a lot better about the Will situation than Will was doing about the Felix situation. Still, the dry (maybe slightly annoyed, this was Felix after all) statement stood in stark contrast to Felix’s affectionate (and dare Dean to say soft) gesture.

That was something Dean was still getting used to, Felix was actually much better at the couple stuff then Dean was. Dean wasn’t going to complain, he never thought he would be the type to get all weak in the knees over things like soft touches but here he was so he must have been wrong because he certainly didn’t want Felix to stop.

“That’s not the way I’d put it but yeah,” Dean shrugged slightly with the confession. He didn’t really see the point of hiding it even if he couldn’t tell Felix the full truth, at least not yet (but maybe, someday in the future. Not that Dean was thinking about their future, it was way too soon for him to be thinking about that) Felix had eyes and Will wasn’t being subtle about being less than pleased. “So…” Dean stretched out the word as he searched Felix’s expression and sure Felix didn’t look completely content but that ugly steak of annoyance and frustration that had always been there with Felix when it came to Will didn’t seem to be a thing since the championship game. Dean wanted to reach out and do something like Felix had but Felix’s hair was too neatly styled to be casually brushed behind his ear and while brushing his fingers against one of Felix’s prominent cheekbones seemed like an appealing idea it felt too intimate for the moment.

Dean really wasn’t nearly as good at this relationship type of stuff. He sucked at the affectionate stuff, Dean was more than aware of that, so he focused on what he did best. Dean brought his hand to rest on Felix’s thigh mirroring Felix previous position. As a nervous habit more than anything, he drummed his fingers against Felix’s (seriously muscled) thigh as he spoke. “Would it be cool if I came over later?”

Felix dropped his head a little but it didn’t work, Dean saw the little smirk that bloomed across his (shockingly soft) lips. “My dad will be home,” he informed regrettably.

It was Dean’s turn to smile and he didn’t settle on a little smirk, he full on grinned like the cat that caught the canary. “So?” he questioned. He couldn’t help but let the amusement he was feeling at the thought. He stopped drumming his fingers on Felix’s thigh and let his hand just settle there, fingers splayed across the inner curve of Felix’s thigh. “We can put on some music and say we’re studying like last time.” If it was possible Dean grinned wider, he couldn’t help it the memory was just so good. “And the time before that, and the time before that.”

Dean didn’t realize he had leaned in until Felix met him his lips with his own. Dean’s brain short-circuited for the few seconds their lips met which unfortunately happened more than Dean would have liked with Felix. That was another one of those things that Dean had never experienced until Felix. The fact that they were kissing outside of Felix’s house only added to the thrill because that was a no-no. Felix was sure that his dad wouldn’t handle the fact that he and Dean were dating, Dean didn’t know if that was the truth or Felix’s perspective, but he wasn’t going to argue because the whole fact that Felix’s dad was dating his aunt was kind of awkward.

The kiss ended too quickly, and Dean had enough dignity not to climb out of his seat and into Felix’s lap. He thought about it but didn’t actually do it which was what mattered. Felix actually licked his lips as he pulled away. Dean was ready to call Felix a tease for that (licking his lips, seriously? That was just plain unfair) but the quick smirk that spread across Felix’s lips stopped him from voicing the thought. “Or” Felix was eyeing him critically as he spoke. “We can hang out at your place for a change,” he suggested carefully. It wasn’t a suggestion, not really, Dean could tell from Felix’s critical gaze and carefully selected words it was closer to a challenge than a suggestion.

“Not a great night,” Dean replied quickly and as casually as possible. If he sat back a little in his seat like he was trying to put physical distance between himself and the suggestion he couldn’t help that. “But maybe sometime soon.”

Felix stared at him for a moment with a serious expression. It wasn’t the first time Felix had suggested that they hung out at Dean’s house for a change and it wasn’t the first time Dean had brushed off the idea as politely as he could think to. That was a conversation that even pre-dated their relationship by almost half a year. “Like this weekend, maybe?” Felix suggested not seeming offended. But that was one of the reasons Felix was so great, he never got offended and if something actually bothered him Dean knew that Felix would let him know. The only downside was Felix was also freaking persistent as fuck.

“Maybe,” Dean stated impressing himself with how sincere he sounded. The truth was that there was no way in hell (or Dean guessed Hades, he was still getting used to that) that he was bringing Felix anywhere near his house **ever**. It had nothing to do with Felix, Dean didn’t let any of his friends (or previous girlfriends) come to his house or even know where he lived. It was just one of his rules, like how he didn’t make major life decisions when he was drunk.

It was probably stupid, but Dean knew how he wanted people to see him and it wasn’t as the poor kid or the kid from the wrong side of the tracks. He certainly didn’t want to be some southern cliché; poor white teen with the runaway mom and the alcoholic dad. But the idea of Felix seeing any of that felt worse somehow. Probably because it was a small town, Dean knew that things about himself weren’t as secret as he liked, but Felix didn’t know so he could see Dean as he wanted to be seen without having to wade through the baggage of his family drama.

Felix just nodded in response to Dean’s answer which was fine. Actually, it was more than fine, Dean was impossibly happy to get off the topic. Still, he waited anxiously for Felix to answer his previous question. Should he just assume it was okay? Were they at that point in the relationship? Dean doubted that, but how would he know? He hadn’t gotten to the ‘we just assume we’re hanging out unless otherwise specified’ stage of a relationship before.

The silence stretched out until Dean decided he was better off just asking. “So, _can_ I come over later?”  

Felix hummed and made a show of thinking for a few seconds. It was an act and not a very good one considering the smirk Dean could see fighting its way to the surface, tugging Felix’s lips upwards at the corners. That was fine, Felix could put on his little act, he looked cute when he smirked. That wasn’t to say Dean wasn’t relieved when Felix quit it and genuinely smiled (if Felix looked cute when he smirked he looked handsome when he actually smiled). “You’re really fucking lucky you’re hot as fuck,” Felix declared with amusement leaning in a bit as he talked. Before Dean fully realized what was happening Felix’s lips met his. It wasn’t like the kiss they had shared moments earlier which had been affectionate but brief. It wasn’t a lust-filled kiss either, although Dean and Felix had already shared plenty of those. It was something all-together different and unlike anything Dean had ever experienced before. At times Felix would kiss Dean and there was a sense of… longing. Dean didn’t know how Felix did it but every time he did it was like the world melted into nothing. It took Dean’s breath away every time. Felix pulled away with a soft sigh that summed up Dean’s feelings pretty perfectly. It took Dean minute to snap back to reality, the convivial pat Felix gave his cheek helped with that.  “And you better come but later or I’ll kick your ass,” Felix stated far too confidently as Dean noticed him reach for the car door.

Felix might have been tone as all hell (and he was, Dean had seen that first hand) but Dean didn’t think of him as much of an actual fighter. Felix would freely admit that he wasn’t too, having never actually been in a fight. Dean couldn’t really say the same, Will wasn’t always the level-headed guy he was now, when they were younger Will got in his fair share of fights and Dean wasn’t above throwing a few punches to protect who was essentially his kid brother. Felix still liked to talk tough, mostly jokingly, when it was just the two of them.

“Like you could,” Dean scoffed teasingly. He reached out and nudged Felix’s shoulder like he would have before when they were just friends before he had any idea that Felix liked him and was still in complete denial of his own attraction. But it wasn’t then, and Dean wasn’t in denial when it came to what he wanted anymore. Instead of pulling his hand back like he would have done if they were just friends he let it rest where it had fallen. His fingers slowly curled enjoying the feeling of Felix’s well-muscled shoulder through his shirt. He used his grip on Felix’s shirt, loose as it was, to pull Felix into another kiss.

Felix’s lips were soft, they were always so ridiculously soft. Dean was sure his lips were probably chapped, he should probably invest in chapstick considering kissing was now a regular thing in his life. And Felix always tasted like honey, even after drinking some huge cup of sugary coffee. When Felix kissed him sometimes Dean could feel his uncertainty, like he expected Dean to pull away at some point and declare the whole thing a mistake and he was trying to make the most of it while he could. Dean didn’t exactly like it but he figured it was something that would only go away with time. Still, Dean felt the need to show Felix at every opportunity that that wasn’t the case. Dean knew what he wanted and had no doubts, and he tried to make Felix feel that when they kissed.

The kiss lasted longer than it should have considering Dean was supposed to be leaving and he found himself reluctant to pull away. The fact that Felix let out a little sigh (Dean didn’t dare even think the word whimpered) and diverted his eyes bashfully. It wasn’t often that Felix looked shy, but it was cute as fuck when he did. Dean just wanted to kiss and touch it away…..

Yeah, that train of thought was definitely not helpful with Dean’s plan of leaving.

Dean released Felix’s shirt reluctantly and let his hand fall away. He wanted to lean in, maybe run his hand along Felix’s cheek, or interlock their fingers, or … something but he didn’t. Dean really didn’t know exactly what he was doing but boy did being with Felix make Dean want to figure it out. “Give me a couple hours,” Dean requested somewhat timidly.

As much as Dean knew he owed Will an explanation he felt guilty for leaving Felix. He certainly wasn’t going to psychanalysis his life right then and there, but the moment was a pretty good illustration of why his previous relationships had failed (well at least one of the reasons). Sure, Dean’s previous girlfriends had all leaned heavily toward the high-maintenance side which long-term really wasn’t Dean, so they were doomed from the start, but the catalyst was always the same: family. When it came down to it Dean always put family above everything else, be it the year his dad seemed to be trying to pickle his liver in whiskey, or Will’s PTSD at it’s very worst. In the past, part of Dean had always known the relationships were doomed or maybe he was just looking for an out but either way it didn’t bother him. Now, with Felix, it was different, Dean recognized he needed to find some sort of balance between family and his relationship, but he really had no practice at doing that, and Will’s secret didn’t exactly make figuring it out easier.   

If Dean could just tell Felix the whole truth things would have been so much easier. And, who knows, maybe if Felix knew the truth about Will than they might find a way to get along more, and fuck that was like Dean’s dream at the moment. Dean sure as hell wasn’t going to out and tell Felix anything without talking to Will first, and today so wasn’t even close to the day for that conversation.

“Yeah,” Felix shook off his bashfulness as his words shook Dean from his thoughts. Well, it was either Felix’s words or the ding issued by the car as Felix pushed the passenger side open. “See you in a few,” Felix stated not sounding entirely convinced as he pulled further away climbing out of the car.

Dean wanted to assuage Felix of his uncertainty, but the brunet climbed out of the car and shut the door before Dean could get out a syllable. Part of Dean wanted to chase Felix into the house to assure him, but he really didn’t trust himself to leave. With a disappointed sigh that no one could hear, he accepted that the only way he could assure Felix was to prove him wrong. As Dean put the car in reverse he thought begrudgingly, _Will’s anger at my stupidity better not take more than an hour._

The drive to aunt Naomi’s was both too long and too short. Felix lived outside of town which pretty much meant that he was kind of far away from everything so Dean really should have been used to it considering he had spent most days out of the last year with the guy but he just kept doing the math. A twenty-minute drive to Aunt Naomi’s, however long it would take to talk Will out of murdering him (and from the look Will had got when he first read the story Dean was figuring that was going to take a while) and then another twenty minutes back to Felix’s place. It would be cutting it close if he wanted to stay true to his word.

Still, he wasn’t exactly looking forward to talking to Will. He had fucked up big time, Dean was painfully aware of that. The more he thought about it the more he realized just how much he fucked up. He really hadn’t thought he would win, and definitely couldn’t have predicted that if he did win that his English teacher would want to make a huge deal out it.

The more Dean thought about it the more he realized he probably didn’t even truly understand how badly he fucked up. If simply knowing about monsters could attract monsters to a person writing a story about demigods had to be like painting a target on one’s own back. And there was that thing, that thing that made it so normal people didn’t notice god stuff. It had a name, Dean remembered Nico mentioning it but for the life of Dean, he couldn’t remember what he called it. He did remember Nico saying something about how some people were less susceptible to it, and that, for those people, even the smallest mention could cause the vail to fall and reveal all the god stuff (and make them more appealing to monsters).

Dean couldn’t have been the only person in town to be less affected by whatever the magical veil between worlds was called. Had he just put a bunch of people in danger? Yeah, Dean definitely didn’t want to think about that, but the long drive didn’t leave him much choice.

The radio didn’t even help distract him from his swirling thoughts which must have been a first for Dean. Growing up with a musician dad, music was the first coping mechanism Dean had ever learned, and it was probably the most reliable one he had. Dean could only think of a hand full of times putting on his favorite music at a reckless volume and singing at the top of his lungs didn’t actually help him feel better or, at least, distract him from his problems. None of those times were particularly good memories the most recent being the mouth he refused to speak with Felix after New Year’s Eve. Definitely not a memory Dean wanted to relive.

By the time he reached Aunt Naomi’s he felt a little like he imagined prisoners felt like as they walked to their execution. He was so reluctant he sat in the driveway with engine idling (and yeah, he was aware it was still making a weird clicking sound, but that was the least of his problems currently so he was ignoring it) for a good ten minutes before he worked up the nerve shut off the car and actually go in.

The door was unlocked which wasn’t really a surprise. Aunt Naomi rarely locked the door, and it wouldn’t have mattered if she had, Dean had a key. As soon as he stepped in the door he was practically overwhelmed with the warm sugary scent of freshly baked treats. It was one of those scents that so many people would describe as homey or comforting, but it was neither for Dean. If anything, the overwhelming smell increased his anxiety tenfold.

“Hello?” He called out nervously as he took a few steps into the house and let the door shut behind him.

No more than thirty seconds passed before Aunt Naomi appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. Her blond hair had been pulled up in a messy pile on the top of her head, and she was wearing a flour spattered apron. “Dean?” She greeted with surprise and maybe a bit of concern. It wasn’t unusual for Dean to show up, but if it wasn’t something he had planned it was usually when he was dropping Will off and just decided to stay around. Since Will had to be home by now it probably did seem a bit out of the ordinary. “Sweetie, I wasn’t expecting you,” she admitted as she brushed her hands off on her apron spattering it with more flour.

“You’re baking,” Dean spoke the observation, his stomach rolling over in protest as he spoke. For normal kids, Dean was sure that their maternal figure baking was a good thing, but that wasn’t how it worked in the Solace family. Aunt Naomi was what he and Will had named a “nervous baker”. Whenever something was going on that had her wound up she would start baking.

Aunt Naomi’s nervous baking was actually at the center of one of Dean’s earliest memories. He had been about five, and really didn’t understand what was going on at the time, but looking back it was more than obvious. His dad had dropped him off at Aunt Naomi’s which was pretty typical. Dean had spent a lot of time at his aunt’s growing up, she would watch him while his dad would go on gigs. Well, his dad had been gone for maybe five days when Aunt Naomi stopped making phone calls and started baking. To five-year-old Dean, and four-year-old Will it had been great. There was cookies and brownies and pie, and they got to have dessert with practically every meal until his dad showed up maybe a week later. That day would forever be etched in his memory as the first time he ever saw his dad and Aunt Naomi fight.

That wasn’t even Dean’s worst memory involving Aunt Naomi’s baking. At least then he had been so young he didn’t really realize something was wrong at the time. Sure, now he knew that his dad had decided to extend a couple day gig into a two-week bender without even a phone call but at five he had just thought at Aunt Naomi was being extra cool. As he had gotten older and realized that Aunt Naomi’s baking frenzies usually meant something bad was going on it didn’t seem cool anymore. Actually, it would put Dean on edge. He remembered when Will had run away to Camp Half-Blood Aunt Naomi told everyone he was staying with relatives in New York. Dean had known right away her story was a lie (they didn’t have any relatives in New York, and Dean didn’t believe for one second that Will’s deadbeat dad had suddenly taken an interest). Even if Dean couldn’t tell that was a lie he would have known something was wrong when he showed up at Aunt Naomi’s and found she had baked six dozen cookies in one day. The fact that she refused to talk about it only made it worse.

Aunt Naomi was completely oblivious to the nervous habit which managed to make it that much more unnerving. “A little,” she admitted with a little smile. She glanced back toward the kitchen briefly, and Dean followed her eyes. He could see various dirty dishes stacked on the bit of counter he could see and on the dining table. That had to be an absolutely horrible sign.

She shrugged and turned back. Some of Dean’s anxiety must have read on his face because Aunt Naomi’s smile faded being replaced with concern. “Did John do something I should know and yell at him about?”

“Nay, dad’s good,” Dean replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. “He’s finishing up some session work in Nashville, he’ll be back tonight.” That was the plan anyway, but knowing his dad he probably would get himself into something be it good or bad. “Tomorrow morning at the latest.” Or maybe a couple days from now, but Dean was not going to say that out loud. If he did Aunt Naomi would have insisted that he stay at her house until his dad was back. Even though he was almost 18, she still didn’t like him being home alone overnight. She was overprotective that way.

“Good,” Aunt Naomi nodded.

They both fell silent, and it wasn’t awkward yet, but Dean could see it easily would be soon. Aunt Naomi seemed to be thinking about something, and Dean was trying to figure out a way to politely excuse himself to talk to Will, where ever he was.

Dean didn’t do well with silence, at least not in situations like this. “It smells good,” Dean offered weakly, pointing in the general direction of the kitchen.

“Oh, do you want something?” Aunt Naomi questioned perking up slightly as she did. She looked back toward the kitchen once again as she spoke. “I’ve made brownies, and there is a pie in the oven. Oh, and there is some cookie dough I just finished mixing if you want to lick the beaters.”

“I’m good,” Dean replied casually. It might have actually been a first, Dean normally was always up for a good piece of pie or cookie dough. There were just more important things on his mind at the moment. “Is Will around?” he questioned gesturing around the room as if to point out his cousin’s absence.

“He’s upstairs,” Aunt Naomi answered. “I think he said he was going to study.”

“That sounds like Will,” Dean admitted with a half-smile. “I’m going to go bug him, but you have fun with your baking.”

“Absolutely!” Aunt Naomi took a few steps back toward the kitchen as Dean started for the stairs with all the enthusiasm as a man walking to his death. He had one foot on the bottom step when Aunt Naomi’s voice gave him pause. “You want me to bake anything special?” She asked. “A reward for your big news.”

Dean stopped, and his blood ran cold. “Um,” he hummed nervously. It was probably crazy but all he could think about was the story Will had told him. Not long after Will had come out Dean had called him out on not telling him sooner but telling Aunt Naomi. That had lead Will to share the story of coming out to his mom which was actually a rather underwhelming: Will blurted it out over dinner and the next day Will came how to a “coming out” cake.

 _Was it something like that she was talking about? But how could she know about Felix_? Dean swallowed his panic and decided to at least try to play it cool. “What big news?”

“The writing competition,” Aunt Naomi explained with a bright smile “The story was very well written sweetie, I’m very proud of you.”

 _Fuck_ , Dean cursed himself. He hadn’t even thought about Aunt Naomi reading the story, but of course, she would. She was a freaking English teacher at their high school. She and Will weren’t currently screaming at each other so she was apparently was taking it pretty well from as far as Dean could tell. Still, Dean was sure that Will was going to kill him. “Thanks,” Dean replied some of his uncertainty seeping into his voice.

She nodded slightly with approval before walking back toward the kitchen. Dean headed upstairs, and he only got about halfway up when he could hear the sound of Will’s music blasting from his room. Well, apparently Dean wasn’t the only one that used music to help with emotional coping, although Will was literally the child of the Greek god of music so that really wasn’t all that surprising.

The door to Will’s room was shut which caused Dean to stop for a moment. Was Will really studying or was he up to something else and the music was meant to mask that activity. Hell, that was practically Dean and Felix’s signature move at this point, so Dean could attest to its use. Will had clearly been upset by Dean’s story at the café. It would make sense that the first thing Will would do when upset would be to call Nico, and Dean had no doubt Nico would come running if Will called. The last thing Dean wanted to do was interrupt those two while they were busy _comforting_ each other. Also, and admittedly more selfishly, Dean wasn’t really looking forward to facing Nico anytime soon. Getting his nose broken by a child of the underworld wasn’t on Dean’s bucket list.

But he couldn’t just leave either, as much as he may have wanted to. Still, he thought about it for longer than he probably should have. It would have been so easy to just go back downstairs, walk out the door, and drive back to Felix’s place. Unfortunately, Dean was too responsible for his own good. He let out a heavy sigh before balling his hand into a loose fist and wrapped his knuckles against the door.

He waited but there was no response, the music didn’t even turn down. Under different circumstances Dean would have been annoyed, it was rude. But this time Dean let it go, Will had the right to be a lot more than rude.

Dean knocked a second time but didn’t wait for a response before pushing open the door and sidestepped into Will’s room. Will’s room was about the most perfect physical manifestation of Will Dean could possibly imagine. The whole space was decorated with warm but muted tones, lots of pastel yellows and orange. It was cluttered, but in an organized away which gave it a lived-in cozy feel.

Dean found Will sitting behind his desk. Nico wasn’t anywhere to be seen which Dean guessed was good (for him but maybe not for Will). Will actually appeared to be studying which meant he looked like the most jittery person alive. Will was probably the single worse person on the face of the planet to study with. Dean always figured it had to do with the ADHD, but Will could _not_ stay still when he studied, so he was always clicking pens or tapping his foot. Worse, Will seemed to require complete chaos to focus, so he usually studied with music blaring or the T.V. on. Dean couldn’t think in an environment like that. Will thrived, which made sense considering working in the infirmary was probably chaos all the time.

Will didn’t stop in his pen-clicking, toe-tapping, chaotic studying when Dean entered the room. He didn’t turn to acknowledge Dean’s entrance, but his shoulders tensed visibly which cued Dean that Will was actually aware of his presence. “Ya know,” he almost shouted to be heard over the music. “If you’re going to give people shit about not knocking you should probably respond when they actually do.” He figured starting with a joke was a good enough plan as any, but the words hit a somewhat flat note like he knew from the start that it wouldn’t work. If Dean was being really honest with himself, he would have to admit he did. After all, Dean probably knew Will better than he knew himself, and Will wasn’t the type to easily forgive and forget.

Will still didn’t turn although Dean thought that he heard him groan but with some Shawn Mendes song blaring he really couldn’t be sure ( _Shawn Mendes Will, really?_ ). Will slammed a book loud enough to be heard over the music which was a little impressive but still didn’t turn as he replied, “I didn’t answer because I knew it was you, and I didn’t want to see you.” Growing up Dean and Will never really fought, it was probably the one way they didn’t act like brothers. Dean had seen Will angry plenty, but it had never been directed at him before, so hearing Will sound so hostile was more than a bit unnerving.

 _So, this is going to be fun_ , Dean thought to himself sarcastically. Or, he tried to think to himself, but with the music so loud, he could barely manage to not have a headache. “You’ve known me your entire life,” Dean reminded as he crossed the room and disconnected Will’s golden iPhone from the small speaker sitting on Will’s dresser effectively putting an end to absurdly loud music. “We both know not answering the door wouldn’t keep me out.” That was probably a more confrontation statement (and it was definitely a more confrontational tone) than Dean should have been taking considering he was there to apologize. Dean wasn’t great with confrontation with anybody, and with Will, he apparently sucked at it.

Shutting off the music got Will’s attention, at least for a second. Will looked up just long enough to shot Dean a really nasty look before returning to the papers scattered in front of him on the desk. “If you’re here to get more information for you to fictionalize,” Will stated carefully looking down at the desk’s surface and, if anything, his voice was even harsher than it had been before. “I’m busy.”

Dean sighed and resisted the urge to stomp his foot like a petulant child. Dean was aware he had fucked up in about a million ways, and the more he thought about it the more he realized just how bad of a fuck up it was. Still, and this was the selfish and slightly petty part of Dean, but he wanted to (forcefully) remind Will that he wouldn’t have needed to beef up his resume if it wasn’t for Will. Science was never really Dean’s thing, and yeah, some of that was on Dean, but when his grades started to slip (or you know plummet) Will said he would help but then he got all distracted. Okay, sure Will was sort of dealing with the potential impending end of the world thanks to a pissed off primordial goddess, so Dean really couldn’t blame Will for that even though he wanted to. Whoever’s fault it was, Dean failed, and he could have retaken the class in summer school. It wasn’t exactly an appealing option, but it would have been easy enough (everyone knew summer school was easier), but Will swore that he would really help Dean the second time through. He did too, at least for the first semester, but then he got all distracted again and then just _took the fuck off_. Dean loved Nico and Will as a couple and was glad they got together, but it came at a cost (mainly at a cost to Dean). The only reason Dean managed to pass his second time (and just barely) was because of Felix who was a secret science genius (the same Felix Will could barely pretend to like even for Dean’s sake).

Dean wasn’t in the position Will was. He wasn’t a demigod, he didn’t have years of experience practically doing his dream job, and he didn’t have a significant other that was so absurdly rich that the term independently wealth seemed not only like an understatement but a bit of an insult. College was Dean’s only way out: out of backwoods Tennessee, out of poverty, out of a dismal future of becoming his father. Dean needed to get out, and if anyone understood that it should have been Will.

First, Dean recognized that bringing all that baggage up at that moment wouldn’t be remotely helpful. Second, a lot of that was his own selfish point of view. “Dude, I get your pissed,” Dean was failing fantastically at sounding apologetic, but at this point, he was willing to do whatever it took to gain and keep Will’s attention. He could always sound apologetic later if Will was willing to listen that long. “You have every right.” Even though Dean knew he had fucked up more than a little it hurt a little to admit that.

Will’s whole body went stiff, and then ridged hands slammed down on the desk. Will turned on him, a fury blazing in his eyes. “Oh, thank the gods,” Will declared mockingly. “You came over to give me permission to be pissed!” Will pushed his chair away from the desk and stood up quicker than Dean could really process. Will stomped away a few feet before turning back on Dean, the anger still in his eyes which felt uncharacteristic of his cousin to Dean, but he guessed he had never actually seen him on the battlefield before.

“Dude, don’t be a dick.” Dean realized that came out sounding completely asinine but maybe if he played this whole thing off like it wasn’t a big deal he could make it true. Dean hoped but recognized it was a long shot, like a really long, long shot. God, Dean really had fucked up.

Dean couldn’t imagine his life without Will. Even when they were kids Dean had always just assumed that if he were doing something that Will would be too. Dean had always liked it that way, he always had someone there to share the experience with, good or bad. It went beyond that though, Dean couldn’t imagine his future without his cousin being a part of it. That was why whenever Dean thought of college he had always imagined Will there with him. He was still trying to readjust his vision of the future to accommodate Will and Nico shacking up together, he couldn’t imagine his future with Will so mad at him that they couldn’t even talk.

“I’m here to apologize,” Dean admitted feeling more than a little deflated but trying not to let it show. He still had his dignity, after all.

“I’m being a dick? Seriously?” Will questioned mockingly. If anything, Will’s outrage seemed to have increased at the declaration. Dean couldn’t help but notice Will’s hands were balled up into fists, and he half-expected Will to throw a punch. He and Will barely bickered as kids and now Dean was waiting for Will to hit him, it was so messed up. Even worse, Dean kind of wanted Will to just hit him because at least then it would be done and over with. Will, unfortunately, or fortunately, didn’t take a swing. Instead, he just glared at Dean like he hated him. “Fuck you, and your apology.”

If it was possible Dean managed to feel even more deflated. He really wasn’t handling this well, but then again, Dean had never been good with conflict. Ironically, the person Dean would normally talk to about this sort of thing was Will. Dean literally had no idea how to handle the situation.

Dean fell back on the one thing he felt comfortable with. “Don’t let your boyfriend hear you use language like that he’ll wash your mouth out with soap,” he tried to joke but if Will’s glare was any indication it didn’t exactly hit its mark. He wanted to make things right with Will, he really, really did but Will had to give him a little ground. Hell, he at least had to let Dean get out more than a sentence.

Frustration won out over Dean’s better judgment, and he actually huffed like a displeased child. “You may not want to hear it, but I need to say it,” he pointed out with more force than was entirely necessary. “And since I could be at Felix’s house doing things his dad need _never_ to know about, but instead I’m here, so you should at least try to hear me out.”

For half a heartbeat nothing happened, and Dean seriously considered ripping his hair out in a show of commitment. It didn’t come to that before Dean could do anything something about Will’s posture softened minutely. It was so subtle Dean easily could have missed it if he wasn’t looking for it, and if he wasn’t looking for it Dean would have. It was so subtle that Dean couldn’t actually pinpoint exactly what about Will had changed.

Still, something had changed, Will seemed ever so slightly less poised for a fight when he rolled his eyes rather dramatically. “First, gross,” Will declared matter-of-factly. A lot of the heat that had been present in Will’s voice previously seemed to have dissipated as Dean watched his cousin rolled his eyes dramatically. “I have no desire to hear about what you and Felix have been getting up to since championships.”

It so wasn’t the time, but Dean couldn’t help but smirk as he commented: “I think we both know what we have been up to, I wouldn’t think I would have to spell it out for you.” Okay, so maybe Dean wanted to brag a little bit, but who could blame him. Felix was fucking hot, and Dean was totally tapping that (kind of).

Will didn’t look even remotely amused (or interested in letting Dean brag) as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You have exactly one minute.”

Dean blinked. He hadn’t really thought that was going to happen, and Will didn’t actually sound fully certain. “Really?” He questioned with genuine surprise.

“I can count down if you would like,” Will replied flatly, one eyebrow quirked upwards.

 _When had Will gotten so snarky_? Dean really couldn’t help but wonder. It wasn’t a behavior he had seen from his cousin before but then again Will had never been this angry with him before. Or maybe he had caught it from Nico. If half of what Will had told him was true, Nico had an Olympic gold medal in snark.

“No, no,” Dean replied quickly. The last thing he needed was a countdown to his doom. He let out a heavy sigh and tried to think of where to start. Did Will want to hear how he hadn’t even started writing out the story for the contest just as a way of processing everything he was suddenly learning about Will’s life? Did that even matter at this point? Probably not. “Dude, I know it was a bad idea,” he admitted deciding to keep it simple. And he had, from the very moment the idea crossed his mind, he knew it was an absolutely horrible idea but that didn’t stop him for whatever reason. “I knew it was a bad idea from the very start, but ….I don’t know, it was kind of like I was a runaway train.” Dean wasn’t even sure if that made sense, but it was the most accurate description he could think of. He let out another heavy sigh, this time as a should of frustration or maybe it was surrender. He was getting his chance to apologize, and he felt like he was already messing it up. “At the very least I should have talked to you before I submitted the story.”

“Why?” Will questioned sharply. He didn’t sound like he was any closer to forgiving Dean, and his body language was telling a similar story. “It’s only my life.”

“Dude, I already feel like an asshole,” Dean admitted the defeat he was feeling evident in his voice. “I meant to tell you, I kept _meaning_ to tell you.” Will was watching him with a scowl, and it was the first time in Dean’s entire life he actually found his cousin imposing. The rational side of Dean’s brain knew that Will was only a couple of inches taller than he was, but in the moment, it felt like a lot more. To Dean’s credit, he didn’t squirm or shrink back like he wanted to although the next thing he said came out in a much quieter tone. “I just kept finding reasons not to.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Will questioned. His tone seemed to more than answer that question because Will obviously wasn’t feeling better about the situation.

Dean knew he was wrong, he had no doubt about that, but he found himself slightly annoyed. He totally fucked up, but Will wasn’t exactly easy to pin down to have a conversation with, and since Dean and Felix started dating sometimes Dean felt like Will was actively avoiding him. He was probably imagining that, so he wasn’t to blame for the problem. He definitely wasn’t going say any of that out loud, it would just make things worse (so much worse).

Dean sidestepped the messier stuff and decided just to focus on the more clear-cut facts. “I only found out I won on Friday after you left for New York,” he shrugged. That obviously didn’t excuse Dean for the weeks after he submitted the story and said nothing, but it was a start, or at least Dean hoped it was. “I really tried to tell you today, but shit kept getting in the way.” Dean had almost told Will about a hundred times, he had even told Felix he needed to talk to Will about some stuff, so he needed him to hang back a little. That wasn’t a fun conversation considering he couldn’t give Felix all the relevant information. It was like people could sense when Dean was trying to start the conversation and would interrupt. After the fifth or sixth time it happened, Dean was sure the universe was actively working against him. “I am sorry,” He admitted sincerely.

“People died,” Will retorted quickly and harshly. As soon as the words left his mouth something about Will’s demeanor changed, shifted. Some of the anger that been present since Dean had shown up seemed to be replaced by another emotion. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be forgiveness or even something good. The best way Dean could think to describe it was that Will looked haunted. “People I…. _knew_ ,” That didn’t seem to be the word he had originally wanted to use, and the whole topic was clearly uncomfortable for him. Will actually looked away for the first time since they started talking, taking a sudden interest in the floor in front of his feet. “They died.”

 _Fuck, fuck, fuck-iddy fuck!_ How had Dean forgotten about that? It wasn’t that he had forgotten that people had died. It was a battle, of course, people had died, he just hadn’t really thought about what that was like for Will. To Dean, they were brave soldiers but to Will, they were lost friends or….. “Like your brother? What was his name? Matthew?” Dean felt awful, even worse, because a part of him that he was in no way proud of resented the fact that Will had siblings, even if they were just half-siblings. Growing up it was just the two of them, they were supposed to be like brothers, but Will had brothers, the real kind, and Dean was still on his own.

Maybe that was why whenever Will made an offhanded comment about one of his half-siblings, Dean paid extra attention. It was like he was looking for some hidden assurance that he was better than Will’s half-siblings (as sad as that may be). He remembered the conversation with Nico and Will when he first found out about all the demigod stuff. He remembered mention of a brother who died during the Battle of Manhattan.

Will gave an awkward shrug “Michael was just one of the causalities, the Apollo cabin lost five campers over the entire course of the battle.” Will’s arms dropped to his sides. His body language changed slightly, showing the weight of the conversation. “Luke was before my time but working in the infirmary I got to know a lot of people around camp, like Silena, or Castor.” Will looked up, and the anger was gone which should have been a good thing but wasn’t. It seemed to have been replaced with a quiet sort of sadness. Dean didn’t like it, not one bit.

“Gods, I didn’t even think about that,” Dean groaned although he was pretty sure his lack of foresight was more than abundantly clear at this point. “I guess I should add that to the fucking list.” Dean brought his hands up and scrubbed at his face roughly before dropping them in frustration. “I am such an ass!”

“If you’re expecting me to disagree, I wouldn’t hold your breath,” Will declared. His voice was still flat, but Dean could have sworn he saw his lip twitch a little like he was considering actually smiling.

It was such a subtle thing, but it felt like a momentous step forward. He knew he wasn’t out of the woods quite yet, but Dean at least felt like there was hope. “Dude, I don’t know how to do this,” he stated gesturing between himself and Will in hopes of conveying his mean. He suddenly felt exhausted by all of this, but he figured that was the least he deserved. “I’m so fucking sorry, please stop being mad at me!” He begged without letting it sound too much like begging, well at least not at first. “Please, please, please!”

Will stared at him critically and Dean was absolutely positive Will was going to tell him to fuck off again. The silence stretched out for what felt like an eternity which just made it worse. He was about ready to scream when Will finally spoke, “So,” he hummed and shifted slightly his body language becoming noticeable less confrontational with the smallest of moves. “Did some big Berkeley professor really personally write you?”

“Yeah,” Dean replied more than a little surprised by the question. “How did you know about that?”

This time Will actually smirked, it was still small, but it was there. “Felix mentioned it,” Will explained his smirk growing as he spoke. “Right before he threatened to kick my ass if I didn’t act supportive.”

“Oh god, he didn’t!” Dean laughed nervously. He had known when Felix had excused himself to the bathroom a few minutes after Will at the café that no good would come from it. He had wanted to stop Felix but how was he supposed to do that? Before they were dating he might have called after him which he supposed would have still worked but it wasn’t his first reflex anymore. Dean had wanted to reach out and catch Felix’s arm or his hand but around mixed company, he didn’t want to risk outing their relationship status. Not that Dean thought Kyle would give two fucks that he and Felix were dating, for a while he had suspected Kyle had a bit of a man-crush on Will, and he was starting to think that it was more of a regular crush. Still, it wasn’t worth the risk, so he had let it happen. Both of them returned from the restroom with no visible bruises so Dean was figuring whatever had happened between the two couldn’t have been too bad.

Will gave a little nod to confirm that what he had said was actually the truth. Dean laughed, and it came out sounding a little manic. It had to be the nerves, all the pent-up anxiety just needed an outlet. He knew he was smiling which was probably bad for an apology, so he slapped his hand over his mouth in an attempt to hide his apparent glee, “Um, sorry about that too.”

Will was silent for a long moment, and he was staring at Dean with a particular curious. He sincerely hoped that Will didn’t pull that intense look out on patients because it left Dean feeling a little like a lab experiment. After a long stretch of silence, Will questioned, “It’s really serious, huh?”

“I guess,” Dean shrugged, trying to downplay the achievement. He had participated in about a half dozen writing contests, and most of those were geared at nonfiction, but the Berkley competition was by far the biggest. Actually, when he had gotten the news he had won it had been bittersweet because big news like that he would always go immediately to Will but in this case, he couldn’t actually do that. At least he had Felix to share the news with, and he had been PLENTY excited about Dean’s achievement. As much as he wanted to tell Will all about it, it really didn’t seem to be the time. He took a few steps forward now that Will didn’t seem like he was going to throw a punch it seemed safe enough, and took a seat at the foot of Will’s bed. “It came with a scholarship, even bigger one if I actually go to Berkeley.”

Will smiled, and it was a genuine smile. He took a few steps toward the door until he was standing across the room, in front of Dean, and leaned against his desk. “I was talking about Felix,” he corrected.

“Oh,” Dean exclaimed with surprise. He and Will had been pretty solidly avoiding the topic of Felix since championships, and while he knew they would eventually get to the point that they could talk about it, he just always figured that he would have to be the one to have to bring up the topic.

“Oh yeah, I guess,” he admitted uncomfortably. He wasn’t completely aware of the fact that he shifted slightly on the bed or that he looked down taking a sudden interest in his hands until it had already happened. Things were going great with Felix, much better than it had gone in any of Dean’s other relationships had which might have explained why Dean wasn’t quite sure how to define things. “As much as it can be after two weeks.”

“But you two really aren’t-” Will stopped like he had changed his mind about whatever he was going to say. He brought his hands to rest on the desk where he was seated (sort of) and re-squared his shoulders slightly. He didn’t need to know Will as well as he did to know what he was trying to ask made him uncomfortable. That was enough to clue Dean into what Will was getting at, there was only one topic they really didn’t talk about in detail (well, Dean guessed now that there was Felix there were two). He could have probably put Will out of his misery and answer his question before he even asked, but Will wasn’t the only uncomfortable with that particular topic. There were just some things you weren’t supposed to talk to your little brother about. “I mean you two haven’t-”

“Had sex?” Dean offered deciding watching Will struggle to say it was actually worse than just getting the whole conversation out of the way. “No, we haven’t,” Dean admitted with a shrug. It wasn’t a big deal.

That fact that Will honestly thought that there was even a chance that Dean and Felix had gone all the way, and he hadn’t heard about it was almost laughable. Dean grinned at his cousin as he pushed himself back some on the bed, so he could sit more comfortably. “Come on dude, you may not like it, but you have to know you’re the first person I’m calling when that actually happens.”

Will let out a half sigh, half laugh. “Just no details,” he stated with resignation.

The fact that Will wasn’t making a face of complete disgust, so Dean was counting it as a huge step in the right direction. “I’ll try my best,” he replied with a laugh of his own. The truth was he had no intentions of giving Will the blow by blow of his first time with Felix once it happened. “Why does the fact that Felix and I haven’t had sex yet seem to surprise everyone?”

“Because, and I say this with love,” Will declared rubbing at the back of his neck which was a newer nervous habit that Dean had noticed. “But, historically speaking, you’ve given it up pretty quickly once in a relationship.” That might have been the nicest way Dean could have imagined being called a slut. “How long had you and your last girlfriend been dating when you two first did it?” He questioned. “Two weeks”

Dean couldn’t help but notice the judgmental undertones in Will’s voice. He couldn’t be sure if that had to do with how quickly the physical part of Dean’s last relationship had moved or just a lingering distaste for Dean’s last girlfriend. She was probably the one-person Will disliked more than Felix which Dean totally understood, in hindsight, she was a venomous bitch.

“Twelve days,” Dean corrected without shame. He might have been a bit embarrassed that he had actually dated such a vile person but the rest of it not so much. “And you are hardly in the position to judge, you apparently got on your knees after the first date,” He teased. While he might not like the idea of talking about their sex lives in detail, the fact that Will and Nico had fooled around the same night they had started dating was just so out of character for Will he couldn’t pass it up.

“It was a handjob not….” Will stammered and blushed. Dean didn’t even try to hide his amusement and Will definitely noticed. He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest before continuing with his stammering, “And not that it matters or that you’ll believe me because no one ever does but, Nico started it.”

“Of course, Nico started it,” Dean laughed “Who wouldn’t believe that?” Nico may have been quiet, but Dean got the impression he was the impulsive type. Will, on the other hand, was the textbook definition of a planner (with a few exceptions). Will stared at him in complete shook which just made Dean laugh harder. “Dude, you are not that bold or that smooth.”

“Hey,” Will protested, why Dean hadn’t a clue. It wasn’t like it was a bad thing, Will just was who he was. “I was the one to kiss Nico first.” He informed.

“How long did you think about it before actually doing it?” Dean questioned seriously.

Will sighed, “Seriously? A couple months,” he admitted sounding a bit deflated. “It didn’t really go as planned.”

“So, you see my point.” Dean nodded, satisfied with his small victory.

Will rolled his eyes but didn’t actually seem all that put out. “Why are we even talking about my relationship?” He questioned dismissively before turning the conversation back on Dean (unfortunately). “Seriously, what’s the deal with you and Felix?”

Dean shrugged as he replied, “Felix and I aren’t rushing things, that’s all.” It was more complicated than that, or at least it felt that way, but Dean didn’t want to get into it. Honestly, he didn’t know if he could put it into words.

“If you say so,” Will replied not looking very convinced.

There was another stretch of silence. As it went on Will’s face twisted into a hurt expression, it wasn’t a pout exactly, but it managed to make Dean feel guilty as all hell. He had had quite enough guilt for one day. “It’s not like we haven’t done stuff!” He explained with more force than was probably necessary. They had definitely done stuff. Actually, if he was being honest saying he and Felix were taking things slow was probably a misrepresentation of the facts. It would have been more accurate to say they just weren’t having sex yet. “We’re not nuns or anything,” he shrugged like this all wasn’t a big deal even though it really didn’t feel that way. He looked down at his hands before confession, “I just … I really like him, and I don’t want to fuck it up by rushing things.” Dean never thought of himself as the relationship type. That probably had something to do with his mom taking off when he was too young to remember or the fact that he didn’t actually have any examples of successful relationships growing up. It was also probably why, historically speaking, he dated high maintenance bitches, he knew from the start that the relationships were doomed from the start so there was no risk. It was different with Felix, maybe because he didn’t realize it was something more than a friendship until he was already seriously invested. This was uncharted territory for Dean and he was still trying to figure it all out.

While Dean cycled through a series of panicked thoughts Will was silent. While Dean appreciated Will giving him time to think, Will was staring at him with particular interest again which wasn’t exactly helping Dean’s general sense of impending doom. “Are you going to say something?” He questioned more of his nerves showing in his voice than he would have liked.

“Sorry,” Will laughed with an amused smile. “I’m happy for you, it’s just….Felix.”

“Yes, Felix,” Dean agreed with a bit of annoyance showing in his voice (it was better than panic). “Hot, smart, funny Felix!” He huffed. “You two need to get over your drama.”

“I’m working on it,” Will assured with amusement. “And, if I’m being honest, him threatening to beat me up over your happiness endured him to me slightly.”

“Yeah?” That was about the last thing Dean had expected to hear Will say. Most people didn’t feel friendly towards people who threatened to beat them up. Dean still couldn’t believe Felix had done that. What was he even thinking? Will had already punched him once, and Dean didn’t even know if Felix knew how to make a fist let alone throw a punch. Still, it was kind of …. thoughtful of him to come to Dean’s defense. Obviously, it was completely misguided, and Dean absolutely _wasn’t_ at all flattered or strangely turned on by it. “Sorry ‘bout that,” he told Will through a smile he couldn’t wipe off his face.

“No, you’re not!” Will shot back with an outraged laugh. “You’re smiling and blushing like a twelve-year-old girl who just talked to her crush for the first time.”

“Shut up!” Dean shouted back laughing a bit in spite of himself. “No, I’m not!” he denied not even sounding convincing to himself. _God!_

“You are!” Will insisted with clear amusement.

Will wasn’t wrong. God, he was grinning like an idiot, he could tell. His face actually hurt a little from it. “Fuck!” he cursed as he brought his hands up to rub at his face. “It’s Felix,” he groaned. He let his hands fall away from his face before unceremoniously falling sideways on Will’s bed. “He has this strange effect on me.”

“Yeah, there is a name for that effect,” Will explained with a mocking sort of sympathy. It was reminiscent of the way adults often spoke to children when they asked about things adults thought they were too young to understand. “You may be familiar with it, it’s lov-”

Dean sat up fast grabbing a pillow as he went and chucked it at Will as hard as he could. Dean had pretty good aim (he was a pitcher in baseball when he was younger) but Will had faster reflexes and caught the pillow before it could do any actual damage. “Don’t you even say the L word!” He warned. _There was that general sense of panic again._ “We’ve barely been a couple for two weeks,” He reasoned. Who was he trying to convince, Will or himself? He shrunk back a little and took in his hands. “We aren’t anywhere near that yet, we can’t be.”

“Yeah,” Will’s voice was now filled with sincere sympathy. Dean didn’t like it at all, he wanted Will to go back to the teasing/mocking sympathy because than it wouldn’t be a big deal. Dean needed it to not be a big deal. Dean looked up and that just made it worse because Will was looking at him with such compassion. “But you’ve been friends for almost a year,” he pointed out rather unhelpfully. “I’ve been there.”

Dean sort of forgot most of the time that Will and Nico did the friend thing for like a year before they admitted how they felt and started dating. Seeing them together they seemed like the type of couple that started dating right away. Dean definitely didn’t want to see the parallels between his relationship and Will’s (Will was like a half a second away from being engaged. “Oh my god, shut up,” he groaned before turning the conversation back around on Will (because that was much safer), “You’re the love-sick puppy in the family, not me.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Will hummed clearly unconvinced but otherwise let it go.

There was yet another stretch of silence but unlike the previous ones, there was no uncomfortableness left hanging in the air. It made Dean realize how much had changed this last year between the two of them. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, it was how life went, but it was a revelation. “Ya know we haven’t done this in awhile,” Dean declared breaking the silence as he gestured between himself and Will. “Just hung out like this,” he explained when Will gave him a confused look.

“Yeah, I guess it has,” Will hummed thoughtfully. In the past, they had been practically inseparable but this year when Will had gotten back from camp Dean and Felix were already pretty close, and Will and Felix didn’t get along right away. Normally that wouldn’t have kept Dean from hanging out with Wil,l but Will just seemed good being by himself more often than before (which he only later realized was because Will was talking to Nico most nights).

Will shrugged and smirked at him. “Next time just call, don’t write a novel about my life.”

“Deal,” Dean agreed with a laugh of his own. The both chuckled for a moment before the awkwardness returned and this time Dean knew it was all on his end. He let out one of those fake coughs people do when they are trying to broach an uncomfortable topic, a habit Dean hated in other people, before pointing out regrettable, “Ah, so Aunt Naomi is stress baking,”

“I’m aware,” Will nodded suddenly somewhat solemn.

“Is everything okay?” Dean questioned with equal parts guilt and nerves.

“I guess, as okay as it can be,” Will let out a heavy sigh. “She is just processing the true dangers of being a demigod for the first time. I guess it’s not every day you have to face your own child’s mortality.”

“I am so fucking sorry,” Dean reminded sincerely. He was pretty sure he couldn’t be more sorry if he tried.

“I know,” Will nodded being a far more understanding then Dean thought was humanly capable. “Just take some of the baked goods. Without soccer, if I’m expected to eat all that I’m going to get fat.”

“Your dad is literally the god of young male attractiveness,” Dean reminded with a huff. “I doubt you could ever get fat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Comments and Kudos make my life (and I will be better about responding this time, I promise)


	57. A godly request

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday y'all!
> 
> Sorry this is going up a little later, I was a bit under the weather yesterday so I needed to edit this chapter still. Don't worry, I'm feeling much better now, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Also, there is a few little references to the most recent chapter of Outtakes so I hope you read it. If you didn't don't worry you'll still understand what is going on :)

When Nico stepped out of the shadows in Cabin thirteen it was well past midnight which came as a bit of a surprise. He hadn’t forgotten the time difference between New York and Tennessee, but he guessed he and Will had lost track of time.

Nico didn’t know if Will was simply keeping his promise now that the soccer season was over or if the little shadow-travel trip Will had taken to the Hades Cabin on Nico’s birthday had eased his stress on the subject, but either way Will had become much more relaxed about Nico using his underworld powers. He still warned Nico not to overuse them and constantly told him to “check in with himself” to make sure he wasn’t overtaxing himself (whatever that meant), but the embargo had officially lifted.

That meant Nico now shadow-traveled to Tennessee every couple of weeks for date night. The only reason it wasn’t more often was due to things like both he and Will having homework. Nico would have loved for it to be more often, but at least now the reasoning made sense to him.

The night hadn’t been just any other date night, it was Valentine’s Day. Being the hopeless romantic he was, Will had had a whole romantic evening planned. Nico honestly didn’t know what he did to deserve someone as sweet and loving as Will. It was a truly beautiful night, and they even managed to do about half the things Will had planned before they got sidetracked by other things (not that either of them had any complaints about that).

A magically night it was, but between the date activities, the bedroom activities, and all the shadow-travel Nico was beyond exhausted. He would have just stayed in Tennessee if it hadn’t been a school night for Will. That wouldn’t have bothered Will any, he was practically begging Nico to stay the night, but Will’s mom hadn’t exactly seemed pleased the last time they had had an impromptu sleepover on a school night. Not that Naomi yelled or anything when she found them, Nico just got a general feeling. It probably had something to do with Will not even letting her know Nico was coming over, let alone asking if it was okay if he stayed the night, or at least that was Nico’s theory. He preferred if Will’s mom continued to like him, so he wasn’t going to push it.

Also, from what Will told him since Dean and Felix started dating Dean usually showed up at Will’s house in the mornings to give Will a ride to school with Felix in tow. It was a long shot but if Felix saw Nico at the house it would be difficult to explain. Nico liked Dean, and he wouldn’t tell Will this, but he was sort of hoping that Dean and Felix made it work, so he didn’t want to be the cause of any complications.

Nico returned to New York and Cabin Thirteen which was fine even if it was slightly disappointing. As much as Nico would have enjoyed sleeping curled up next to Will, he was so bone tired he wouldn’t miss Will for long before he was dead to the world.

He left a trail of clothes leading from the shadow he emerged from to his bunk before dropping unceremoniously onto the mattress. He wouldn’t have been surprised if his eyes were closed before he actually hit the bed.

He was so tired he was sure that he would have a dreamless sleep, but of course, it wasn’t that simple. He was a demigod, after all, sleep was rarely a time of rest. The gods and their drama constantly weaseled their way in. Even though Nico was practiced with dream travel that didn’t make him immune to the phenomenon much to his annoyance.   

First, there was just blackness, just like Nico wanted, but after a few moments (or at least what Nico thought was a few moments, it was always hard to gauge the passage of time in dreams), the blackness started to clear. It was almost like a thick smoke parting, revealing what laid beyond it.

The darkness was still thick in the air when Nico started to recognize where he was. It wasn’t particularly hard considering the sheer number of times he had been there before: it was the long hall outside Hades’ throne room in his underworld palace.

 _Lovely_ , Nico thought as the last of the blackness, well the blackness that wasn’t just natural to the underworld, slipped away. Even though he was plenty familiar with the space Nico gave a look around, and surprise! Nothing had changed. The walls, floor, and ceilings were still made of smooth black rock, torches burning with green flames, vases filled with luminosity greenery hung from the walls, and two skeletal soldiers from long finished wars stood silently at the entrance of the throne room.  

“Evening,” Nico greeted the two corpses without enthusiasm. Their eyes seemed to smolder a little more brightly for a moment which Nico guessed was their way of responding. That was fine by Nico, he wasn’t actually looking to have a conversation. One of the guards moved his hand minutely toward the ridiculously oversized door and it creaked open a few inches on its own.

Nothing needed to be said, Nico got the message loud and clear, he was being summoned. Nico was annoyed, but he knew he really didn’t have a choice. He went to take a step forward, hand going to the sword on his hip as a reflex when he found it there he paused. As obnoxious as the situation was the fact that he was apparently fully clothed and armed was a pleasant surprise considering he hadn’t been that way when he fell asleep. He guessed there were at least a few benefits to having experience with dream travel.

After taking a moment to appreciate the victory, however small it may be, he trudged past the skeleton guards and into Hades’ throne room. That hadn’t changed much either, although there appeared to be an awful lot of flowers laying around. Considering it was winter, Nico guessed that made sense.

The room was sparsely furnished, and at present, the only person in the room appeared to be the god of the underworld himself. Hades was sitting on his throne with a sullen expression, although that meant very little, Hades usually looked sullen.

“Oh, good,” Hades declared the door shutting behind Nico as he did. It was a little like Nico had just walked into a trap, and the only escape was closed behind him, but Nico wasn’t going to think about that. “You’re here.”

“Did I have a choice?” Nico questioned dryly. Mouthing off to a god really isn’t advised, especially a god known for being temperamental like Hades but seriously, he had literally summoned Nico. He could have been sleeping, Nico was frustrated.

“Uh, yes, well,” Hades shifted stiffly in his thrown. It was probably not the safest way to get entertainment, but Hades always seemed confused and uncomfortable when Nico got sarcastic or overly-dry, and Nico found it incredibly amusing. “I hope I didn’t take you from anything _pressing_.”

The god had placed a strange emphasis on the last word like it had far more meaning then it should. It was weird and made Nico feel more than a little unnerved. “Just sleeping,” Nico replied sounding more uncertain than he intended.

“You weren’t with the Apollo boy?” Hades asked, and Nico could have been wrong but he sounded genuinely interested (that was also odd and unnerving). “Isn’t it some sort of mortal holiday for…ah…. couples?”

“Valentine’s Day?” Nico questioned. He guessed it counted as a holiday, sort of. “Yeah, it was,” Nico confirmed. “I saw Will earlier.”

“Aww yes,” Hades nodded like Nico had said something a lot wiser then confirming the day had, in fact, been Valentine’s Day. He stared at Nico critically for long enough Nico had to work hard not to squirm uncomfortably before finally speaking again. “Are things still going well with you and Will?”

“Things are fine,” Nico replied shortly. In Nico’s opinion, the gods already were involved enough in his life, he didn’t like sharing more details with a god even if it was (technically) his father. Hades looked at him like he wanted to say something. Nico even thought, he saw he saw the god's mouth move like he was about to talk, but he must have changed his mind. Nico didn’t want to know what a god would find difficult to say, so he spoke before Hades found the nerve. “So, do you need my help with something?”

“Hm?” Hades hummed curiously like he hadn’t expected the question. Actually, it was more like Nico had jarred him from some other train of thought. It wasn’t unusual for Hades to call Nico to the underworld with some sort of task he wanted Nico to take care of. Sometimes it was something to do with the underworld like the prisoners of the fields of punishment getting rowdy, and others it involved stuff top side. No matter what the quest, Hades never acted like this before asking. It was more like “I need the thing, so you do the thing”, this was unnerving.

“I’m assuming you didn’t summon me to talk about Will,” Nico pointed out. He guessed that Hades tried at being a parent more than most gods, but they still didn’t really talk about Nico’s private life (except for that one-time Hades tried to give Nico the sex talk), and Nico was happy with it that way. He would have also been happy being back in his bed (mind, body, and spirit) so he could sleep, and Hades was standing in the way of that.

“Oh, well yes,” Hades coughed and shifted in his throne awkwardly. Could gods actually be awkward and seem uncomfortable? Nico always figured with thousands of years of existence they would be too practiced at keeping their feelings hidden. Apparently, Nico had been wrong about that because Hades was definitely letting his feelings show. “Actually, I did.”

“You did what?” Nico questioned hoping his ears wrong. “You want to talk about Will?” The god nodded a confirmation, that was in fact what he meant, what he wanted. Nico’s heart sank, and he doubted he hide the distaste he felt at the thought. “Why?”

This trip seemed to be breaking all sorts of Nico’s misconceptions about the gods because he never thought a god could be rendered speechless, but Hades looked to be at a complete loss for words. Nico felt like he should probably say something, but he definitely didn’t want to talk about Will with Hades, so he remained silent.

The silence (incredibly uncomfortable silence) would have probably lasted forever if Nico and Hades were left to their own devices. The repetitive click of heels against a stone floor got progressively louder until one of the smaller doors to the throne room opened and Persephone sashayed into the room with a large boutique of her underworld flowers in hand. She was half-way to the center of the room when she seemed to notice Nico’s presence. She stopped and smiled brightly at him, “Oh, Nico, hi sweetie!” The flower tilted her head to one side curiously before asking, “What are you doing here?”

“Talking about my boyfriend apparently,” Nico informed his eyes still on Hades, some of his outrage slipping into his voice. It was bad enough to have all the monsters and quests interrupting his life, taking his family, now he couldn’t have anything that was private from the gods.

“Oh, how exciting,” Persephone commented with genuine excitement before continuing on her previous path. She made it all of two feet before stopping dead in her tracks. “Oh,” Her body language completely changed, she turned to Hades, and Nico could only make out half of her face, but she was looking disapproving. “You’re not still making a big fuss about that thing Apollo showed at the Winter Solstice meeting, are you?” She questioned and based on the level of annoyance in her voice she was _so_ done hearing about _that_.

“Of course not,” Hades responded indignantly as he crossed his arms over his chest. If he were anyone else Nico would have said he was pouting. “And I don’t fuss,” he added although based on his current behavior Nico doubted that was the truth.

“Ah-ha” Persephone hummed sounded completely unconvinced before returning to sashay to one of the side tables, and began arranging the flowers she had brought in a vase that was resting there.

If anything Persephone’s clear disbelief only made the underworld god sulk more. Nico was finding this whole trip to the underworld increasingly unsettling. “What exactly did Apollo show during this meeting, and what does it have to do with me?” He questioned sure it wouldn’t be anything good. What could Apollo possibly show that had to do with Nico, anyway?

Persephone shot a stern look in Hades’ direction but said nothing. Hades coughed and once again resituated himself in his throne. Nico actually had to bite back a comment about how the god may want to consider investing in a new throne if the old one was that uncomfortable. “Nothing,” Hades replied flatly, “We should never speak of it.”

 _Was Hades blushing? Could gods do that_? Nico didn’t like this at all. “That doesn’t make me feel better,” Nico pointed out proud that the panic he was feeling didn’t show in his voice.

“Yes, well I’m going to leave these here-” Persephone gestured to the flowers she had carefully arranged in a vase. “-and let you two have some father-son time.” She turned and walked back the way she came. She stopped only briefly to look at Hades with another stern look. “Try not to explode this batch, darling.”

“Yes, dear,” Hades replied without enthusiasm. It seemed to be enough for Persephone who nodded with satisfaction before making her exit.

Nico really couldn’t think of anything that Apollo could have shown about himself that would have upset Hades (and he did care), but what about Will? Nico knew that Will didn’t have any secrets but Hades could be….. _old-fashioned_. Also, Nico had only met Apollo the one time but he had a way of making a mess of things, and from the way Will tells it the one time he actually met his father it was a nightmare.

Once Nico was sure Persephone was gone he took a deep breath and launched into what he was sure was going to be a long speech. “I don’t know what Apollo said or did, but Will-”

“I didn’t call you here to speak of that,” Hades cut Nico off before he could even finish his thought. That might have been a good thing considering Nico wasn’t sure where he was going with that. Was he going to say that Will was great? Perfect? A gentleman? Will was all those things and more, but he doubted Hades actually cared. Hades coughed and adjusted his collar. “So let’s not speak of it.” He suggested before stressing “Ever.”

Nico still wanted to know what Apollo had shown during the Solstice but his amusement at Hades’ visible discomfort won out. “Alright,” he declared stifling a laugh. “So why…?” He let the rest of the question go, instead he gestured around the room in a show of his meaning.

“This Will,” Hades started sounding incredibly proper even for Hades. “I would like to meet his parents, well parent.”

“You’ve met Apollo,” Nico declared, no it was more like he blurted out. Hades certainly couldn’t be suggesting anything else after all.

“I mean his mortal one,” Hades was quick to clarify, “Mother, father whichever it is. I know Apollo isn’t picky.”

Nico blinked hard for what felt like several minutes before he managed to actually formulate a response. “Will’s mom’s name is Naomi,” he informed rather dumbly. “You want to meet her?” Nico questioned with serious doubt. Hades couldn’t possibly be suggesting what it sounded like he was suggesting. “Like in person?”

“Yes, I was thinking dinner,” Hades stated far too matter-of-factly for Nico’s taste considering the gravity of what he was suggesting. Hades seemed to give the idea more thought before questioning thoughtfully, “Mortals still do that, don’t they? Meet over an evening meal?”

“Yes, I suppose so,” Nico replied uncertainly. It wasn’t that he was uncertain on the modern customs, he thought he had figured those out for the most part, but he definitely felt uncertain about the idea of Hades having dinner with Will’s sweet, kind, and accepting mother. “But why do you want to have dinner with Will’s mom?”

Hades let out a cough and adjusted his tie like it was threatening to turn into a noose. “I am your father,” he replied sounding both matter-of-fact and awkward.

“I’m aware,” Nico replied not really seeing the connection.

“As I understand it, that’s what parents do,” Hades declared. Nico was doubtful of that, he didn’t remember hearing about Jupiter showing up to throw back a few microbrews with Tristan McLean (and that was for the best, everyone who knew anything knew that Jupiter would start putting the moves on Piper’s dad before they finished the first beer). Okay, so yes Athena and Poseidon had had Thanksgiving with Percy’s mom but that was different. That doubt must have read on his face because Hades was quick to clarify. “Mortal ones, that is,” He clarified unnecessarily. “When their child reaches a certain level of commitment in a romantic relationship they met the parents’ of their child’s significant other.” Hades let out another cough. If he wasn’t an immortal deity Nico would have asked if he was coming down with a cold. “You and Will appear to be at that point….” The torches that were mounted on the walls of the throne room seemed to dim as a dark expression crossed the god’s face. It lasted for no more than a second before it was gone, but it definitely didn’t make Nico feel better about this whole idea. “Being familiar with Apollo, meeting Will’s mother would be a comfort.”

“But you’re a god,” Nico pointed out matter-of-factly, “You’re not a mortal parent.”

Hades sighed like Nico was being especially difficult. Nico would take that as a compliment. “Your mother is no longer amongst the living, neither is your sister so the responsibility falls to me,” Hades spoke with a heaviness, but not the kind that came from being overburdened instead it was the kind that came with loss. For the briefest moment, the god seemed to stare off like he was trying to call back a memory before the look vanished and Hades returned to his more godly manner. “Maria would expect at least that much from me,” he explained. “Besides, from what I understand it is still traditionally more of the father’s responsibility.”

Nico blinked a few times as he processed what was said. He really hadn’t known what to expect when Hades stated he wanted to have dinner with Will’s mom but it wasn’t that. He didn’t mean to laugh, but it just sort of slipped out cracked and brittle. “I doubt my Roman Catholic mother would have expected or wanted any of this,” Nico stated bitterly. Nico had spent a lot of time thinking about his mother, trying to remember her. Bits and pieces came back, and some were comforting. He also remembered how she brought him and Bianca to church every Sunday. He had accepted that there were things about himself that his mother wouldn’t approve of (at best), or at least he thought he had accepted that. “Me dating another boy.”

“You shouldn’t jump to conclusions,” Hades shrugged. Nico didn’t think he had ever seen a god do that before, it was weird. “Your mother was a very open-minded woman,” he informed with a certainty Nico didn’t really understand. “I think she would have surprised you.”

Hades was being one-hundred percent honest, Nico could tell. It wasn’t like Hades was one for making jokes, and while he insisted on trying to be like a mortal parent he wasn’t big at trying to be comforting. That was fine by Nico, he really didn’t want Hades more involved in his life, less maybe but not more. Still, Nico didn’t really know how to take that. He had convinced himself that his mother if she was alive, would have been ashamed of Nico and his sexuality. It wasn’t what Nico wanted, but he just thought it was a fact. The idea that his mother wouldn’t have cared or even would have supported him was…..overwhelming.

“Dinner?” Hades questioned snapping Nico from his thoughts. “I expect you will make the arrangements with … Naomi was it?”

There was no getting out of this, that was abundantly clear. Nico let out a heavy sigh as a show of defeat. “I can talk to Will,” he stated, but it was more like thinking out loud and as soon as he heard his own words he realized something. He had been pretty focused on his general annoyance at being summoned, and Hades feeling entitled to butt into his life he hadn’t even thought about his poor, sweet boyfriend. “Oh, gods, Will,” Nico declared thinking out loud more than anything else. “He’s going to completely panic,” Nico explained, although again it was more like he was thinking out loud than actually trying to clue Hades in.

“Oh?” Hades questioned his head tilting to one side with clear interest. “And why is that?”

“He finds you…” Nico internally debated how honest he actually wanted to be before deciding it would be best to just speak the truth. It wasn’t like Hades was going to be offended if anything he probably would be pleased. “…Completely terrifying.” Hades indeed looked pleased with that information. That was annoying to Nico who could help but think about how much of a hassle Will’s fear of Hades had been in the past. “But considering you threatened his life in a cemetery that’s understandable,” Nico stated pointedly.

“No threats were made,” Hades replied dismissively. Nico wanted to point out that the setting of the meeting alone was enough to be considered a threat but the god didn’t give him a chance. “I was simply sizing up the young man who thought he is worthy of making time with my only son,” The god of the underworld explained matter-of-factly. “But from what I understand being intimating to the child’s love interests is another role that primarily falls on the father.”

“Great,” Nico declared flatly as he crossed his arms over his chest. He was told by more than one person he looked intimidating in that posture, but he wasn’t foolish enough to think that he would come across that way to his father. “Are you going to be trying on all the traditional parental roles?”

“Likely not all,” Hades replied with a shrug. He seemed to think about something for a moment before an amused smile spread across his face “I have considered, in the past, acquiring a shotgun and clearing it methodically in front of this Will.”

“Please don’t,” Nico retorted deadpan. He was sure Hades meant that as a joke, or maybe he had hoped. Either way, Nico was absolutely never telling Will about it ever. He didn’t even want to imagine the level of sheer panic Will would reach if he had heard Hades had even joked about such a thing.

“Don’t worry,” Hades offered sounding a bit deflated. “Persephone won’t let me.”

 _Well, thank the gods for Persephone_ , Nico guessed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated lovely readers!


	58. Hades wants what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday Everyone!
> 
> Minor announcement: With the upcoming holiday I'm not going to have a ton of time to write so I am going to take an extra week before posting the next chapter. That means instead of posting 1/1 I'll be posting chapter 59 on 1/7. After that I will go back to my current posting schedule (posting every other week). Thanks for understanding.
> 
> So this chapter may seem like a bit of filler but I promise it is establishing a lot of the points that will carry the story to the end I have planned. I hope you enjoy!

Nico was standing on the other side of Will’s bedroom leaning against the edge of Will’s desk. Will was sitting on his own bed thankful for the position, and the pillow he had resting on his lap providing some modesty. To spite the insane thing Nico had actually just suggested, Will couldn’t help but notice how good he looked. Apparently, Nico had shadow-traveled to Tennessee after a photo shoot.

Will had never actually seen Nico all done up for the camera, although he had listened to Nico complain about it constantly. He hated all the make-up he had to wear (because apparently, all the lights could make the healthiest person look washed out and corpse-like, so saithe Mitchell), and all the product in his hair. The few times they had spoken via iris message after a shot Nico had always insisted on showering first. Because Nico was always so reluctant to let Will see him, Will had assumed it was sort of like stage makeup (Dean’s first serious girlfriend had been in drama club and somehow that had meant Will got dragged along to all the plays so he was familiar).

As it turned out it was actually nothing like that. Nico’s hair looked touchable and soft even though every single strained of hair was perfectly in place. The makeup was so subtle it was hard to pinpoint exactly where it was. Nico looked especially well-rested, something highlighted the almond shape of his dark eyes, and his sharp cheekbones seemed more prominent than normal. Nico always had an intimidating presence, it just came with being a child of the underworld and living the hard life he had, but the makeup and the hair added to it because now he was intimidatingly beautiful.

Nico at least had changed into his own clothes before showing up which was probably the only thing that was saving Will from openly drooling. He wore what looked like a new pair of skinny jeans (new didn’t mean they weren’t still sinfully tight) with a belt hanging low on his hips, his snug leather jacket unzipped halfway revealing a black t-shirt advertising some classic rock band that Percy had gotten him into.

All and all, Nico looked more or less like himself but just a clearer cut and more stylized version. He looked good, but at the same time, Will had the urge to reach out and mess Nico up a little. Maybe tussle his hair a bit by running his fingers through it, or rumple his clothes by tugging or gripping at bits of fabric, or maybe even mark up bits of Nico skin with greedy kisses (and maybe a little bit of teeth).

They should have been well on their way to being pressed together and tangled in the sheets (and nothing else). Even after Nico dropped what had to be the atomic bomb of declarations part of Will was still stuck on the idea of getting hot and sweaty with his gorgeous boyfriend. That desire stood in stark contrast to the first response that had come to mind once Nico had explained why he had shown up so unexpectedly which was to pitch a complete fit.

The juxtaposition left Will sitting on the bed speechless. Nico wasn’t one of those people bothered by silence, so he waited for Will to speak for a long stretch before getting antsy. And, of course, Nico was battle tested so his antsy was shown by the subtlest shifts in his stance. Will knew he needed to say something, but he just didn’t know how to react.

It felt like an eternity had passed before Nico broke the silence, and Will wasn’t going to point it out but Will was pretty sure that was a first for their relationship. Nico let out a heavy sigh before stating insistently, “Will, this is the part where you say something.”

Will blinked hard before answered simply (if still rather numbly), “No.”

That was obviously not the response Nico was expecting or looking for. He let out a heavy sigh and shifted, pulling his arms across his chest. “Will, you can’t really say no.”

“Why not?” Will questioned sincerely. It wasn’t what Nico wanted to hear but it was still the only thing that made sense in his head. Nico certainly couldn’t expect him to actually entertain this idea. “It’s a horrible idea, I’m just putting an end to it before someone... I don’t know, _dies_.”

“I get that it’s not ideal,” Nico replied far too calmly for what he actually seemed to be suggesting. “But the chances of someone dying is slim to none, really.”

“Nic, that doesn’t make me feel better,” Will pointed out plainly.

Nico took a long, controlled breath and seemed to pull his arms more tightly across his chest. “Hades would be on his best behavior,” he assured.

“What does the best behavior of the god of the underworld look like exactly?” Will questioned. It came out sounding aggressively stubborn than he had intended. He actually meant it, Will had only met the god once and he doubted he had been on his best behavior. Will just was having a hard time conjuring the image of Hades on his best behavior.

Nico nodded like that was a completely reasonable question, so at least Will got that one. Nico seemed to think about the question for a second before letting out a heavy sigh and let his arms fall to his sides. “If we get it out of the way before spring Persephone would be there to help,” Nico offered.

“So, there would be two gods in my mom’s house instead of just the one,” Will knew Nico was trying to give him reassurance, give him something to hold on to so he could be okay with the idea of Hades coming over for dinner with his mom, but it just wasn’t working. “That doesn’t seem better.”

“It’s one meal,” Nico sighed seemly resigned to the fact that Will wasn’t going to be comfortable with this idea. “No one is going to die, and it would please Hades,” Nico stressed the word ‘please’ and gave Will a knowing look. “You’re the one who keeps saying you want Hades to like you. I don’t care either way.” Nico shrugged like it was the most casual thing to say.

Will’s mouth dropped open slightly and he whined. Nico just wasn’t playing fair at this point. Maybe it was because Will was close to his mom, or that Hades seemed to try so hard to do the mortal parent stuff for Nico, or maybe it was simple fear. Hades was the god of the underworld after all, and Will was having regular sex with his only son. Whatever the reason Will really wanted Hades to like him and Nico knew that. It wasn’t fair.

“And, as I mentioned,” Nico continued once he seemed satisfied with Will’s reaction. “No really isn’t an option so I need you to set something up with your mom, so I can tell Hades,” Nico shifted his stance slightly, so he looked slightly less stressed before he added, “His dream visits are getting old.”

“Yeah,” Will sighed as he admitted defeat. “But I really don’t like it.”

“I know,” Nico declared as he pushed off Will’s desk and approach Will where he was sitting on the bed. He moved with practiced grace, even in combat boots, and he was wearing a determined look that had Will gulping for air. “But I’m here now, so maybe I can help you relax,” Nico offered suggestively before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss on Will’s lips.

The kiss was soft but filled with promise. The promise of heat and skin and more. It was the type of kiss that had the potential to grow into something more, it should have turned into something more, but Nico pulled away. Not far, of course, he just put enough distance between them so their eyes could meet and he could give Will a questioning look. “I…..” Will began his eyes darting from Nico’s eyes to his lips and back again. Nico didn’t have to voice it, Will knew the question he was asking. Should he continue? Did Will want to? The answer to both was definitely yes but still Will found himself hesitating. He looked down at his hands as he spoke “I have homework,” he offered weakly. He did actually have homework that he should do but that wasn’t it. He didn’t realize it until the words left his mouth, but he was pouting. It wasn’t Nico’s fault that Hades was demanding to meet his mom, but Will didn’t like it and was pouting just the same. He just needed a minute to come to terms with the idea he guessed, as petty as that might be.

Nico looked at him critically for a long moment before the smallest of smirks tugged at the corners of his lips. Clearly undeterred, he leaned in and placed another kiss on Will’s lips. This time the kiss was more demanding, and it had every cell of Will’s very being wanting to give into it. Will whimpered when Nico moved from his lips to kiss along his jawline. The bedsprings issued a complaint as Nico brought his knee to rest on the bed beside Will’s leg all but climbing into Will’s lap. Will wasn’t going to complain, actually he found his hands had moved to Nico’s hips to help hold him there on instinct. He felt Nico’s fingers start to tangle in his hair as his lips found the sensitive spot right under his ear. The sensation of Nico’s lips against his skin caused Will to shudder and grip Nico’s hips more tightly.

“You can do homework after you do me,” Nico whispered and while his words were suggestive his tone was even more so as he started to kiss down Will’s throat.

“Um,” Will sighed contently, any desired to argue or pout leaving him as his he suddenly seemed to grow hot, “It’s hard to argue with that sort of logic.”

Nico pulled away, ever so slightly, to giggle. And, yes, Nico di Angelo, son of Hades actually giggled (it was super cute). There was a time where Will might have been taken aback, it wasn’t like Nico giggled in front of just anyone, but now he just saw it as an opportunity. He used his grip on Nico’s hips to pull him closer until Nico brought his other knee up on the bed, so he was truly sitting in his lap. Will took advantage of Nico’s momentary surprise and recaptured his soft lips.

Things moved to heated pretty quickly (which Will was so fine with). With the familiar weight of Nico in his lap, and the sensation of his soft lips moving against Will’s own it was hard not to get worked up quickly. Nico didn’t seem to mind, in fact, he seemed more than a little enthusiastic. Will felt Nico’s long fingers tighten their hold of his hair, and his teeth nip at his bottom lip.

Will had just moved one of his hands from Nico’s hip to slide up under the hem of his t-shirt and jacket when a demanding series of knocks issued from his bedroom door. Will wasn’t given an opportunity to even process the sound, they barely had enough time to stop kissing, before the familiar voice of his cousin came from the other side of the door. “Will, you there?” he questioned.

 _Gods, damn it_ , Will thought, Dean really had a sixth sense for when he was getting some action. Will had figured now that Dean was dating someone that wouldn’t be as much of a concern. That, and he tended to tell Dean when Nico was coming to visit. Of course, Dean wouldn’t know Nico was there now because it had been a surprise to Will as well. At least Dean hadn’t come busting in the room like he had done so many times in the past.

Will and Nico froze in their desperate attempts to paw at each other. Will could feel Nico grow tense as they both looked toward the door. It didn’t fly open, but there wasn’t any sounds of someone walking away from the door either even as the silence stretched out. Will looked back to Nico who was looking perfectly disheveled with his hair slightly tousled, and his lips deliciously kiss-sullen. _Gods_ , Will thought mournfully, _he really had the worst of luck_.

Will looked back at the door and replied with uncertainty, “No?” Will knew it was bad, but he was sort of hoping Dean would take the hint and go away.

No such luck apparently as Will’s reply was quickly followed by the sound of the doorknob turning and the protesting squeal of the door’s old hinges. Nico practically jumped off Will’s lap and across the room before the door swung up more than an inch or two. Will just sighed and accepted his unfortunate fate.

“Funny-” Dean declared as he walked through the door into the room. “But I’m in crisis so-” Dean stopped mid-sentence as he seemed to take in the room. Will saw how Dean flicked between Will sitting on the bed to Nico who had moved back across the room to lean against Will’s desk blushing slightly and straightening his clothes. After giving Will an apologetic look Dean turned back to Nico. “Hey Nico,” he greeted. He was obviously trying to sound enthusiastic, but he didn’t quite hit the right note, he sounded more than a little deflated. “I didn’t know you’d be here or I wouldn’t have just barged in like that,” Dean gestured to the door weakly before turning to Will looking a bit surprised. “Twice in one week, what’s the occasion?”

Will couldn’t have stopped himself from letting out a groan if he tried (he didn’t try). “Horrible news,” Will stated gravely.

“Is the world ending?” Dean questioned with sudden alarm as he looked between Will and Nico. The question seemed at least partially genuine. “’Cause that would be in line with my life right now,” Dean added under his breath.

Will opened his mouth and he wouldn’t lie, what he was about to say was probably pessimistic, but he never got a chance to voice it. He caught Nico glaring at him from the corner of his eye and whatever he was going to say died before they could be voiced. Will heard Nico huff and glanced up just long enough to see Nico roll his eyes and cross his arms over his chest. “No, the world is not ending,” Nico stated rather dismissively. “Monster activity is on the rise but still lower than what it was before,” Nico explained although Dean didn’t have any context for that information, not really. To Dean, monsters were still mostly an abstract concept. Before Nico went on he shot Will a pointed look that had Will looking down at his hands. “Will’s being dramatic.”

“I’m really not,” Will grumbled. He knew he couldn’t win like Nico had said it wasn’t like Will could say no, not really. Even if Nico’s dad wasn’t Hades, the god of the underworld, he was still Nico’s dad so if he wanted to meet Will’s mom he just had to deal with it, right? That didn’t mean it didn’t suck, or that Will shouldn’t be nervous. Nico’s dad was the _GOD_ of the _UNDERWORLD_!

Dean let out a little chuckle like Will and Nico were just so amusing. In all fairness, Dean had said he found watching Will and Nico’s back and forths were incredibly amusing so Will didn’t really know what he had expected. “Now I want to know what’s got Will all pouty,” Dean pointed out as he turned to Will. “You’ve just got to tell me.”

Will really didn’t want to talk about it. He arched an eyebrow at Dean questioningly. “Currently?” Will’s gaze slid in Nico’s direction without his conscious thought. Nico had managed to straighten himself up a little from their impromptu make-out session. He had pulled his shirt and jacket back into place, but his lips still seemed a bit red from kissing and perfectly styled hair was now perfectly mussed. In short, Nico looked sexy as hell and Will wanted to just devour him. Will’s mind sort of wondered to what he and Nico had been doing before they were interrupted and where it was leading. He was only called out of his thoughts when Dean cleared his throat subtly. His eyes snapped away from his insanely gorgeous boyfriend to give his cousin a slightly dirty look. “You can’t guess?” he questioned doubtfully.

“Dude,” Dean scoffed dismissively. “If you’re sex deprived the only one you have to blame is yourself.” He pointed toward where Nico was once again sitting on the edge of Will’s desk like evidence of his point. “Your boyfriend can literally teleport. It’s the ideal long-distance relationship situation and you put restrictions on it,” Dean actually huffed like Will was being utterly ridiculous (and sure he might have overdone it about the shadow-travel but he was lightening up). “Seriously, the person I feel sorry for is Nico.”

“Thank you,” Nico mumbled under his breath but it was more than loud enough to be heard.

Will shot Nico a slightly betrayed look which Nico just shrugged off like it was nothing. Dean chuckled ever so slightly again before asking sincerely, “So, what’s going on?”

Post the whole “story” situation, Will and Dean had come to an agreement. It was supposed to be a golden age of honesty between the two of them even if that was against Will’s better instincts a lot of the time. The way Dean phrased the question made it clear that this officially fell into the category where honesty would be required.

Will sighed as a show of surrender before he could try to explain. Nico was still there so Will knew he needed to choose his words more carefully than he probably would have if his boyfriend wasn’t there. Nico didn’t seem burdened with the same restraints and gave a response before Will could formulate a coherent. “My dad would like to have dinner with Naomi and Will is acting like it’s the end of the world,” Nico explained like it was the simplest thing. Will didn’t miss the annoyed look Nico shot him toward the end of that statement.

 _Weren’t they just making out_? _How was he suddenly in trouble_? Will was so confused.

“Oh fuck!” Dean hissed and took a half a step back toward Will’s bedroom door. “Meet the parents is always terrifying that why I’ve never done it,” he stated that last point was declared as a clear point of pride. And know Dean it probably was, considering in all his past relationships he seemed to have worked hard to keep things as casual. Dean would rarely say it out loud, but he very much lived by the philosophy that people leave so there was no point getting attached. Considering their childhoods, more so Dean’s Will understood it and just figured it was something Dean would get past when he met the right person.

Nico looked genuinely confused by the statement, but it wasn’t like Will convey the complicated story of Dean’s childhood with a look, so he just shrugged which was clearly not helpful. Nico turned to Dean. “You’ve met Felix’s dad,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, but that’s different,” Dean dismissed as he pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Leonard doesn’t know Felix and I are dating, and at this point, I think we might have to keep that up forever ‘cause I’m pretty sure he’s going to hate me when he finds out.”

If anything, Nico looked more confused by that explanation. “How do you explain all the time you two must spend together?” Nico questioned curiously.

Will had actually never thought to ask that question, and now that it was posed he found himself curious about the answer as well. He turned toward his cousin with an inquisitive expression. Dean sighed and shifted his shoulders slightly a clear show of how much he did not want to discuss this. “Well, we hang out a lot before so that covers some of it,” he explained, “But honestly, we say we’re studying a lot, and just blast music or the T.V. if we are fooling around.” He scoffed slightly at his own explanation before adding, “It seems suspicious as fuck, I’m sure of it, but Leonard is apparently fucking oblivious, so it works, at least for now.”

“What about your dad?” Nico questioned, and Will was surprised Dean didn’t physically wince. Will had told Nico plenty of stories about growing up and how Dean was always around, so they were more like brothers than cousins. Will had just always left the why out of the stories. Uncle John could be great, he had taught Will how to play the guitar when he was little, and he always made family dinners colorful with all his stories, but he was also unreliable (and that was putting it mildly). Those stories just never felt like they were his to share so Nico didn’t know he was poking at a sensitive subject for Dean. “Couldn’t you just go to your house some of the time?”

Dean’s face immediately dropped at the question, any signs of amusement officially gone. “Did Felix put you up to that question?” he asked flatly.

Nico’s face scrunched up in confusion as he turned to give Will a questioning look. “It is a long and complicated story,” Will offered although that wasn’t exactly the truth, it was close enough. “The short version being demigods aren’t the only ones with dad issues.”

“Oh,” Nico nodded with understanding. If there was one thing pretty much any demigod could understand it was parental baggage.

“Thanks for making me sound like a future stripper,” Dean scoffed somewhere between annoyed and amused. Dean might not have been big about talking to others about it, he still seemed pretty aware of it.

“You can make good money that way,” Nico offered matter-of-factly.

“You know that how?” Dean questioned with a bit of a laugh giving voice to the question Will was thinking.

Nico let out a little laugh, “I’m a model,” he stated, “Most of the other models I’ve dealt with don’t have much going for them besides their looks, it’s not an uncommon side job for many of them.”

“Well, it’s good to know I have something to fall back on if the whole journalism thing doesn’t work out.” Dean chuckled. “I’m sure that would make Felix’s dad just love me,” Dean seemed to be trying hard to keep it light but Will thought he heard a hint of genuine nervousness (See, Will wasn’t the only one scared of his boyfriend’s dad). “Hey, not only am I the guy hooking up with your son, I’m also a stripper. That’s every parent’s dream right there.”

“At least if Felix’s dad doesn’t like you it won’t bleed into the afterlife,” Will mumbled under his breath, or at least that was what he meant. The words apparently came out louder than he intended based on the scoffing sound Nico let out.

“Dude, you have it way worse than me,” Dean offered with a chuckle. “No arguments here.” 

“Hades really isn’t that bad,” Nico huffed clearly annoyed. “For a god.”

Nico, like a lot of demigods, didn’t exactly have a lot of love lost with the gods. Considering some of what he had been through Will understood it even if he thought Nico was a little too vocal about it (Will swore that it was a bad habit Nico had picked up from Percy). Still, Nico had a weird relationship with Hades, at least weird compared to the relationships most demigods had with their godly parent. There was definitely resentment on Nico’s part, and considering what Nico had been through and lost it made sense, but Hades actively tried to be a normal parent (or as close as a god could manage). Nico would never admit it out loud but Will got the impression that Nico….well, he didn’t like it but he appreciated.

Considering Nico had lost his mother and Bianca, Will was glad that Hades could help provide Nico with a sense family. Will just wished the god could be a little less terrifying while doing so. He hated to disagree with Nico, but he did feel the need to point out one important fact. “He threatened my life,” Will reminded matter-of-factly.

“Seriously?” Dean openly laughed and looked genuinely excited by the prospect. Will was a little surprised he thought he had told Dean that story. He definitely remembered mentioning he had met Hades, but he must not have shared the details.

“No, he didn’t,” Nico stated dismissively.

Will’s head whipped in Nico’s direction in complete shock. “He appeared in my dream in a cemetery and started questioning me about our relationship,” Will reminded rather aggressively. He thought the threat was pretty clearly implied.

“Oh yeah,” Dean chimed in nodding as he spoke. “That was a threat.”

Will saw Nico shot Dean a less than pleased look. It was short lived before he let out an indignity huff and pulled his arms tighter across his chest. “Well, he won’t do that to your mom,” Nico grumbled dismissively.

“Hades’ is not exactly known for his love of mortals,” Will reminded. He was aware he was being difficult again, but he still thought that it was worth pointing out. Nico openly glared at him. Clearly, Will had officially worn through Nico’s patience on the subject.

Will opened his mouth to say sorry or at least attempt to explain away his behavior, but Dean cut him off before he had a chance. “Dude, it’s not like you actually have a choice in the matter,” he pointed out pretty much repeating Nico’s previous point. “Your boyfriend’s dad wants to meet your mom, you don’t get a say. You might as well stop panicking and just go with it.” Dean shrugged like what he was suggesting was the easiest thing in the world.

Will decided pointing out that just going with it was a bit more difficult when your boyfriend’s dad was literally the god of the underworld. Instead, he looked at his cousin with a stern sort of interest. “Weren’t you on my side?” he questioned. “And shouldn’t you still be kissing my ass?” He was only about half serious about that last part. It had been close to three weeks since he found out about Dean’s story and they had their little blowout. Things weren’t exactly perfect between them but in a strange way it was kind of for the best. Will realized that he was at least partially to blame, not that it excused Dean but still. So things were actually pretty good but that didn’t mean Will wasn’t going to tease Dean about it every chance he got.

“Dude, I’m on your side, and I totally get it,” Dean laughed and held up his hands in defense. “And yeah, I know I should still be kissing your ass, but I’m still going to be honest.” That was fair, if there was one thing that Will could usually count on Dean to tell him the truth. “You’re just going to have to suck it up.”

“Thank you,” Nico declared with clear approval.

How had Will gone from having Dean as a backup to being tag teamed by his cousin and his boyfriend? It hardly seemed fair. Will looked from Dean to Nico and neither of them seemed particularly sympathetic. As a show of defeat Will issued a little whine and throw up his hands.

“Look on the bright side,” Dean offered and at least he sounded somewhat sympathetic. “Aunt Naomi will probably love it, you know how she is.”

Well, that was putting things mildly. Will’s mom was in general an overdoer, and yeah sometimes that could be a sign of stress (like with the baking) but a lot of it was just genuine enthusiasm. When it came to the “big life stuff” his mom tended to go all in: the house was always decorated for Christmas, Thanksgiving was a feast, and their birthdays were always a big deal. Dean was absolutely right, Will’s mom would be thrilled (but she also had only a tentative understanding of Greek Mythology at best).

“See,” Nico gestured toward Dean with new found excitement with the conversation. “It’s not so bad.”

Before Will could point out that just because his mom would be excited didn’t make it a good idea Dean chimed in with what had to be the most horrifying question Will could have imagined. “Think I could come?” Dean asked sounding genuinely hopeful. “It would be pretty cool to meet the god of the underworld,” Dean was on the verge of full-on fangirling Will could hear it in his voice. No surprise there, Dean had always had a weird interest in dark things like zombies and vampires, and he had immediately started to geek out when he had found out about who Nico’s dad was. “I have so many questions.”

Will had no doubt that Dean had questions and he could imagine Dean firing off question after endless question at the god of the underworld. “Absolutely not,” Will replied quickly without question. He probably answered too quickly for it to be considered polite and Dean did look a little disappointed, but Will couldn’t really feel guilty it was for Dean’s safety. Dean in the room with a god (any god) was something too horrifying to consider so he had to shut that thought down. Unfortunately, Will knew Dean wouldn’t let it go, he could practically see his cousin formulate his next argument for why he should be invited to dinner. He needed to shut Dean down before he started to argue because if Dean got to arguing Will would somehow end up agreeing. “Didn’t you come here for something?” Will questioned quickly before adding, “There was mention of a crisis.”

“Yeah, I…,” Dean’s eyes flicked toward where Nico was propped against Will’s desk and seemed to deflate slightly. He recovered quickly but there was still something different about his general posture. Will couldn’t quite put his finger on, but it was like Dean was holding back but trying not to let it show. “No, it’s really not a big deal,” Dean stated insistently. It wasn’t clear exactly who he was trying to convince Will or himself. Either way, he wasn’t at all successful. “I was being overdramatic. It must run in the family or something.” Dean let out a little chuckle that Will was sure his way of proving he was his comedic self, but it came out weak and lost its momentum quickly.

Dean’s eyes flicked toward Nico again for the briefest of seconds before he took a half a step back toward the door of Will’s room. “I’ll just…” Dean gestured toward the door of Will’s room, silently finishing his sentence as he took another step back.

Out of reflex more than anything, Will’s eyes flicked to Nico too. He knew when he looked at the son of Hades he saw something very different than his cousin, but Dean always liked Nico. Dean was also a pretty open person, so Will struggled to think of anything that his cousin would feel uncomfortable talking about it openly. Whatever it was, it had to be important and Will didn’t want him to leave. “Dean-” he called unsure of what to say next to get Dean to stay.

“I can leave,” Nico offered matter-of-factly. That hadn’t even entered Will’s mind as an option and it certainly wasn’t what he wanted. Will’s head whipped in Nico’s direction just in time to see Nico push off his desk and take a few backward steps toward the other side of the room. In the corner right next to Will’s closet was a thick patch of shadows which typically served as Nico’s private entrance and exit. Will assumed that was where Nico was headed.

Will went to say stay, he opened his mouth and everything but managed to bite back the word before giving voice. It was still what he wanted. Watching Nico leave was always so hard sometimes he wondered how he survived it. The fact that they saw each other at least once a week should have eased some of that, but it didn’t, if anything it seemed to make it worse.

What stopped him from speaking was simple. Dean’s story sort of acted as a catalyst for Will (and Dean). The last year or two they had both become increasingly wrapped up in their own things, and when the threat of the end of the world was looming Will might have been better about making time for Dean (after all, you never did know when it would be the last time) but when the threat of an imminent apocalypse eased …. But since Dean’s story, they both seemed to recognize it more and were trying to make time. Will took one night a week off from talking to Nico on the phone at night, and Dean actually spent one night without Felix. Will and Dean would just hang out and catch up which was something Will hadn’t even realized they needed until the actually started doing it. The important thing was both he and Dean were trying to make time for each before they both went off to college (especially since it looked increasingly likely that they would be on opposite sides of the country).

Will recognize his part in everything, he hadn’t been the most present, especially in the last year. Dean clearly wanted to talk (needed to talk) about something and for whatever reason, he seemed reluctant to do so. Will couldn’t possibly see why Dean could be uncomfortable talking about it (whatever it was) in front of Nico, but Nico was clearly interpreting it that way. Will may not have liked it but sometimes Nico could be more perceptive about these things then he was, at least with Will. It must have been his perspective as an outsider.

“No,” Dean stated with that polite sort of insistence that people tended to use when they were really just going throw the motions of protesting because they knew they were supposed to. “You came all the way I don’t want to get in the way of your date or whatever.”

“I didn’t let anyone know I was leaving camp,” Nico explained. “So I need to get back before someone notices and puts together a search party anyways,” Nico gave a casual shrug. “Its fine really.”

Will looked between Nico and Dean for a second. Dean looked relieved although not obviously so, and Nico looked disappointed but again in a not obvious way. Again, he bit back the plea for Nico to stay and instead asked, “Call you later?”

“You better,” Nico smirked slightly. Before Will could even think to get up Nico moved to where Will still sat on the edge of his bed. Nico bent down, and Will mirrored his motions craning up until their lips met. The kiss was soft and fleeting, it was almost like the physical manifestation of a contented sigh. It was brief but soul-warming and was about the best goodbye Will could possibly think of even if he didn’t want Nico to go.

As satisfying as the embrace was it still ended too quickly. Will loved the fact that he could see the faintest blush on Nico’s cheeks when Nico did finally step away. He seriously doubted he would ever get over the way Nico would blush bashfully when they shared little intimate moments in front of others. It didn’t even matter if they were trusted friends, or in this case family, Nico still blushed. Will knew it wasn’t something that came from shame but rather than an unfamiliar vulnerability. Plus, and this was probably shallow, but Nico was about the most adorable thing Will had ever seen.

Nico took several large steps back before he actually turned away from Will (and if that didn’t make Will feel like the center of the world he didn’t know what would). He walked back toward the shadowy corner of Will’s room and Will was prepared to watch his boyfriend slip into the shadows and instantly become a hundred miles away in seconds. Nico stopped just short of stepping into a shadow and turned back but not to Will. Instead, the son of Hades turned to Dean, and Will could only really see his profile, but he could have sworn Nico was smirking. “Oh, and Dean,” Nico called for Will’s cousin’s attention and Will could definitely hear the amusement in his voice. “My middle name is actually Anthony.” Nico didn’t wait for a response or even a reaction before taking the final step and slipping into shadows.

The room fell silent for a moment, and if Will didn’t know better he would have sworn he had only imagined Nico’s presence. He really hated shadow-travel sometimes for that. Dean was the one to break the silence and not with anything remotely close to what Will would have expected from someone who had just witnessed shadow-travel for the first time. “You told him?” Dean questioned pointing toward where Nico disappeared.

Dean didn’t need to specify that he was talking about his not so fictional fiction story, that was obvious. Will couldn’t tell if Dean looked surprised that Nico knew or if it was just disappointment, either way, his answer would be the same. “Did you think I wouldn’t?” he questioned sincerely.

Will had told Nico about it the same day he found out about it. Probably the only reason he hadn’t called Nico immediately was between his mom’s weepy reaction, Felix chivalrous defense of Dean, and Will’s own general emotional reaction to the whole thing Will had just needed time to emotionally process the whole thing before he could even think of explaining things to someone else, even Nico. But after he and Dean had talked, and Dean had left because he had apparently promised Felix to come over (Will was still struggling to get used to that) Will had called Nico. The conversation had been more about how Will was handling the whole thing but as time had passed and they had talked about it more here and there Will had told Nico about some of the details of the story.

“No, I guess not,” Dean shrugged not sounding all that surprised but maybe still disappointed. “Should I start kissing Nico’s ass too?” He questioned. He was clearly serious but was trying to seem casual about it which Will couldn’t really be surprised by that was pretty in line with Dean’s personality. “I need to know, ya know, for planning purposes.”

Nico didn’t really have the reaction Will had expected or wanted. Nico seemed mildly amused by the whole thing but as he was quick to point out he had been such an outsider at the time of the Battle of Manhattan that many of those who had passed were simply people he vaguely remembered from the little time he had spent a camp, so he just wasn’t as invested. When Will had pointed out the risks regarding the mist Nico had shrugged that off too, stating that most people didn’t want to see even if they weren’t as sensitive to it as others. Will figured Nico’s reaction might have been different if he actually read the story (although he did come across pretty good in the story), but Will hadn’t let him.

The fact that Nico was acting like Dean’s story wasn’t a big deal was not something Dean needed to know, and Will had no intentions of telling him that either. “You should probably save yourself time in the future, and just assume you owe any demigod you meet a personal and sincere apology,” Will answered seriously (even if it was a slight exaggeration it seemed fair, at least to Will).

“Right,” Dean nodded with understanding before he tucked his hands into his pant pockets and took a sudden interest in his shoes. Yes, Will and Dean had been talking more, and Will wasn’t really mad about the story anymore, but it was still an awkward topic. Whenever it came up they both had a tendency to fall into an uncomfortable silence as neither of them knew really how to handle the situation. Dean had been right, they never really fought as kids, so they just didn’t know how to handle even the little conflict that lingered between them.

Will was happy that Dean was the one that broke the silence mainly because he had no idea how he was going to (part of that was probably because his mind, or at least part of it, was still thinking of Nico). “So that’s what shadow travel looks like?” he questioned so casually. Will still found himself surprised with how easily Dean took all the demigod stuff. Even demigods tended to have a more visceral reaction the first time they witnessed shadow-travel.

“Yup,” Will answered simply.

Dean stared at the space where Nico had disappeared for a moment with a thoughtful expression for a moment before commenting, “I can’t lie, I was expecting something a bit more …..showy.”

Nico had literally just stepped into a shadow and disappeared, Will thought that was about as showy as it could get. What had Dean been expecting? Fireworks? Will let that go because that really wasn’t the point worth discussing. “It feels more …complicated.” That was a woefully inadequate description of shadow-travel in his limited experience. As a child of Apollo, Will thought he had a pretty good way with words but he knew he would never be able to truly describe what it felt like to shadow-travel so saying it felt complicated would just have to do.

“You’ve…?” Dean questioned looking at him with clear surprise while pointing toward the shadows that had served as Nico’s exist.

“Nico’s birthday,” Will explained easily smiling a little at the happy memory. “It really wasn’t bad at all, it just felt very…. _different_.”

“Oh,” Dean nodded like the answer was more than a sufficient answer. Will nodded in return happy that he wasn’t expected to further explain that. He knew he couldn’t he doubted there were even words for it. Shadow-travel was sort of like being twisted and turned on a spiritual level as well as a physical one, and that may have sounded unpleasant, but it really hadn’t been. Will actually hadn’t really noticed it had happened until it was over.

There was another stretch of silence although this one felt pretty natural. Dean took advantage of the quiet to move further into the room, grabbing Will’s desk chair, and turning it so it was facing Will where he was still seated on the edge of his bed. Dean dropped himself into the chair unceremoniously and asked what had to be the most unexpected question Will thought was possible, “So, have you talked to Nico about prom yet.”

“No, why would I?” Will replied too quickly and more defensively than intended. He shifted uncomfortably and the bed creaked far louder than it had any right to. The topic of Junior/Senior prom had already started floating around the school (and their group of friends thanks to Ruby and Nora) and Will really didn’t get it. It was only February, prom wasn’t until April, and there was spring break between then and now.

He expected to get questioned about it by Ruby and Nora, those two couldn’t help themselves but he didn’t expect it from Dean. Dean hated formal things, which considering his previous experience with formal dances made a lot of sense. Will wasn’t going to question Dean about what he and Felix were planning to do for prom (now or ever). He just figured they would end up hanging out at Felix’s place, so why was Dean questioning him on this. Will looked down at his hands before pointing out, “It’s months away.”

“And you’re going to want to go,” Dean stated so matter-of-factly it was a little ridiculous. Sure, Will and Dean knew each other pretty well but it wasn’t like Dean could read Will’s mind. “Why not talk about it now.”

“I’m really not dead set about going,” Will replied with a shrug to show how much he really didn’t care about it. Why would Will even care about prom? It was just getting dressed up in uncomfortable, fancy clothes you normally wouldn’t wear (and usually had to rent) and all to spend the night in a high school gym listening to bad top 40s music. Sure, it was one of those coming of age things most teens did, but Will was a demigod he was used to missing out on things most people did.

“You are so full of it,” Dean scoffed dismissively. “You’re going to want to go, we both know it.”

Will sighed. Sometimes Will wished Dean didn’t know him quite so well. It was stupid, and he knew it, but he did kind of want to go. He had missed out on his fair share of normal high school thing because he was a demigod, or he just didn’t feel like he would fit in for whatever reason. He wasn’t necessarily sure if he would fit in at prom either but, and this might have been shallow, he had a really hot boyfriend that would look incredible in formal wear and he wanted to show him off a little. “It’s not exactly Nico’s type of thing,” Will admitted with a shrug. It was an over-simplification, but it was still a good summary of at least some of the reasons Will was feeling reluctant.

“Will,” Dean stated seriously. “You’re an idiot if you don’t know Nico would go just because it’s important to you.”

“No, I know. I just…” Will stammered. Was what he supposed to say? It was one thing to be openly gay in a southern high school, but it was another to bring your boyfriend to prom. Nico would handle bigotry about as well as could be expected for a child of the underworld which is to say someone would probably end up injured and it wouldn’t be Nico. Then, of course, there was that rise in monster attacks to worry about especially with Nico around. It was so far away Will just didn’t want to think about it, “Why are we even talking about this?” He questioned sincerely. “It’s like three months from now.”

Dean shrugged, “It’s important.”

That was debatable. At least he could take advantage of how well he knew his cousin because it was more than obvious that Dean was trying to push the conversation on to Will and away from himself. “More like your avoiding talking about your crisis,” he scoffed. Typically, Will would let Dean avoid whatever it was for a little longer but he was done talking about prom and Dean had interrupted his time with Nico so he wasn’t feeling particularly sympathetic.

Dean rolled his eyes and huffed before admitting, “Maybe a little.”

“Just tell me your story isn’t being optioned for a movie deal,” Will commented only about half-serious. “I have had enough bad news for one day.”

“Funny,” Dean declared without amusement. “But that’s not even close.” Dean shifted in Will’s desk chair. He looked suddenly tense and only seemed to grow more so as he squirmed in his seat. It was a little strange to see Dean so visibly out-of-sorts, Dean was usually so calm about just about everything Will didn’t think he had ever seen his cousin look so uncomfortable about anything. Will was starting to worry and was ready to ask Dean if everything was okay when Dean let out a long breath that sounded like a balloon slowly deflating. “This is so beyond uncomfortable,” Dean explained as he dropped his head a little and mused his hair a bit. “But I kind of need your advice.”

“Okay…?” Will stated uncertainly. He wasn’t sure if Dean had ever actually asked for his advice before, and if Will was being honest it felt weird. “Go ahead,” Will offered trying to sound as supportive as possible.

Dean looked at him critically for a few seconds before explaining, “It’s sort of about sex.”

“Oh,” Will blinked with surprise. If Dean had ever come to him for advice before it certainly hadn’t been about that. “Um, are you and Felix…..um….ya know?” Will really didn’t want details about his cousin’s sex life (especially considering it would involve Felix), but he couldn’t actually tell Dean that.

“No, not yet,” Dean answered as he pushed his fingers through his hair again. “But, I mean, we’ve been together for close to two months now. It’s going to happen eventually.”

Had Dean and Felix really been together for two months? It didn’t seem like it had been that long, but at the same time, it felt like the two had always been together. Will guessed it was just hard to keep track since on the day to day not a whole lot seemed to have changed between the two. They both still seemed to be touching each other constantly although now it seemed a bit more purposeful and the touches seemed a bit more lingering. Felix was slightly less abrasive than he once had but Dean was pretty much the same as he always had been (maybe a little happier in general). Will might not have expected it but the two seemed to work as a couple, even if Felix still wasn’t his favorite person.

“I thought you guys were taking it slow?” Will questioned. In all fairness, knowing his cousin’s sexual history, two months was practically glucaric he just didn’t know if he was actually ready to hear about Dean and Felix having sex. Probably not the most supportive thing ever but Will couldn’t help it.

“We were,” Dean sighed before adding with much more conviction. “We are.” Dean raked his fingers through his hair rather brutally. “It’s just…..I want to be ready, ya know, when it happens.”

That had been, by far, the less eloquently put statement Will had ever heard his cousin speak. “Um…okay?”

“I just…” Dean stopped clearly trying to find the exact words for what he was trying to communicate. He was obviously not finding them either which as the silence stretched on Dean’s expression became more frustrated and then he started making odd hand gestures, most of which Will didn’t know the meaning of. Will wasn’t sure if Dean actually found the words he was looking for or if just gave up but either way, he started talking again. “I’m unsure of the logistics of things.”

“Um……” Will was maybe seventy-five percent sure of what Dean was getting at and he was one-hundred percent sure he did not want to talk to Dean about that. It was weird enough when Jason had called him to ask pretty much the same thing, but Dean was like his brother. “I’m not sure exactly what you mean,” Will stated hoping he was wrong about what Dean seemed to be asking.

Dean let out another heavy sigh. “Ya know, the-” Dean squared his shoulders and started with the hand gestures again which were still vague and relatively unhelpful. Again, Dean failed to find the words he was looking for and gave up with a loud huff. “I just need to make sure it’s good, ya know?” Dean explained with a surprising amount of vulnerability in his voice seemingly out of nowhere. He slumped a little in his chair before stating, “It’s Felix’s first time, so I need to make sure it’s good.”

Will paused for a second not sure if he should actually comment on the little tidbit of information Dean just let slip. He knew he should just glaze over that, but it was so unexpected he couldn’t help but ask, “Felix’s first time?”

Dean had been staring off apparently lost in his own thoughts until Will asked that, and then he immediately snapped to attention. “What? No,” he first questioned then denied, but too quickly to be interpreted as anything but a panic response. “I didn’t say that,” Dean declared. “It will be our first time, like together, that’s what I said.”

“No, you didn’t,” Will pointed out matter-of-factly. “You very clearly said Felix’s first time when you were rambling there.” Why was Dean acting like this was such a big deal?

“I …. ay….” Dean stammered nervously. “Can we just…. Could you just…..?” Dean sighed and slumped down even further in his chair before bringing his hands up to scrub at his face with his palms. When he let his hands fall he requested sounding exhausted, “Dude, that’s not the focus right now.”

“I guess, I just…” Will was about to say he was surprised but having given it some thought it actually did make some kind of sense. Will had just never given Felix’s sexual experience much thought because why would he. “Well, guess Felix being a virgin makes sense.”

“I did _not_ say the word virgin,” Dean corrected emphatically. “And that _really_ isn’t the focus right now.”

Will stared at his cousin for a second. From the start of this conversation, Will had recognized that Dean was nervous but now he was starting to see it was more than nervousness. Dean was genuinely anxious and the why was interesting. Dean was always pretty casual about relationships, and every girl he had dated in the past had been older than himself and experienced sexually. Will could understand where taking someone’s virginity would be a big deal (it had felt that way to him when he and Nico had first had sex and it had been his first time as well). It was probably not the time to point out that Dean’s anxiety on the subject was pretty adorable.

Instead, Will decided to take a more cautious route and asked, “So that’s not why you’re freaking out and acting all weird?”

“I’m _not_ acting all _weird_ , and I’m really kind of over being accused of that” Dean replied far more defensively than Will would have expected. Will was guessing there was a story behind that reaction but didn’t get a chance to ask. Dean shook his head dismissively. “This was a horrible idea,” he stated grimly as he stood up. “Just forget it,” Dean sounded disappointed as he waved at Will dismissively and started for the door.

“No, Dean, wait,” Will called climbing to his feet in preparation to chase after his cousin if necessary. “I want to help.”

Dean actually stopped and turned with a heavy sigh. Before Dean could say or do anything else before the sound of the front door opening carried up the stairs followed quickly by Will’s mom voice. “Will! Dean! Come help with the groceries!” Naomi called before quickly adding, “And Nico too if he’s visiting!”

The both glanced toward the door of Will’s room before once again looked at each other. Will gave his cousin an apologetic look as he tried to think of something to say like to promise they could talk about this later (even if Will didn’t completely want to). Dean beat him to it, “Dude, seriously don’t worry about it,” he assured with a small smile. “You’ve got your own shit to deal with.” He offered which wasn’t wrong but still didn’t mean that he could be there to support his cousin too. Dean corked his head to one side and his smile took on a wicked edge. “What do you serve a god for dinner anyways?” he questioned teasingly his smile only getting bigger as he added, “Dude, what if Hades is vegan?”

“Asshole!” Will couldn’t help but laugh as he pushed his cousin toward the door so they could help his mom bring in the groceries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your continued support!
> 
> Happy Holidays!


	59. The meeting of Worlds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Day y'all. I'm back!
> 
> I hope all of you that celebrate had a nice holiday!

Nico stepped out of the shadows and onto Will’s front porch just as the sun dropped behind the horizon. Standing at the front door he took a moment to adjust his shirt and straighten his belt. Nico knew he had no reason to be nervous. He had already met Will’s mom, she seemed to like him, and it wasn’t like he cared about Hades’ opinion. Part of him still felt nervous, probably because Austin, Mitchell, Percy, Jason, and pretty much everyone else he told about the dinner acted like it was this huge deal.

It felt weird to be shadow-traveling to Will’s front door instead of Will’s bedroom which probably didn’t help the surreal sense that seemed to fill the air. Nico had almost just shadow traveled to Will’s bedroom anyways, it would have been easy enough to explain away. Nico shadow traveled there so frequently, at least once or twice week, it was practically a reflex.

Nico wanted a moment or two alone with Will before the night really started if for no other reason than to try to help Will relax a little. It had taken over a month to get the dinner all planned out, and Nico swore Will got more anxious about it by the day. When they had spoken the night before (Will wouldn’t let him shadow-travel because what if Hades somehow _knew_ ) Will was in a complete panic.

What had stopped Nico was simple, Will’s mom. An unexpected and pleasant side-effect of Dean’s little story (that Will and Dean both wouldn’t let Nico read for whatever reason- it was very annoying) was Naomi seemed to be trying to accept some of the demigod stuff more than she ever had before. That being said, she still had a long way to go before she was completely comfortable with all of it especially something as extreme as shadow travel. If it was just a regular date night Nico wouldn’t have worried about it, but since Will’s mom was expecting him he thought it would be better if he used the front door.

Nico took one deep breath before ringing the doorbell. He heard the metallic sounds the bells issued through the house even from outside, followed quickly by rapidly approaching footfalls. No more than a minute passed between Nico pressing the bell and the door being pulled open revealing Will backlit in a soft white light. “Hey,” Will greeted softly. Nico was pretty sure he could feel the anxiety radiating off his boyfriend in waves, but he still looked good.

Will was clearly trying to meet someone’s definition of presentable. His hair looked neater than normal, which considering Will sometimes got too busy to even be bothered to brush it, that wasn’t all that hard. Still, if Nico didn’t know better he would have said it looked like he had tried to style it. His clothes were pretty on spot on for Will just….newer. Will had always tended toward well-worn t-shirts and ratty jeans but standing in the doorway he was wearing dark slacks and a white shirt. He looked good but not exactly comfortable.

“Hey,” Nico returned with a smile before adding nervously. “It feels weird to ring the bell.”

“Yeah,” Will smiled at him genuinely. For a moment Nico could see some of the tension Will was carrying slip away. “I don’t think you’ve ever done that before.”

Before Nico could think of anything to do besides blush bashfully Will’s mother’s voice carried from somewhere beyond the door. “Are they here?” Naomi called questioningly.

“No Ms. S-” Nico started but caught himself before he finished. He still felt like he was being disrespectful, but it made Will’s mom so happy when he called her by her first name rather than Ms. Solace. It felt like the least he could do. “No Naomi, it’s just me.”

Will’s mom appeared in the doorway, standing behind Will. Since her son towered over her she peeked around him. She was wearing an inviting smile as usual, and not for the first time, Nico thought how lucky Will was that he had such a nice mom. “Just you, that might be the silliest thing I’ve ever heard,” she declared brightly in her southern accent. Nico didn’t know how Will managed to avoid it, but he didn’t have the thick southern drawl like his mother. He definitely had an accent, and that southern sound did tend to crop up from time to time, but for the most part, it was subtle. On the other hand, there was no mistaking where Ms. Solace was from, and somehow the accent made almost everything she said sound more enduring. “Hi sweetie, your dad’s not with you?” she questioned looking at the dark space around Nico with interest.

“No, he and Persephone will be along in a little bit,” Nico explained with certainty even though he wasn’t. The gods were unpredictable, so he father could appear anytime from that very moment to hours from then, and Nico wouldn’t have been surprised.

“Oh,” Naomi actually sounded a little disappointed which was both sweet and not entirely unexpected. She might have been the only person actually excited about this dinner. Well, her and Hades. The last time Nico had gone to the underworld he was pretty sure he had caught the god reading a book about proper dinner etiquette. He honestly had no idea what to make of that, so he had decided just not thinking about was best. “Well, you’re not going to wait outside,” she insisted as she waved her hand at him to come inside. “Get in here so I can have a look at you.”

Nico looked at Will who just smiled back at him apologetically before stepping out of the way, so Nico could step inside. He really should have been used to it by now, but Will’s mom always fussed over him, Nico just wasn’t used to that kind of attention. As soon as he stepped through the door Naomi reached out to straighten his collar and smooth out his shirt. “You look sharp as always,” She declared with approval.

 _Was sharp a good thing? From the way Naomi said it, it sounded like a good thing_. Nico squirmed with discomfort. Compliments were still one of those things Nico just wasn’t good at, they went against his instincts to be quiet and unnoticed. “Thank you?” he managed.

Naomi gave a disapproving click of her tongue before turning to Will with a serious expression. “He still can’t take compliments I see,” she stated.

“I’m working on it, I swear,” Will defending as he shut the front door. Naomi gave a decisive nod at Will, the meaning of which was clear even if she didn’t say it out loud. She was clearly saying, _good, that’s your job as a boyfriend and I raised you to know that._

As nice as the attention being on someone else was, it didn’t last long enough for Nico to enjoy it. Naomi turned back to him, but this time it didn’t seem to examine Nico’s appearance or presence. Actually, and Nico couldn’t be sure, but she looked almost nervous. If she was, it certainly wasn’t to the level of sheer panic that Will was clearly feeling but she did look…. uncertain. “For dinner, I’m making fried chicken with collard greens and biscuits,” she explained. “Is that alright?” she asked the uncertainty becoming more apparent in her words. She looked between Nico and Will for a moment before asking with clear curiosity, “Do gods even eat? I wasn’t sure, with Apollo we spent plenty of time together, but food didn’t really come up,” she admitted with a bit of a shrug. “We were usually otherwise preoccupied”

“Mom, gross,” Will protested with clear distaste. “No one wants to hear about you and Apollo having sex.”

“I said nothing about sex,” Naomi defended.

Will rolled his eyes with clear disbelief. “It was clearly implied,” he declared with slight annoyance.

Watching the back and forth between Will and his mom was kind of nice, even if part of Nico couldn’t help but think about his own mother. His memories of her were fuzzy at best, but he was certain she would have whacked him with a wooden spoon if he dared even think of talking to her like Will had just spoken to his mother. Not that Will was rude, or even disrespectful, it was just a more playful affection the two had with each other. Meeting Will’s mom actually made Nico understand how Will could be this sweet, open person who was still no-nonsense when he needed to be.

Nico saw Naomi arch an eyebrow at Will, and Nico knew things could go one of two ways: Naomi telling Will something along the lines of minding his manners, or causally reminding him that her having sex with Apollo was why he was around. Nico figured it was best to at least try to be the chivalrous boyfriend, and swooped in to save Will from either fate. “Chicken is fine,” he offered reassuringly. “And the gods can eat mortal food when they choose to they just don’t need it for sustenance.”

“Good,” Naomi nodded clearly relieved before she turned to Will with a smile and slapped him lightly on the shoulder. “See, I’m learning,” she pointed out brightly. When Will had first explained to Nico that his mother knew next to nothing about Greek mythology Nico had been beyond surprised. He guessed he understand that for her before she met Apollo (and learned he was an actual god) but after, when she knew she was pregnant with a demigod how could she not look into things? Will didn’t really have a good answer to that question. Since then Nico had just grown to see that (willful?) ignorance as just one of Naomi’s enduring qualities. That seemed to change around Dean’s story (Nico seriously need to read that thing), Naomi suddenly seemed to want to know more about the gods. Nico thought it was kind of sweet, but based on the way Will rolled his eyes he had a very different opinion on the situation.

Naomi reached out and placed a gentle hand on Nico’s shoulder. The touch was soft and brief, and something that would have probably made him cringe a year ago, but at this point, Nico was used to it. The Solaces were just touchers, it was an indisputable fact that Nico had adapted to. “You’ll have to excuse me.” She stated apologetically. “I better go check on the chicken,” she informed before letting her hand drop from Nico’s arm and turning to smile at Will. “Let me know when they get here,” she stated. She walked halfway to the kitchen before turning back to them with what Nico was guessing was supposed to be a stern look, but she didn’t look like she believed in it. “And behave,” she declared with more conviction than Nico expected.

Nico blushed in spite of himself. He couldn’t help it. He hadn’t been thinking about anything particularly scandalous in the moment, but he couldn’t help but think of all the times Naomi had been right (and not listened to) to make such a demand. The number of times Naomi had told them to keep Will’s bedroom door open in a stern voice only to not be listened to or worse, the door would stay open slightly and they definitely didn’t behave.

“Yes, ma’am,” Will replied with the same cheer he always did when his mom said something like that. It did not help the heat Nico could feel burning his cheeks.

Naomi didn’t question it or further emphasize her point before turning and walking into the kitchen. Naomi always did stuff like that, and it was sort of like she and Will had an unspoken agreement. She did the socially appropriate parental thing and told them to behave, but really let them carry on as long as they showed her the respect to hide it. It was strange, and something Nico would have never expected, but it was kind of nice.

Nico waited until Naomi disappeared into the kitchen to speak hating that he could still feel himself blushing a little. It was beyond silly to feel bashful around Will, but he couldn’t help it. He looked down at his hand as he spoke with a modest sort of sincerity, “You look nice.”

“You sure?” Will asked with clear disbelieve. He started picking at his shirt and looked down at it critically. “I was thinking I’d change my shirt, this one isn’t nice enough.”

Gently, Nico brushed Will’s hands away from his shirt before smoothing out the fabric with his own hands. “It’s fine, perfect,” he assured. “Like you.” 

“Wow,” Will exclaimed his face immediately lighting up with a bright smile. “That was so cheesy,” he offered. “I love it!”

“Good,” Nico chuckled a little as he took a half a step into Will’s space and brought his hand to rest gently on Will’s crest. “That was the point.”

Will’s smile changed ever so slightly from bright and carefree to something different, still good, but definitely different. Nico pushed up slightly on his toes, so he could place a soft kiss on Will’s lips. While Will kissed back immediately it took him a few seconds before Nico felt Will relax into the embrace.

Nico wouldn’t lie, feeling Will relax at his touch and practically melt against him was nice. That was probably why when the doorbell rang, and he felt Will immediately grow tense again and pull away from his lips he growled with frustration.

Will’s eyes flicked toward the door, panic visible in his eyes like he expected Hades to burst into the door and smite him on the spot. That wasn’t going to happen, Nico had pretty much made sure of that. It had actually been surprisingly easy since Hades had been obsessing about the proper etiquette for the evening all Nico had to do was point out the importance of knocking and not just walking in. Telling Will that probably wouldn’t make him feel better, still Nico wanted to do something to comfort his boyfriend. He patted Will’s chest fondly, and stated reassuringly, “It’s going to be fine.”

“If me throwing up is fine, then yes, it is going to be fine,” Will whimpered, and he did look a little green if Nico was being honest.

“Please don’t,” Nico faked flinch of disgust. He doubted Will could become physically ill, even from nervous, being a son of Apollo and everything. Even if Will did, Nico would have been happy to hold back his hair as he let it out. Maybe it was too much time spent with Mitchell, but he didn’t think saying any of that out loud would make Will feel better. Humor seemed like a better option. “It would be _very_ not sexy.”

Will pushed his fingers through his hair and let out a small laugh. “Can’t have that,” he replied with clear amusement.

Nico hadn’t heard Will’s mother re-enter the room until she spoke catching both he and Will completely off guard. “You two are really going to just stand there making googly eyes at each other and make me get the door?” She questioned sounding a bit exasperated although not as much as she probably had the right to be.

“Sorry, mom,” Will mumbled bashfully as he took a half a step back away from where Nico still stood. As much as Nico wanted to stop him he realized Will had probably right to put some distance between them. Hades had promised to be on his best behavior, but he was still a god, a temperamental one at that. Nico really couldn’t predict how he would react to walking in and finding he and Will practically pressed together.

“I’ll get it, Naomi,” Nico offered before taking a few steps toward the door and increasing the distance between himself and Will.

Naomi tried to shoe Nico back as she continued on her path toward the front door. Normally, Nico would have obeyed the gesture from Will’s mom, but this time he ignored her and sped his effort to reach the door first, aware that Will was right behind him. How it turned into a semi-fight for who would actually open the door, Nico had no idea, but at least he won. Pulling the door open with Naomi and Will standing at his back he revealed Hades and Persephone standing on the other side of the door.

Hades was dressed like the world’s wealthiest undertaker in an all-black suit with matching dress shirt and a black silk necktie. The clothes and general air of darkness that typically hung around the god would have been enough to make him look intimating, and his stiff posture just added to it. Persephone stood next to her husband in almost comical contrast to everything that Hades was. It was kind of hard for Nico to make out all of the goddess as she was carrying a ridiculous large boutique of flowers that had no busy in the American south this, or any, time of year. From what Nico could see she was wearing one of those flowy, gauzy dresses with a flowery pattern on it that Nico knew she tended to favor. She was looking at the house around the absolutely ridiculous boutique of flowers in her hands with a childlike delight.

 _Why did I agree to this_ , Nico wondered with annoyance.

“Hello,” Hades greeted with the rigidity and formality one would expect from someone at a funeral, not a friendly meeting. 

 _What had his mother been thinking_ , Nico wondered as he stared at his socially awkward godly parent. “You’re late,” Nico pointed out flatly. In all reality, Nico didn’t actually remember them ever discussing a time but that didn’t matter. It was more about maintaining at least some control over the situation by knocking Hades off guard. Hades winced with guilt which should have felt like a victory, but Nico couldn’t really enjoy it because behind him he heard Will whine nervously.

“Oh, stop being dramatic,” Naomi declared, swatting Nico’s shoulder as she spoke. “I just finished cooking,” she assured with genuine cheer. Nico was starting to get at least one of the reasons why Will was so nervous about this whole thing; his mom was honestly too nice and sincere to suffer through dealing with the gods (how she had ever dealt with Apollo Nico would never understand). “I’m Naomi,” she introduced herself (rather unnecessarily). From the corner of his eye, Nico saw Naomi pat Will’s shoulder proudly as she continued. “Will’s mom, I’m so glad you could make it.” Naomi sounded so sincere (because she probably was) it was beyond enduring, and it was probably the first time Hades had heard anyone say something like that to him and mean it in a while. “Please come in,” she declared somehow managing to gesture for the two gods to enter while simultaneously shoeing both Nico and Will away from the door.

Nico didn’t really like it, but without saying a word Naomi managed to make it clear Nico didn’t have much choice but to move from the doorway. Will stepped aside as well but didn’t seem particularly bothered about putting some distance between himself and the god of the underworld.

“Thank you,” Hades declared still speaking with far too much formality as he stepped through the door. Persephone was right behind him, and Nico really had to work hard to hide his surprise that the ridiculous bundle of flowers and other greenery she was carrying managed to fit through the door. Nico took a half a step toward the front door to shut it, but before he could Hades snapped his fingers to close the door.

Nico didn’t have to look to know the action caused Will to practically jump out of his skin. The floor shook, Will startled so severely. Nico wasn’t the only one to notice the reaction either, Naomi sent a brief, concerned look in Will’s direction before returning her attention to her guests. Hades didn’t look, he very obviously and very purposefully didn’t look, but Nico saw the little smirk that spread across Hades’ thin lips.

Nico glared heatedly at his father and hoped the god noticed. Someone did, it just wasn’t Hades, it was Persephone. It happened so quickly Nico couldn’t even be one hundred percent sure he was right about what he thought he saw. The flower goddess looked over at him for the briefest of seconds, made eye contact, winked, and turned back to Naomi. “Your house is so cute, I love it!” Persephone declared with glee as she somehow managed to look around the wild boutique at the Solace house’s modest living room with clear delight. “We brought flowers,” she added holding out the bundle like there really was any question about what she was referring.

“They’re lovely, thank you,” Naomi accepted the boutique which managed to look even more absurdly oversized in her grasp. Will’s mom was actually a rather petite woman which was hard not to notice when she was standing with Will who was just ridiculously tall or even Dean who wasn’t nearly as tall as Will (but still taller than average) but with Persephone’s flower bundle in hand, she looked fragilely small. Naomi inspected the flowers for a few seconds before turning to where Nico and Will were standing and held out the boutique. “Will, sweetie could you find a vase for these?”

Nico was a little surprised when Will actually moved to accept the bundle of tropical foliage without hesitation considering how frozen he had looked since the moment Hades had stepped through the door. It was a bit of a relief to see Will act at least a bit like himself. He looked at the large boutique skeptically in his hands for a long moment before stating doubtfully, “I can try, but I doubt we have anything big enough.”

Nico bit back the urge to snicker slightly. Will was probably right, Nico doubted most households had vases that large just sitting around. The dilemma was just so comically out of proportion that it reminded Nico a little of those horrible romcoms Mitchell always managed to trick him into watching. No one seemed to notice his probably inappropriate amusement which was probably for the best.

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” Naomi assured Will as she patted him on the shoulder. “You’re a clever boy.”

Will grumbled inaudibly under his breath which told Nico he didn’t necessarily agree with at least some of what his mother said. Agree or not, Will turned and headed toward the kitchen. While it was hard for Nico to suppress the urge to follow him it might have been for the best. Will handled problems the best when he was task oriented. The camp under attack, Will focused on delivering a baby. In the middle of the Battle of Manhattan Will focused on saving each patient he could rescue. Finding a comically large vase might not carry the same level of intensity as those things, but it was still something Will could focus on which wasn’t panicking about Hades.

Persephone took a moment to watch Will walk toward the kitchen. But it was more than just a passing glance, she admired him as he left the room, like to the extent if she was a male Nico would have felt threatened. Before when Persephone had winked at him Nico had felt a bit of relief like he had an ally in this whole thing, but now his bubble was officially popped. Gods (all of the gods) could not be trusted to behave themselves. If Persephone did him one favor it was waiting until Will was well out of the room and definitely out of earshot to actually comment. “Good looking and smart,” the flower goddess declared brightly before turning on Nico to add, “He’s quite the catch.” She winked again and this time it was clear that she had an entirely different meaning than before.

Nico’s whole face practically erupted in fire. He was beyond embarrassed. He couldn’t even manage to be angry with the goddess for checking out his boyfriend he felt so flustered by the comment. He ended up ducking his head to hide his reaction, knowing he was probably the color of a tomato.

No one seemed to notice Nico in his current state of embarrassment or at least they pretended not to which Nico greatly appreciated. Naomi let out a nervous little laugh. “Well, I did what I could but, honestly, Will made it easy,” she stated with clear pride. “He had always been a well-behaved child.”

Nico was actually a bit startled when Naomi reach down and patted his shoulder. It wasn’t her touch that was unexpected even though he knew she had tried to be especially mindful about touching him after Will had told her about some of his past she was still just a physically affectionate person. Nico was actually used to her shoulder or cheek patting, and he certainly didn’t mind, it was just in this moment he didn’t know where it was coming from. “I’m just so glad he found Nico. They are obviously so good for each other,” she explained sounding so…genuine. Nico didn’t dare actually look, but just from the sound of her voice he was sure if he did she would look weepy. Nico didn’t even know how to begin to think about that. He was definitely embarrassed but also flattered.

After giving Nico’s shoulder a quick squeeze Naomi let her hand fall and went back to addressing the two gods in a less affected tone. “You did a wonderful job with him,” She stated. Nico understood that was probably something people just said to other parents, but he couldn’t help but cringe a little at the misstep. Whoever was responsible for the man he had become, or was becoming, it certainly wasn’t Hades or Persephone. He wasn’t the only one that seemed to recognize the fault as Hades visibly flinched at the statement, and Nico saw Naomi tense as she recognized her own error. Nico turned toward Will’s mother to see her jaw work for a moment as she clearly tried to find the best way to address it.

A few seconds, which might as well have been a decade by the feel of it, before Naomi gestured toward Hades weakly and stated, “Well, not you personally.” Her eyes drifted toward Persephone before adding, “And I guess not you really either.” Nico went to say something, anything really. He was sure this whole conversation was careening toward the general disaster Will had been so concerned about. His mind was a complete blank, not that it mattered. He barely got out one meaningless vowel sound before Naomi let out a nervous laugh before continuing, “I’m sorry. I’m rambling.” Apparently rambling nervously was a Solace family tradition because Nico had seen Will do it more than once although, in all fairness, Naomi seemed to recover from it a lot more quickly than Will usually did. She waved it off, and her perfect hostess smile before asking, “I can get you something drink? You must have had a long trip from the underworld.”

“How gracious,” Hades mused as he found Naomi especially quaint. It was about half a step from being opening condescending for which Nico shot the god a warning look.

“Oh, we’re fine,” Persephone replied quickly and sincerely with a bright smile.

“But thank you,” Hades added actually sounding like he meant it this time.

“Of course,” Naomi replied with a customary nod before tilting her head to one side with a look of sincere interest. “You are going to forgive me, but I’m just curious,” she prefaced before continuing, “how does one travel from the underworld?”

Nico didn’t know why, but Hades almost looked relieved at the question. Maybe he was just happy it was a question he could easily answer, but it was Hades so who really knew. Whatever it was Hades responded quickly and matter-of-factly, “Shadow.”

“Oh,” Naomi declared brightly. She looked between Nico and Hades for a moment before observing. “So that’s genetic.”

“Gods don’t have DNA,” Will corrected matter-of-factly as he re-entered the room from the kitchen with the outrageous boutique of flowers still in hand. “But yeah, it’s sort of like that,” he offered almost as an afterthought before holding up the flowers with an uncertainty expression. “Where am I putting these? I don’t think it will fit on the kitchen table.”

Naomi went to gesture somewhere. Nico wasn’t really sure. He didn’t really give her a chance to speak before letting out an involuntary groan. “Will,” Nico pitched his noise partially as a sign of exasperation and partially, so he didn’t have to look at what Will had put the flowers in. Apparently, Will had been correct in that there wasn’t a vase in the house large enough for the absurdly large gathering of flora which was reasonable considering, but Will’s solution was equally ridiculous. Will had cut the top off one of those plastic jugs that half gallons of milk normally came in, added some water, and shoved in the boutique. He gestured toward the ridiculous display in Will’s hands and stated, “No.”

A look of genuine confusion spread across Will’s face (Will may have been the only person on the planet how looked hot when he was confused, it wasn’t fair). “What?”

“Just” Nico sighed heavily and gestured with more force at the makeshift vase in Will’s hand. “No.”

“What?” Will repeated the question although this time he seemed more defensive than confused than confused as he looked at the mutilated plastic jug filled with flowers in his hand. “It works.”

“Maybe,” Nico agreed reluctantly as he released his nose from the pinch he had been holding it in and let it drop to his side. “But it’s hideous.”

Will shrugged like that didn’t really matter. “It’s not exactly aesthetically pleasing, but it does work which is ultimately the point.”

Nico blinked at his boyfriend a few times trying to process what Will had just said. It was a very Will thing to say. After all, Will spent most of the summer in a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, khaki cargo shorts, and lime green flip flops because they were his most comfortable pair. It didn’t matter that they clashed with his shirt. It wasn’t like Nico actually cared about stuff like that, and with Will, the mismatched and slightly disheveled look was part of the appeal, he liked it, but with other stuff, well, he did have eyes after all.

“Will,” Nico sighed as he managed to find the words. “They’re flowers, once you pull them out of the ground their whole purpose is to be aesthetically pleasing,” he pointed out with conviction. He was sure Persephone would back him up on that point. Will looked between Nico and the jug and back again clearly unconvinced. Nico didn’t think he could actually explain further, or, maybe he just didn’t want to try. Either way, his response was the same, he held out his hands and all but ordered, “Give, I’ll fix it.” Will looked mildly confused but held out the jug full of flowers for Nico to take. Nico didn’t hesitate, pulling the jug from Will’s grasp as he started toward the Solace family kitchen sure he could find something more acceptable than repurposed recycling. He was crossing the threshold into the kitchen when, without much thought, he called back to Will teasing more than anything else, “You’re such a bad gay.”

“I’m happy to defy stereotypes,” Will grumbled loud enough for Nico to hear. Based on the sounds of Will’s footsteps against the tiled floor Nico felt safe in assuming Will was only a couple feet behind him as he followed Nico in his path to the kitchen. Nico would never complain about being the center of Will’s attention and certainly didn’t mind the company, but he was a little surprised considering that meant that Naomi was left alone with Hades and Persephone.

Nico, unlike Will, had no concern regarding Naomi’s ability to hold her own with the two immortals. Being in the kitchen, he couldn’t make out the actual words, but he could still hear the chatty of voices coming from the other room.

Nico tucked one arm around the jug holding the ridiculous boutique while he started rummaging through the cabinets with his free hand. He was positive that Naomi had something that would work and be at least mildly less offensive on the eyes than Will’s milk jug solution, and when he opened the third cabinet he found he was right. Sitting on the very top shelf (annoyingly out of Nico’s reach) laying on its side was a large clear glass pitcher. Nico couldn’t see the whole thing, but he could see enough to know that the pitcher would work perfectly for the flowers in his grasp.

“Seriously, Will,” Nico shook his head as a show of disappointment as he looked at Will. “There is that-” he pointed up toward where the glass pitcher remained nestled on the high shelf. “-but picked this-” Nico held out the offending jug to accent his point.

Will smirked as he gave Nico an unaffected shrug. “I didn’t actually see that, but yeah,” he offered sounding a little amused. It was actually really nice to see Will acting a little bit more like himself instead of the bundle of anxiety he had been since Nico had arrived. The contrast between Will standing in the kitchen in front of him, and the Will that had answered the door for him a little while ago highlighted how wound up about this whole dinner.

Nico had planned to go back to camp after dinner was over, but now he was starting to think it would be a better idea if he stayed the night with Will. That way he could help Will unwind a bit because there was just no way all that tension was good for him. He made a mental note to ask Will’s mom if he could spend the night after Hades and Persephone left.

Nico played along for no other reason than to keep Will happy and distracted. “Truly horrible gay,” He teased before holding out the flowers in their ugly makeshift container toward Will and ordering, “Hold.”

Will gave him a confused look but accepted the jug full of flowers anyway with only an uncertain reply, “Okay?” With both his hands-free, Nico placed both palms flat on the marble surface of the countertop and used his grip to heave himself up onto the surface, so he was standing on his knees. “Wait, are you doing?” Will questioned nervously. Nico didn’t pause to look at Will. The nerves were more than evident in his voice. But really what was Will worried about, Nico falling? That wasn’t likely so Nico waved Will off and used his momentum to pull himself to standing so he could grab the pitcher from where it was sitting. He felt Will’s hand settle on the back of his calf just as Will began to speak his voice back to being more amused than nervous. “I could have just reached it, you know?”

Nico turned and looked down at Will completely prepared to tell him that just because he was short didn’t mean he was going to just rely on Will whenever he needed something off a high shelf, but he didn’t get a chance. Before he could do much more than open his mouth the chipper voices from the den got closer and closer signaling their parents approach.

Barely half a second passed before Naomi entered the kitchen with Persephone and Hades a half a step behind. “Fascinating,” Naomi chuckled, the statement seemed to be directed toward Hades although that hardly seemed to make sense (even if the god did look strangely pleased). As strange as it was Will’s mom and the gods already seemed to be hitting it off well, or at least it was what it looked like with Naomi smiling and all.

Of course, Naomi’s smile quickly faded as she turned and took in what Nico and Will were up to. Considering some of the other things they had done in that very kitchen they certainly could have been caught doing worse but still, Nico doubted a teenage boy standing on their kitchen counter would be something any mother wanted to walk in a room and find. “Oh, for the love of god,” Naomi sighed sounding slightly exasperated. “Nico, off the counter,” she ordered flatly as she gestured for him to get down. Nico didn’t hesitate in moving, climbing off the counter as quickly as he could manage without knocking over the flowers or inadvertently kicking Will in the face.

Naomi had barely waited for Nico to react before turning her attention to Will who unfortunately had immediately turned right back into a big ball of nervous as soon as Hades entered the room ( _thanks, dad_ ). “Will, start putting the food into serving dishes and on the table,” she ordered while gesturing toward the stove. Nico’s mind had been about a million miles away from food until it was brought up, but at the mere mention, his stomach growled with hunger. How he had ignored all the delicious food smells that were in the air until then was unknown. If for nothing else the evening would at least be good for a fantastic meal which was something.

Nico saw Will hesitate for a moment, eyes flicking nervously in Hades’ direction like he was afraid the god might smite him if he moved too quickly, before grabbing one of the serving dishes that were already resting on the counter and walking toward the stove. “Please take a seat, make yourselves comfortable,” Naomi suggested gesturing toward the table where five place settings had been laid out.

The sounds of chair legs screeching against the tile floor could be heard over the gentle woosh of water as Nico worked to fill the pitcher signaling that Hades and Persephone had in fact taken Naomi up on her suggestion that they sit. “Thank you,” Hades offered still being far too formal for the situation which really just added to the underlying awkwardness of the whole thing. The god had to have interacted with normal mortals in the last century, even if Nico’s mother was the last one, so why was he so bad at it?

“Can I get you something to drink?” Naomi still asked in good cheer. For someone who had been so anti-god magic that she practically forced her only child to run away and stay gone for a whole year, she was handling to gods sitting in her kitchen shockingly well. Nico turned in hopes of catching Will’s eye and conveying that thought to him somehow, but Will was too focused on his current task of bringing food to the table to notice. Naomi continued in her display of superior hostess skills as she started toward the refrigerator. “We have water, juice…” She pulled open the refrigerator door and immediately brightened before producing a dark glass bottle from its depths. “Or wine.”

Nico was genuinely surprised Will didn’t get whiplash he stopped so quickly in his path to the table with a basket full of biscuits in hand. He shot Nico a nervous look ( _did he look green?_ ) before turning to look at his mother with obvious concern. “Oh, I don’t-” Will started clearly working hard not to scream _no_ at the top of his lungs.

As Will seemed to be trying to find right words Persephone chimed in brightly, “Wine would be lovely.”

Nico couldn’t say he was surprised by Persephone’s reply. The gods have been around since the beginning of time and had been drinking wine since it came into being, Nico was pretty sure for them booze was like water. Will looked like a fish out of water gulping desperately for air, Nico could insist that everything was fine but that had been minimally effective so far, so he decided to just act like everything was normal and hope Will just picked up on the vibe. He shut off the faucet, pulled the pitcher out of the sink, and quickly transplanted Persephone’s bouquet from the ugly jug to its new home and pushed the fauna aside. “I’ll get glasses,” he offered as he reached for the cabinet where he remembered the wine glasses were kept. 

Naomi reached out and smacked his hand away from the cabinet before he could do much more than touch handle. Nico was so surprised by the sharp contact he let out an embarrassingly loud yelp, pulled back his hand, and stared at his boyfriend’s mother in complete shock. Naomi gave him a stern look in return. “Absolutely not,” she declared firmly. “You’re a guest, go sit,” She ordered all but pushing him toward the table where Hades and Persephone were sitting. He went to argue, Nico really didn’t want to just sit there with his sort of dad and technical step-mother while Will and his mother did everything. He didn’t get out a sound before Naomi intensified the force of her stern look and her shoeing gesture, “Go sit.”

Nico really didn’t like it, but he had more than enough experience with Will’s mom to know arguing was pointless. Begrudgingly, he abandoned his attempt to help and trudged to the kitchen table and dropped into a chair across from Hades. He didn’t miss how his father watched his movements with a mix of surprise and interest. As he sat down he glared at the god of the Underworld not that it would have any effect, but it was the principle of the thing. Hades turned toward Naomi who was now fetching glasses from the same cabinet Nico had been reaching for with absolute fascination. “You must teach me how you did that,” he declared pointing at Nico. “When I typically make a request of my son I am met with much more …. _resistance_.”

“They are never requests,” Nico corrected quickly although that was only a fraction of the problem. Whenever Hades had something for Nico to do it usually involved him popping up without warning, or pulling Nico out of something (like a good dream) and he never really had a choice in regards to doing the thing or not. That wasn’t even mentioning the fact that when Hades made a request it wasn’t something simple and easy like set the table for dinner it was more like take care of the rioting in Fields of Punishment. 

Hades ignored him, although in all fairness Hades probably saw the situation very different. Naomi chuckled good-naturally as she deposited two wine glasses on the table in front of the two gods. “Years of practice,” she offered as she began to twist a corkscrew into the bottle of wine. As she did Will slipped around her to deposit the last dish of food on the table before taking a seat next to Nico at the table. As annoying as Hades was being Nico couldn’t help but smile as he felt Will’s hand wrapped around his own under the table. Will was still obviously tense but did seem to relax some as soon as they touched. Their own little show of affection went unnoticed which was really for the best considering Hades seemed more than happy to scare Will to death.

The cork popped out of the bottle of wine with a loud wet sound which caused Will to jump slightly but not enough that anyone noticed which Nico was counting as a pretty good sign. Naomi reached for the closest wine glass and started to pour, the thick looking red liquid filling the bottom of the glass. “I’m a high school teacher,” She stated depositing a full glass of wine in front of Persephone before grabbing the empty glass from in front of Hades and begin filling that one too. “So, most of my day is getting sullen and angsty teenagers to do things they don’t want to,” she explained with a smile. Nico got the impression that she might not have been describing her favorite part of her job, but one she was well aware she was good at.

Hades accepted his now full glass and declared sincerely, “That sounds dreadful.”

Nico wasn’t sure what he wanted to do more palm his own face or slap Hades. It really sounded like he had just insulted Naomi’s chosen profession and considering Hades’ general views on mortals in general Nico wouldn’t be surprised if that was the intent. Naomi let out an amused little laugh which pretty much proved what Nico had suspected for a while, Will’s mom was actually a saint. “Well, it does have its moments, but doesn’t every job?” She questioned as she topped off her own glass of wine before setting the bottle on the table and settling in her chair at the head of the table. “I would imagine ruling the underworld even has its days.” She stated with a pointed look in Hades’ direction.

“Oh, my gods, mom!” Will exclaimed looking at his mother wide-eyed with horror. It probably didn’t help that Nico snickered slightly. He couldn’t help it, that had been pretty funny, and Will really didn’t need to worry. If anything, a comment like that would work well to endear Naomi to Hades.

Naomi chuckled quietly into her wine glass as she took a small sip of her drink. Once finished she returned her glass to the table and reached out to pat Will’s arm reassuringly, “Sweetie,” she began, “Dealing with large groups of _alive_ people can be practically unbearable, and I can’t imagine they get any better when they are dead.”

Hades actually grinned at that, which might have been a first even for Nico to see on the god’s face. It was definitely a good sign. “It certainly does have its days, as you put it,” he offered with sincere amusement.

Nico squeezed Will’s hand hoping to convey to Will that this was going well. Judging by the nervous look Will was (still) wearing he wasn’t convinced. Naomi seemed to have a similar motive as she patted Will’s arm again. “See, just adults talking,” she stated gesturing around the table as evidence of the point she was making. Will said nothing and took a sudden interest in his glass of water. Naomi turned toward Hades and Persephone with an apologetic expression “You will have to forgive Will he has been all worried about this for days.”

Saying Will had been panicking for days was a massive understatement, Nico knew that all too well, but maybe that was when it started to show to other people. Will squirmed clearly uncomfortable with the topic and the attention which Nico did feel a little guilty about it, but he really couldn’t do much about it at this point.

“Oh, that’s so sweet,” Persephone practically cooed with excitement. She reached across the table and patted Will’s hand reassuringly (Will sighed, Nico didn’t think he could be reassured at this point). “Don’t worry darling, Hades is going to be on his best behavior.” She shot Hades a pointed look and Nico wasn’t sure if she was still trying to reassure Will or if she reminding Hades of some promise he made at some point in the least subtle way possible. “Isn’t that right love?”

Nico really hadn’t been paying Hades much attention until that comment. He turned just in time to see Hades make a half-ass attempt to hide his clear pleasure at Will’s apparent fear. “Yes, dear,” he replied with barely fanned interest.

Nico glared because it was pretty much all he could do about his father’s behavior. Maybe Will had been right about this whole thing, and he should have tried harder to avoid this whole thing. Persephone clearly wasn’t happy with Hades either from the annoyed crock of her eyebrow she was aiming in his direction. “You could start by looking less pleased with yourself for scaring the poor boy,” she pointed out and if you just listened to her words it almost sounded like a suggestion, but her tone made it perfectly clear the god had no say in the matter.

Hades let out a heavy sigh, clearly disappointed. “Yes, dear,” he replied deflated all the amusement gone from his voice.

So maybe Nico had been wrong, Persephone may not have been the perfect ally in this situation, but she did seem to be one his side. “Thank you, Persephone,” Nico offered shooting Hades a look just to drive home some sort of point (maybe he was just being petty).  

“Oh, don’t worry he’ll be fine,” Naomi offered with a dismissive wave of her hand. Nico wasn’t sure who was more surprised by that comment, Will or himself. They both whipped their heads in her direction. Naomi was sipping her wine and once she finished she returned her glass to the table. “A little fear isn’t a bad thing,” she offered as an explanation in response to the visible surprise at least on Nico and Will’s part. Nico didn’t know if he agreed with that statement and he had plenty experience with fearful experiences. Naomi didn’t seem to notice as she turned to Hades and continued to explain, “You should have seen some of the things my father did to boyfriends.”

Nico was starting to understand Will’s initial reaction to the idea of wine. Hades clearly looked extremely pleased now that Will’s mom was practically giving him permission to bully poor Will. Nico was completely done with that, he wanted to have sex again sometime in the next decade and that wasn’t going to happen if Will was afraid Hades was going to kill him or something. He gave his godly parent a serious look and reminded in all seriousness, “And she ended up dating Apollo so that clearly didn’t backfire at all.”

That worked based on the expression of pure horror that spread across Hades’ face. Naomi hummed and shrugged indicating Nico had a point which was exactly the response Nico had wanted. “You do always run the risk of a wild teenage rebel,” Naomi told Hades matter-of-factly with a casual shrug like that was just the risk one takes. It was almost funny, or at least to Nico because if there was any demigod that Nico had ever meant that seemed least likely to rebel against his parents it was Will. “But I wasn’t nearly as bad as my young brother.”

Will coughed loudly and looked at his mother in surprise. Will hadn’t actually talked about his uncle much, besides for what he knew of Dean he didn’t know much. Naomi looked at Will surprised for a moment before apparently understanding what she had just said. She coughed too and ever so subtly pushed her wine glass further away before speaking. “So, considering present company saying grace seems a bit silly so maybe we should get started before everything gets cold,” she offered as she gestured toward the spread of food laid out on the table before them.

“Yes, lets,” Will stated far too eagerly as he reached for one of the serving trays. Nico understood the motive, food would give them something else to focus on and Will would clearly be happy if absolutely no attention was directed at him. Food was a much safer option. 

“Everything looks really delicious,” Hades offered quickly. He still sounded overly formal, but it had improved slightly. Nico couldn’t help but appreciate the effort he was putting forth.

“Yes,” Nico agreed with a bit of a nod to drive home the point as he released Will’s hand to start helping pass dishes.

“Oh, thank you,” Naomi replied. “Hopefully-” She was interrupted by the loud ding of the doorbell. Will stopped halfway through the motion of scooping greens onto his plate and looked toward his mother. The two Solaces exchanged confused look for a moment before Naomi asked, “Were we expecting someone else?”

“No, not that I know of,” Will replied. His eyes darted nervously toward Hades for a half a second before returning to his mother. “Should I get it?”

“No,” Naomi answered with a sigh. “I’ll get it.”

Naomi didn’t even get halfway out of her chair when the last person Nico had expected walked into the kitchen. “Hope you don’t mind,” Apollo declared leaning against the doorway like his typical cocky self. “I let myself in,” he stated pointing toward the door even though he obviously hadn’t actually used the door.

Will had been absolutely right, this dinner was a horrible idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


	60. Will's guide to impressing his boyfriend's Dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday Everyone!
> 
> Here is the second part of the dinner with Hades. I hope everyone likes it :)
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always welcome

Will had gone into the night thinking of dinner with Hades sort of like a battle. He had been hoping for the best; Hades finding his mother (and himself) to be up to whatever standard he had set so he could continue dating Nico with the God of the Underworld’s approval. Not that he would have stopped dating Nico if Hades didn’t approve, nothing would keep him from Nico, but Hades’ disapproval would have complicated things at the very least.

Hope for the best he did, but also, he was prepared for the worst or at least he thought he had. Will had been having nightmares about this night and all the possible ways it could go wrong since the first moment Nico had told him about it, so he really thought he was prepared. Strangely, the one idea that had never even crossed his mind, not even in his darkest of nightmares, had was Apollo showing up. After all, it wasn’t like Apollo had ever taken an interest in his life before unless Hades forced him to get involved. How could he be so unlucky?

Like it or not, prepared for it or not, there was Apollo, god of the sun, his father standing there in the doorway to his mother’s kitchen uninvited, unwanted, and completely oblivious. He was wearing his barely legal persona which made the whole thing so much more awkward.

 _Would it kill him to show up looking like he was in his thirties like a decent godly parent_ , Will wondered with frustration.

 Apollo was dressed like every self-absorbed guy from high school that Will hated (he could have easily fit in with Eric’s group of jock friends) with a dark pair of sunglasses which looked ridiculous because the sun had set well over an hour ago. To top it all off like the awful cherry on the horrible sundae of the evening Apollo was grinning like he was an honored guess making an entrance.

The shock must read on his face because Nico squeezed his hand comfortingly without a word. How his boyfriend was handling the situation any better than he was Will could never really understand. Maybe it was just that Nico had more experience in life or death situations.

The only person who seemed even more displeased to see Apollo walk through the door was Hades who openly glared at the other God. “Apollo” Hades greeted flatly not hiding his displeasure at the sun God’s arrival.

Apollo’s grin widened, and he leaned against the door jamb of the kitchen’s entryway. “Hey there, Uncle Hades, how it hangin’?” Will couldn’t be sure, but he thought the lights in the kitchen flickered slightly. He knew what that meant, the same thing happened whenever Nico got angry. His father was managing the piss off the one God Will actually cared to impress, Will was positive he was cursed.

 _Fan-fucking-tastic_ , Will thought.

You’d think after millennia of dealing with each other Apollo would recognize the signs of Hades’ anger, and be more wary of the elder god. Instead, Apollo turned to Persephone and smiled flirtatiously. “Persephone, looking as lovely as ever I see.”

Persephone smiled at the compliment and tussled her hair slightly with her hands. The whole display clearly only angered Hades more. _Is there going to be with God on God battle right there in his mother’s kitchen_ , Will wondered with horror.

“Apollo?” Will’s mother’s voice stammered out clearly shocked at the site of the god standing in her kitchen. It wasn’t often that Will heard his mother sound so uncertain he couldn’t help but turned to her. If he hadn’t already been angry about Apollo’s impromptu arrival before he would have been after seeing his mother’s face. In a word, Naomi look shattered.

“Naomi!” Apollo exclaimed excitedly obviously oblivious to the fact he had on his ex. Well, either he was oblivious, didn’t care, or worse yet he got some sort of thrill of seeing her so affected by his unexpected presence. It was probably the latter, Will seethed with rage at the simple thought. “You look-” the god took a moment to look her up and down before stating “Incredible.”

Objectively, Will knew his mother was attractive. That knowledge was kind of hard to escape since she was a teacher at his high school. Will still remembered the first time he heard someone describe his mother as a MILF, he had been completely horrified. If he wanted to look on the bright side he could at least say his father sounded sincere in his compliment but watching how Naomi blushed like a schoolgirl it was hard to look on the bright side. Instead, Will just wanted to punch his dad in the face.

When Will was young, before he knew who his father was, he didn’t give much thought to why his mom never seemed to date. He was a selfish kid and liked that it was just him and his mom. He remembered clearly the day she told him about Apollo, the look she got. Will had been too young to understand it at the time, but she had spoken about Apollo with such affection and whimsy. She clearly still had feelings for the god even after he deceived her and then abandoned her. That never seemed right to Will, and the horror stories he had heard from other campers really didn’t help. Too many campers, especially the year-around campers would tell about their mortal parent who was still so hung up on their godly parent that their life was in shambles and they epically failed at actually being a parent. The only bright side Will had been able to cling to when his mom had brought home Leonard was it meant she wasn’t waiting around for Apollo. The sun god showing up now seemed like the worst possible scenario, not just for Will’s dinner with Hades but for his mother, and her ability to move on with her life.

As strange as it was to even think he was sure his mother was trying to be flirtatious as she diverted her eyes and replied “oh, ah” she bit her lip nervously “Thank you.”

Apollo’s grin went from sincere to cocky, the expression was all too familiar. It was the same cocky “ _I got this because I’m awesome_ ” expression Will had seen from his siblings at camp a million times before. The reasons behind it varied depending on which sibling it was coming from, like Kayla making a perfect shot in archery or Austin picking up an instrument for the first time and playing it perfectly. No matter what the situation it was the same exact expression. Will hated to admit it, but he knew he was capable of it too. It didn’t matter that it was familiar, seeing the expression on Apollo’s face was somehow worse. Again, Will wanted to punch Apollo in the stupid smug face.

Apollo waved his hand dismissively, “No thanks necessary beautiful,” he declared casually. “It really has been far too long.”

Will watched with horror as his mother blushed and nervously pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I suppose it has,” she agreed sheepishly.

Rage churned deep in Will’s stomach. Much on their own, his hands went to curl into fists or at least attempted to. Lost in his own anger he had forgotten that he was holding Nico’s hand still. When his effort to make a fist was met with a gentle squeeze from Nico he turned in to see Nico’s dark eyes focused on him with clear concern. The sight was enough to bring him back to himself. He let go of some of the tension he was carrying although he was still quite angry. Turning back to the god standing in the kitchen doorway he questioned without even trying to hide his disdain, “Why are you here?”

“You’re doing the whole parents thing, right?” Apollo asked seemingly unfazed by Will’s apparent anger. Apollo strode into the room and draped himself on the only available chair. The fact that the chair sat at the head of the table only angered Will more. “Don’t worry,” Apollo offered picking slightly at the napkin that sat in front of him. “I figured my invite got lost the mail.”

“No,” Nico stated flatly and with clear disinterest. “You just weren’t invited.” Normally the level of attitude with which Nico spoke to the gods would make Will nervous. This was the first time he found himself actually thankful because Nico had said what he wouldn’t have dared but definitely was thinking.

Apollo didn’t seem bothered actually quite the opposite he grinned widely at Nico. “Cute and snarky,” he observed with clear amusement. He gestured between himself and Nico with an eyebrow corked suggestively, “You know, if you weren’t currently bedding my son we could have some fun.”

Will reacted for the nearest piece of cutlery (a fork) with every intention to use it to stab his father although he knew that it wouldn’t have any effect. Further, while Apollo was known for being a rather laidback god (for a god) that didn’t mean he wouldn’t smite Will on the spot for stabbing him. That was a risk Will was willing to take because Apollo had actually had the nerve to comment (even jokingly?) about sleeping with his boyfriend.

Nico caught Will’s hand before he could even begin to make a stabbing gesture as casually as if he was swatting a fly and removed the fork from Will’s hand. Nico dropped it back on table dismissively and looked toward Hades very purposefully not looking toward or acknowledging Apollo. “If you wanted to smite him or something,” he told his father gesturing off-handedly toward where Apollo was sitting still draped over the chair like some sort of boy king who was extremely bored with his subjects. “That would be completely fine.”

Will hadn’t even thought about Hades and his reaction to that statement. Once Nico made that comment Will couldn’t help but look toward the Lord of the Underworld and saw the god looked just a furious with Apollo as Will felt and he looked like he was seriously considering Nico’s suggestion.

Apollo noticed Hades’ dark interest, or maybe he just noticed how the lights had definitely dimed again. Either way, the sun god’s smile faltered noticeably, and he sat up a little like he was trying to look more respectable all of a sudden. “Whoa there!” Apollo exclaimed holding out his hands in his own defense. “No smiting necessary,” he stated looking between Nico and Hades for a moment before turning to Will and jutting his thumb in Nico’s direction. “Teach this one to take a compliment, would ya?”

Will didn’t get a chance to respond to that before he heard his mother hum, and he recognized the disapproving nature of the sound. Will didn’t have to look to be able to imagine the expression she was wearing. He had been on the receiving end of her disapproving teacher look enough growing up, maybe not as much as Dean but still enough. “While I agree with your sentiment I don’t think what you said qualifies as a compliment in the traditional sense,” she pointed out matter-of-factly.

Apollo shrugged like it was really neither here nor there, which it definitely was. A thick and uncomfortable silence feel across the room. Will was seething and trying to think of a way to make Apollo leave. Well, at least Will wasn’t so nervous he thought he was going to throw up anymore.

His mother was the one that to break the silence after it had stretched out for an obscene amount of time. “Well, since you’re here,” She began looking toward where Apollo was still sitting. She didn’t exactly sound enthused which Will guessed was a good thing. “You are more than welcome to stay for dinner if you’d like.”

“Mom!?!” Will protested immediately completely appalled at the suggestion. One look at Nico, and Will could tell his boyfriend wasn’t thrilled with the idea either but was trying to maintain his façade of not caring.

“Hush,” Naomi waved him off dismissively before turning to the other gods at the table. “That is, of course, if that is alright with both Hades and Persephone.”

“Absolutely,” Persephone replied quickly and brightly. Apollo grinned at her and winked in return. Will had to physically resist the urge to gag at the sight.

“I suppose,” Hades said after a quick look at Persephone with clear distaste at the very idea. He sighed and slumped slightly in his chair with a mix of annoyance and disinterest. Will would never actually say it out loud, but he couldn’t help but notice the similarities between Nico and Hades.

At that moment they were practically mirroring each other as they both sat slouched in their chairs brooding and disinterested. Will was used to demigods that looked at least a little like their godly parent, children of Apollo and Athena were especially notorious for it, but they were all subject to it to some extent, but Nico was maybe the first that seemed to have some of the mannerisms of his godly parent. Again, Will would never point it out to Nico, but it actually was a bit comforting for Will, seeing the similarities between Nico and his dad made Hades seem more approachable.

“Of course,” Apollo beamed with pride, already back to his overly confident frat guy persona. “Who wouldn’t want me around?”

Apollo clearly meant that question facetiously. Will knew it, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have to work hard to resist the urge to raise his hand in reply. He definitely didn’t want Apollo around. The god was a walking tornado of innuendo and inappropriate comments.

The mood around the table was more than obvious Will was sure of it. He certainly wasn’t hiding his displeasure and Nico and Hades where obviously sulking. His mother must have observed all of that and chose to ignore it. “Good, we’re all in agreement then,” she declared pushing herself out of her seat. “Apollo, let me get you a plate,” she stated as she stepped away from the table and started toward the cabinets.

“Thanks, Naomi,” Apollo called after her making no attempt to get up and get a plate for himself. Will immediately went to stand. He didn’t want Apollo there, but he wanted his mom waiting on the god even less. Apollo noticed the motion as soon as Will shifted in his chair and gestured for him to seat as he added to Naomi, “You always were a doll.”

Will sat mainly because while he might admire Nico’s defiance in the face of the gods, but he wasn’t brave enough to act that way himself. He guessed he could settle for fantasizing about punching Apollo in the face. Nico slipped his hand back into Will’s grip which was immensely helpful.

His mother retrieved another plate and placed it on the table in front of Apollo before returning to her chair. Everyone at the table seemed to settle back into fixing their plates even if the energy around the table had changed significantly thanks to Apollo’s arrival.

It was incredibly awkward as the passed dishes of food in utter silence. The only sounds came from the clank of serving utensils against dishes. It was actually painful, and Will seriously thought he might crawl out of his skin if it continued. Thankfully Nico broke the silence with a typical platitude (it was still nice). “Everything looks delicious M- Naomi,” he offered.

It was actually pretty cute how Nico caught himself about to call Will’s mom Ms. Solace instead of Naomi. He had been getting better about it, but Nico still wanted to call his mom Ms. Solace every now and then. Every time he did it he would get all flustered and blushy which was one of the cutest things Will had ever seen. It actually brought a little smile to Will’s face just seeing it.

“Thank you, sweetie,” His mother responded brightly. Will knew she was likely thanking him for using her first name as much as she was for the compliment. While Nico was raised with old-school formality as a show of respect his mom came from the southern school of thought which was much more….warm and fuzzy. Will knew it had driven his mom nuts that Nico wouldn’t just call her by her first name for the longest time. The first time Nico actually managed to call her Naomi he had been so awkward about it and his mom was so happy. It was such a heartwarming moment and a weirdly happy memory.

“Yes, quite,” Hades agreed with Nico’s sentiment with the same quiet formality that Nico had spoken with. Will was starting to find it almost eerie how similar some of Nico’s and Hades’ mannerisms were.

“Oh, thank you,” Naomi replied politely. “I was going to try to make something Italian, but for some reason, my pasta always comes out wrong. Will can attest.” She gestured toward Will as proof. Will nodded without thought in response. His mom was actually a pretty amazing cook the fact that Nico would practically eat his weight in her food every time he was over was a testament to that. That being said, even his mother had her limits, and for some reason, pasta was her limit. Homemade pasta was an absolute no-go, that had been learned the hard way, but even the boxed pasta was an iffy thing that worked maybe thirty-five percent of the time. “Not that you’re Italian originally,” She corrected quickly directing the statement to Hades. She almost sounded liked she was rambling, so maybe Nico wasn’t the only one that shared mannerisms with his parent. She continued gesturing toward Nico as she did, “but I know Nico was born there and that’s where his mother was from.”

Persephone stiffened visibly, and Will felt Nico very carefully not react to that comment which told Will that it affected him more than he would like. There might not have been a worse thing Will could think of his mom to say. “Mom!” Will protested with a pointed look shot in his mother’s direction.

“Maria,” Hades responded with a wistfully smile. It was really sweet that Hades seemed to still hold such affection for Nico’s mother even though she had passed away so long ago or at least that was how Will saw it. Persephone clearly had a very different perspective on the matter as she audibly huffed and rolled her eyes dramatically as her husband continued to talk. “Yes, she was, and a wonderful cook.”

 _This isn’t a good topic of conversation_ , Will thought, but he couldn’t think of a better topic. For some reason, the only thing Will could think of was the planet Pluto which Nico had told him specifically not to bring up. It was sort of ironic, Will had delivered a baby without freezing up for even a second but dinner with Nico’s dad had him completely frozen with panic.

His mother didn’t seem aware that she was going down a dangerous path of conversation. She looked at Persephone and Hades with a curious expression for a moment before asking. “How does that work exactly?” She gestured between Persephone and Hades. “You’re married,-” she pointed toward Nico, “-but you have-”

“Oh, my gods,” Will exclaimed in complete horror cutting his mother off before she could finish that question. Why couldn’t she just make normal small talk about the weather like a normal person? “Mom no!”

“I’m just curious,” his mother defended as she waved at Will dismissively. Will understood the gesture as her telling him to calm down which he most certainly would not be doing. His mother ignored him and turned back to the others at the table. “Forgive my lack of knowledge, but Apollo doesn’t have an immortal wife.” She paused for a moment and Will could see her slowly began to second guess herself on that. She turned toward Apollo who looked like he was just tuned into the conversation which made sense because they just started talking about him. “Right?”

“Yup,” Apollo replied with a satisfied grin. “I’m pretty much a free agent.”

Will couldn’t help but notice how relieved his mother looked at that reassurance right up until Nico snorted derisively. That caught pretty much everyone’s attention and they all turned toward Nico who was pushing food around his plate with his fork. “Yeah, you’re a free agent, if you ignore the oracle and the muses,” Nico pointed out with clear judgment in his voice.

Will’s mother’s eyes went wide with that information and she turned to Apollo with a surprised and questioning expression. Will knew that look all too well he had been on the receiving end of that look too much growing up. His mom was clearly expecting a very specific answer and anything else would result in ugliness. Will was absolutely positive Apollo would say the wrong thing, but there was nothing he could about it. Surprisingly, Apollo seemed to recognize the danger of the situation he just stepped in. He shrugged and shifted in his seat slightly. “Well, yeah, there is them,” he admitted clearly trying to downplay that bit of information like it was nothing (Will doubted his mother saw it that way). “but I’m not married, so I’m a free agent,” Apollo repeated his original point with a smile like that summed the topic up.

“I don’t think anyone with at least eight women connected to them can be considered themselves a _free agent,_ ” Nico argued matter-of-factly before popping a piece of fluffy biscuit into his mouth. The causal nature of the gesture seemed to accent the matter-of-factness of his statement. Will looked at his boyfriend with a pleading expression because he needed this conversation to stop for everyone’s sake. He didn’t understand why Nico was dragging it out. Nico just shrugged like it wasn’t a problem.

Nico so owed him so much for this entire dinner thing, ya know if Will actually managed to survive.

Apollo didn’t reply verbally instead just shrugged as if to say you got me there. Will looked at his mother and she looked completely horrified as she stared at Apollo like she was seeing him for the first time and wasn’t particularly pleased with what she was seeing. “Eight?” She questioned after a long pause clearly in disbelief. “Eight women?” She repeated like the mere words felt foreign in his mouth. “Has that always been the case?”

“Well,” Apollo shifted uncomfortably. “The muses have been around for awhile, but Rachel is new,” He explained before quickly (maybe too quickly), “And Rachel is great, don’t get me wrong, but it isn’t like _that_ , it never is with the oracle.”

There was half a second of silence and then Will noticed both his mother and Nico were about to speak and couldn’t imagine what either of them was going to say, or that it would improve the conversation in any way. He spoke quickly before either of them had a chance to voice whatever they were thinking. “We should talk about something else,” he pointed out rather desperately. His voice came out at least an octave higher than it normally was and his mouth was strangely dry. “Anything else.”

Anything had to be better than the conversation they were having Will was absolutely sure of it right until Hades coughed to draw everyone’s attention. Will turned to find the god’s attention focused solely on him with a critical expression. “William,” Hades said his name with the same grave tone Will imagined executioner used before stringing someone up at the gallows.  

 _Fuck_! Will had to resist the urge to crawl under the table to escape. His mouth was suddenly so dry it probably made the Sahara Desert look like the rainforest. He opened his mouth to respond but found he couldn’t make a sound. Next to him, Will heard Nico huff dramatically. “It’s Will,” Nico stated with a level of attitude that was impressive even for Nico. “Which of told you, multiple times.” Nico was playing the sullen teenager bickering with a parent perfectly. It was rather impressive for someone who had been an orphan for most of his life, but it was a little unnerving how seemingly average it was since most demigods don’t have an average relationship with their godly parent.

“Have you?” Hades questioned looking toward Nico with an expression of obliviousness that really had no right to be on the face of an immortal. From Hades’ tone, Will had no doubt that Nico had, in fact, told him that and Hades was purposefully ignoring that bit of knowledge. “I must have forgotten.”

“I doubt that,” Nico grumbled with discontent and began pushing his food around his plate with annoyance.

Hades kept his attention on Nico for a second like he was trying to figure him out. _Good luck,_ Will couldn’t help but think. He had been dating Nico for almost a year, had been friends with him for almost a year before that, and had a serious crush on him for at least a few years before that. If anyone could be called a Nico di Angelo expert Will was pretty sure it was him and still Nico found ways to surprise him. Hades interacted with Nico maybe a couple times a year, there was no way he would ever understand Nico.

“William’s fine,” Will offered weakly. It had come out so quiet Will wouldn’t have been surprised if it went unheard. It didn’t which Will wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not. Hades seemed to appreciate it if the slight of cooling of his steely glare was any indication, but the little-annoyed noise Nico issued told him that Nico didn’t appreciate it for sure.

“Yes, as I was saying William,” Hades turned his attention back to Will with a clear sense of victory as he did. Will couldn’t be sure, and he actually hoped he was wrong, but he thought he heard Nico growl under his breath. Hades didn’t seem to notice any hostility from Nico’s direction and continued unfazed. “Nico mentioned you will be going to college in the fall.”

Will blinked hard for a second and tried to process what Hades had just said. He really didn’t know what he had been expecting it but it wasn’t something so….. normal. It was the epitome of a typical dad thing to say. He didn’t actually know what he was supposed to say to that but as it turned out that didn’t really matter because Apollo chimed in before Will could get out a sound. “Wait?” The sun god interrupted with clear confusion. He pointed at Will and it was clearly more like he was trying to pin down a bit of information that he couldn’t quite remember. “Aren’t you the one that was into music?” Will was pretty sure he probably looked just as confused as he godly parent at this point because how could he even think that. How could Apollo not remember the role Will had played in the Battle of Manhattan? Apollo had actually rewarded him with his magical iPhone. Apollo tilted his head to one side like he was turning to figure out an especially complicated math problem. “Are you not anymore?”

“Never was,” Will replied quickly and with annoyance. He understood Apollo had probably more than his fair share of demigod children but still. Alright, maybe there was a time Will sort of considered music as a career when he was really, really young. Growing up with his uncle who was a professional musician it was almost impossible for him not to get into music at least a little and he did play a few instruments, but he had been a kid when he thought about doing that as an adult. That had gone out the window when he and Dean had been attacked by that monster and Will had had to heal Dean’s leg when he was eleven or twelve. He was pretty obvious about wanted to go into medicine since then. “Not seriously anyway.”

Apollo hummed curiously and questioned, “Who am I thinking of then?”

“Austin,” Will offered flatly. Off the top of his head, Austin was the one sibling he could think of that was the most musical, at least out of those that were still amongst the living.

“No,” Apollo shook his head in the negative as he was clearly still trying to figure it out in his mind. “That’s not it.”

Will stared at his godly parent for a second before admitting he had reached his limit of dealing with Apollo, at least on this topic. He turned back to Hades who had been waiting more patiently than Will thought a god was capable of. “I’m planning to go pre-med,” he explained matter-of-factly. “I was already accepted to Columbia and New Rome University.”

Hades barely reacted to that information, nodding and humming thoughtfully. Persephone on the other hand completely lit up. “How impressive,” She exclaimed with excitedly before she turned to Nico and added, “A doctor.”

“It is impressive,” Nico agreed firmly. Will didn’t dare look to his boyfriend, he could tell just from Nico’s voice what he would see: Nico beaming with pride. Nico always got all proud when talking about Will going to school and his career goals and his accomplishments. He understood the drive he got the same way when talking about some of the things Nico had done (Nico had done some amazingly impressive things). It didn’t matter if he understood it or not whenever Nico acted all proud of Will, he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. This wasn’t any different, Will could feel his cheeks burn as he started to blush and he couldn’t maintain eye contact with anyone at the table. Instead, Will took a sudden and intense interest in his plate of food that he knew he was never going to be able to eat. Nico’s hand slide to his leg just above his knee and squeezed reassuring as he continued, “We’re actually going to visit schools during Will’s spring break next month.”

“We’re?” Hades questioned critically.

Will’s head shot up because he could hear Hades displeasure in the god’s voice. He looked at Nico who was clearly trying to look unaffected although he clearly realized he had made a mistake. Fuck! Will had heard enough stories about Hades to know that the god was a bit removed from more modern mortal culture and could be old-fashioned, Will couldn’t imagine what Hades was imagining they were up to. “Yeah…,” Will stammered because he certainly wasn’t going to deny it and lie to a god. “Nico has been…” His mouth was now drier than dry, and he was actually surprised he was able to make noise his mouth was so dry. “Helping me look into schools.” That seemed like a completely reasonable thing to say and it was the truth or at least truth adjacent. Hades seemed to have a different opinion because when Will managed to work up the nerve to actually look toward the god of the underworld he could practically see the god imagining how he was going to torture him in the Field of Punishment. That was going to be a fun afterlife explaining to the other inmates why he was there. _Oh, you tried to feed the gods human flesh, well I had sex with Hades’ son_ \- not impressive.

The room suddenly felt unbearably hot and Will knew he was sweating which probably made him look even more guilty. “But I can just assure you nothing…” Will began to stammer in an attempt to clarify what he was trying to say. The problem was he didn’t actually know what he wanted to say. It wasn’t like he could say they weren’t having sex because they definitely were, and they would be over spring break. There was nothing wrong with that, but he wasn’t going to tell Hades that either. “Nothing tawdry will take place,” he assured. Hades just corked his eyebrow at him and didn’t seem at all convinced. The silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity, but in reality, it was probably only a few seconds before Will realized how that statement could have been interrupted. “That isn’t to suggest something… unseemly has already taken place…” Alright, now Will was getting close to lying which was just making him more nervous which was seriously negatively impacting his ability to articulate his thoughts and he knew it, but he couldn’t stop. “I certainly would never… It’s just…”

“Sweetie,” His mother reached out and patted Will’s arm reassuringly. He realized it was supposed to be a comfort, but it wasn’t. Still, the contact managed to get him to stop talking and start breathing.

“What Will meant to say is it is none of your business,” Nico offered sharply.

Will managed to swallow down the whimper of defeat that immediately built up in his throat. Nico needed to dial back the sullen teenage routine a few notches for Will’s sake. Will had no doubt Hades would smite him for Nico’s attitude and go on his eternity with his T.V. sitcomesque relationship with Nico without a second thought. “No, I just-” Will had no idea what he meant to say there. Nico wasn’t exactly wrong, it really was none of Hades’ business. And even if it was, it wasn’t like he and Nico were doing anything wrong.

Why wasn’t Apollo chiming in with some stupid comment that would take the pressure off him for at least a few seconds, Will wondered. Hades was still eying him with dark interest and there was no escape in sight. Will would have killed for some kind of distraction.

The thought had barely crossed Will’s mind when the distinct noise of the front door being pushed open as someone stepped into the house carried into the kitchen. Will didn’t even have a chance to wonder who it could be before the door was slammed shut and a voice carried from the entryway over the sounds of approaching footsteps. “Wow! Something smells really good!” Dean called. The sound of his cousin’s voice had Will breaking out in a cold sweat. He hadn’t told Dean when the dinner was planned. It hadn’t been a purposeful thing on Will’s part, he had just been so nervous by the mere idea that he had taken on the policy of if he didn’t talk about it and didn’t think about it, it wouldn’t happen, and Dean let him have his likely unhealthy coping mechanism.

In hindsight, Will probably should have told him simply to prevent him from accidentally stopping by in the middle of dinner. Maybe a year ago or even six months ago Will probably would have but now that had seemed like such an unlikely scenario. Unless Will and Dean had specific plans, Dean spent most of his time at Felix’ house, and the random pop-ins were few and far between.

“Why wasn’t I-” Dean continued as he stepped into the kitchen, but he stopped short when he took in the number of people at the table. “-Whoa, there are a lot of unfamiliar people.” His smile faltered slightly but not completely as he looked around the table and obviously didn’t recognize most of the people there. “I take it interrupting.”

Will shot a nervous toward his mother who was clearly frozen with panic at Dean’s arrival. Will was surprised when it was Apollo that replied. “Not at all,” The sun god declared brightly. His voice was so positive and inviting Will turned so he confirmed to himself that Apollo wasn’t actually flirting with his cousin. Of course, the only thing that looking toward Apollo confirmed was that he was _absolutely_ hitting on Dean. Apollo patted the table next to him in a matter that Will didn’t want to call suggestive, but he probably could have. “You can sit right next to me.”

Dean reacted to that in what had to be the most Dean way possible. He stared at Apollo for a long second with a confused look before apparently deciding that he wasn’t going deal with whatever Apollo was. Without a word to the sun god, Dean turned to Will. “What exactly am I interrupting?” He questioned gesturing around the table.

The question seemed to be enough to trigger responses from around the table. “Dean, sweetie-,” his mom started sounding nervous.

“Who is this?” Hades directed the question at Nico as he pointed toward where Dean was standing with visible annoyance.

Persephone looked like she was going to say something as well and that was apparently the breaking point for Nico who huffed before bringing his fingers to his mouth and issuing a high-pitched whistle. It was effective at gaining everyone’s attention as well as possibly rupturing Will’s eardrums. Nico pointed toward Dean as he first replied to Hades’ question first, “This is Will’s cousin, Dean,” Nico then turned to Dean to answer his question. “Dean, this is Hades, Persephone, and Apollo,” he explained simply pointing to each god as he referenced them.

“Oh, holy fuck,” Dean exclaimed looking around the table wide-eyed. He turned to Will and probably Nico with an apologetic expression. “I didn’t realize tonight was meet the parents’ night.”

Will didn’t even have to look to know his mother had tensed at the sound of Dean cursing. “Language” She corrected taking on her teacher voice.

“Sorry, Aunt Naomi,” Dean apologized reflexively. Dean was always better about dealing with Naomi’s teacher voice than Will was. Normally, Will got all sputtery and uncomfortable because he felt like he was in trouble. “I should probably-” Dean let the rest of the sentence drop but pointed toward the door which made his point abundantly clear.  

“John’s boy, I should have known,” Apollo interrupted as he eyed Dean with more interest then Will was really comfortable with. “You are every bit as attractive as your father,” The god of the sun commented so casually. The ease seemed out of place for the number of panic-inducing questions the statement raised. Will really didn’t know how his mom had crossed paths with Apollo in her youth, but his uncle had always been a musician, so it was completely possible that Uncle John had something to do with it. The only thing Will did know for certain was that there was no way Dean could be Apollo’s. There wasn’t a ton of them, and most were kept stowed away but Will had seen pictures of Dean’s mom (before she took off). Knowing that his cousin wasn’t also his half-brother should have been reassuring but that knowledge somehow lost its power as he watched Apollo again do the weird come-hither pat on the table. “Come sit next to me. Stay.”

Dean looked around the table for a second before focusing solely on Apollo for a second before replying flatly, “Gross.” He turned away from Apollo but instead of turning back to Will he zeroed his focus on Hades. Will could literally see his cousin switch from borderline disgust he had directed at Apollo to full out fangirling when he turned to the Lord of the Underworld. “Since I’m here one quick question,” he started grinning at Hades like a pre-teen girl meeting her absolute favor celebrity. Will knew he needed to stop Dean before he could ask whatever crazy question he had concocted in his mind, but he just couldn’t find words fast enough. “Fast be or slow zombie?” He questioned like it was an actual scholarly question which it was so far removed. “Way I see it, you as of the underworld you’d be an expert on the topic so I’m dying to know where you fall in the debate.”

Will heard Nico snicker under his breath as Hades eyed Dean like an, especially talkative grub. “You can ignore him,” Will quickly told Hades as he waved a dismissive in Dean’s direction. “You don’t have to answer that,” he explained rather stupidly. It wasn’t like Dean or anything else could force Hades to do anything the god was unwilling to do.

Hades paid Will no mind instead (unfortunately) keeping his attention solely focused on Dean. “That is hardly a question,” Hades declared casually. Will was sure it was just in his mind, but he could have sworn Hades voice sounded a lot less cold speaking to Dean than any of the times he addressed Will.  “Obviously the slow zombie is more accurate at and terrifying,” he explained as if he was given a well-practiced lecture. “Zombies induce fear due to their grotesque origins and their tendencies to swarm,” the god continued. “Slow zombies capitalize on both factors quite well.”

Dean’s face immediately lit up which wasn’t that surprising. Will knew from experience that Dean felt the exactly the same way on the topic. “Oh my god yes,” Dean exclaimed a little louder than was necessary as he clapped his hands a little like an excited child on Christmas morning. “That’s my thoughts exactly.”

“Now, there is no denying that fast zombies add something to the genre,” Hades continued speaking like the kindly professor who was clearly enjoying the present topic of conversation. “But I am always surprised that the resilience of zombies is overlooked,” Hades let out a little chuckle and the smallest smile crept across his face. Will wouldn’t lie, the expression on the god’s face was more than a little frightening. “Once, to prove a point to Poseidon I may have released a dozen or so zombies on his underwater castle,” The lord of the underworld reminisced. “It took him weeks to clear up the infestation.”

“That’s horrifying,” Apollo declared. One look in the sun god’s direction and Will could see that Apollo was in fact horrified.

Dean’s reaction was the polar opposite of probably everyone else around the table. “That’s so Romero-esque!” he declared brightly. Will looked at his cousin and couldn’t help but think of those anime drawing with the huge glowing eyes. “It’s amazing!”

In all the tortures Will had imagined Hades visiting upon him, he had never thought about zombies. “Um…” Will knew he should probably not draw any attention to himself while Hades was reminiscing about summoning zombies, but he couldn’t help but be curious. “What was the point you were trying to make exactly?”

Will had clearly interrupted Hades in the middle of a pleasant thought. He turned toward Will with an expression of someone who had only half heard him. “I can’t quite remember,” he admitted like that was a completely normal thing to say (or do).

Persephone huffed rather exaggeratedly before interjecting, “He wasn’t making a point he was having a temper tantrum.” She shot Hades a look when he went to interrupt her. She only continued when it was clear that Hades was going to remain silent. “And for the record that happened during the spring, so I wasn’t there to stop it.”

He didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to him in the first place, but Will suddenly realized that he should be far more focused on getting on Persephone’s good side because often times, she was the one that kept the temperamental god. He found himself staring at the goddess wondering how exactly he could go about enduring himself to her. _Maybe he should get her some flowers? Does the goddess of flowers actually need more flowers_?

“Dean, sweetie,” Will could hear the strain in his mother’s voice as she clearly tried to stay calm and was doing a good job for the most part. It was really a testament to how far she had come in accepting all the magic and god stuff. “Did you need something?”

“Oh yeah,” Dean seemed to remember he actually had a reason for being there beside fangirling over Will’s future father-in-law. He turned toward Will and took on an expression a bit more like himself as he pointed at Will. “Hoodie, can I borrow one?” He asked. “I can’t find any of mine.”

Will couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow at that in mocking curiosity. “Can’t find as in you don’t know where they are? Cause I could tell you,” He offered seriously. It wasn’t something anyone went out of their way to point out but since Dean and Felix had started dating it was a pretty common sight to see Felix in one of Dean’s hoodies. Actually, it seemed like Felix was more likely to be wearing Dean’s clothes than his own. The few times Will had pointed it out Dean had acted like it was a minor annoyance, but Will could tell he secretly loved every minute of it.

“Haha, you’re so funny,” Dean replied mockingly before adding for clarification. “They’re just not easily accessible right now so can I borrow one or not?”

“Yeah,” Will shrugged. He was pretty used to trading clothes with Dean since they had been doing it since they were kids. “If I have any clean.”

“Awesome!” Dean gave him a nod before turning on his heels and bounded back toward the stairs.

Will watched Dean go, happy to have his cousin out of the way even for a moment. When he heard Dean hit the first stair he did have a second thought. “I’m going to want it back!” he shouted. The last thing Will needed was to see Felix walking around in his hoodie because he stole it thinking it was Dean’s.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Dean called back dismissively.

Will wasn’t really expecting anything different although he was surprised when he turned back and found his mother looking between himself and where Dean had just been standing. “Is he seeing someone?” She questioned clearly referring to Dean.

“What? No!” Will replied far too quickly and far too loudly to be believable but there was really nothing he could do about it. As much as he understood his reasoning Will really wished Dean would just tell his mom about Felix if for no other reason it would make his life easier. “Why?” he questioned in hopes of covering up his more suspicious behavior.

“Someone is taking his clothes,” his mother summed up clearly unconvinced by Will’s denial. Dean would probably not be happy to hear that. “That’s typically high school girlfriend thing.”

“No,” Will reiterated managing to sound far more convincing this time. “He definitely doesn’t have a girlfriend.” It always amazed Will how much easier lying was when what he was saying was technically the truth.

“Interesting choice of words,” Apollo observed with interest. Will looked toward his godly parent to see the god had perked up at the present conversation. Will was going to second Dean’s assertion of gross.

The rhythmic click of long nails taping against the dining room table drew Will’s attention to Persephone. She was wearing a similar expression as Apollo, one of barely contained interest. “My thoughts exactly,” she declared. Will had heard some families were more appealing to the gods for whatever reason and there was plenty of examples of that. Frank was both a demigod and a legacy, and Annabeth had a cousin who was a Norse demigod (and dead but that was another story). He guessed it wasn’t completely out of reason that the Solace family was one of those families, but it was weird especially since all the godly attention seemed directed at his cousin.

Will didn’t really know what to say so he was thankful when Nico huffed loudly and dismissively. “He’s single and uninterested, so leave him alone,” Nico ordered.

Nico might have been the only person that could bark an order at a couple gods and have them listen. Both Persephone and Apollo huffed in a show of annoyance before slumping slightly in their chairs as a show of disappointment.

Before anyone else could comment or otherwise throw in their two cents there came the rapid succession of thuds signaling Dean’s descent down the stairs. He appeared in the doorway of the kitchen once again. “Alright, I’m taking this one,” Dean declared holding up Will’s dark gray hoodie. Will recognized it immediately because it was the only hoodie he had in such a dark color and it was his favorite. He barely opened his mouth, let alone had a chance to get out a noise before Dean held up a hand to silence him. “And yeah, you will get it back.”

Dean took a half a step back toward the door and opened his mouth like he was going to say something. He never got a chance before Persephone interrupted brightly, “Don’t want to stay for dinner?”

“The more the merrier,” Apollo added on quickly with that same creepy interest he had directed at Dean since he arrived.

Dean earned his stripes as a proper southern boy in his reaction. He ignored Apollo entirely which was probably the best course of action. Still, Will figured that wasn’t completely easy for Dean because he had never thought much of Will’s dad and that didn’t change when he found out he was a god. To Persephone, he smiled politely and replied, “Oh, thanks for the offer but I’ve got plans.”

There was a loud clinch that drew everyone’s attention. Turning, it became clear the sound came from Will’s mother lowering her drink to the table with more force than was necessary. She had a determined expression and it was solely focused on Dean. “Okay, who are you seeing?”

“No one,” Dean replied quickly and easily. It was so strange, but Will had come to realize Dean was a far more convincing liar than he had ever been. He looked toward Will’s mom innocently, like he wasn’t lying through his teeth. “Why?”

His mom still didn’t look convinced which was probably Will’s fault, he had been pretty suspicious. “I practically raised you,” She pointed out firmly “And I don’t ever remember you turning down food before.”

“I just told Felix I’d pick up a pizza,” Dean explained with a shrug. “We’re going to hang out and play Call of Duty.” That Will believed was probably true, just lacking in some of the more personal details.

Apollo perked up with interest, leaning forward to prop himself up on his elbows and eyed Dean with interest. “On a scale of one to ten how attractive is this Felix?” Will couldn’t quite decide if Apollo sounded jealous or if he was just tiring to move on to the next piece of pretty.

Dean shrugged “He’s a dude and I’m straight so I’ve never thought about it.” Will actually had to pick up his drink to hide the grin that spread across his face at that. He had already had this conversation with Dean twice, once before they started dating, and once after. The first time it had been in the mists of a discussion (read: argument) about why Dean would hang out with someone as unpleasant as Felix. After listing all the normal reasons like they had a lot in common, and Felix was really fun to hang out with Dean made a joke about how they were equally attractive. We are both solid sevens, were Dean’s exact words. The second time it had come up was when Will had been bold enough to ask his cousin what he saw in Felix Dean was not reluctant to point out how attractive Felix was. Apparently, since they started dating Felix’s attractiveness rating went up a few points, Dean rated him a total nine.

Will looked at his mother and while she still didn’t look completely convinced she did appear to be coming around. “Where are all your hoodies?” She questioned.

The general air of confidence that had surrounded Dean faltered slightly. “I don’t know, laundry maybe?” he suggested. It wasn’t a great excuse. Dean had been on top of the basic household chores like laundry since he was thirteen which considering Uncle John couldn’t really be relied on for that sort of stuff it made sense. Will couldn’t remember the last time Dean forgot to do his laundry. One look at his mother and Will could see she was thinking along the same lines. Dean must have realized his misstep because he quickly turned his attention to where Will and Nico were sitting. “Hey, so did you guys tell them about how you are moving in with each other yet?”

The question got a reaction from pretty much everyone around the table. Will was too shocked to do much more than stare at his cousin wide-eyed, but he felt Nico tense next to him. That could have been the most alarming thing because through this whole evening Nico had been at ease. Will didn’t realize how much he was using Nico’s calmness as an anchor until it was gone.

Nico’s reaction could have been the most alarming thing, but it wasn’t. Every god sitting at the table took a sudden and profoundly interested in Will, as did his mother. “Excuse me?” Hades exclaimed with what Will was afraid was actual rage in his voice.

Great, Will thought mournfully, he’d angered the Lord of the Underworld. His shock turned to outrage. “Dude!” Will protested. Dean knew no one, not even Will’s mom, knew that he and Nico had been talking about moving into together. Yeah, Will knew he needed to actually have that conversation with his mom but now was definitely not the time.

“Oh sorry,” Dean offered a clearly fake apology as he looked around the room. “I should probably go and let you deal with this,” He stated taking a few large steps backward out of the kitchen. He was almost completely out of the room before he called back, “Good luck.”

Dean practically bolted toward the door after that, and it seemed only a matter of second passed before Will heard the front door open before quickly being slammed shut. Will didn’t even think as he slumped down in his chair trying to make himself small. It was his mother that spoke first. Will didn’t have to look at her to know she was staring at him with a steely expression. “How long has this been a plan?” The question was stated plainly and without judgment, but Will knew that he would hear it for keeping such a secret when they didn’t have guests, so she could yell at them properly.

“I don’t know,” Will replied speaking as quietly as he dared as he kept his eyes downcast. He hadn’t realized his mom had covered the table in her nice tablecloth until that moment. “We’ve been talking about it for a few months.”

Will was expected Hades to snap his fingers and snap his neck, but he didn’t. Instead, he focused his attention on Nico with that stern expression that every adult with children seems to master. It was the same look that Will was sure his mother was currently focusing on him. It wasn’t his mother or Hades to speak and break the silence. It was far worse than that, it was Apollo. “Damn,” The sun god exclaimed sounding genuinely impressed if slightly surprised as he leaned back in his chair. “Of all my demigod children I would have guessed Austin would be the one to shack up with an underwear model.”

Will turned to glare at his father because that was about the furthest thing from helping he could possibly have said. He didn’t know how successful the expression was because something more important caught Will’s attention; Nico had sat up straight in his chair and his eyes had gone wide. He only had only a second to process Nico’s new alarmed state before Hades voice boomed filling both the room and Will’s mind, “Excuse me!”

It only took Will one look between Hades and Nico for him to understand what was going on. If he thought he wanted to crawl under the table and hide before he definitely did now. He turned toward Nico and didn’t hide his own shock. “Oh my gods, he doesn’t know!?!”

They had never talked about it, probably because they barely talked about Nico modeling at all, but Will had just assumed that Hades knew. Nico shrugged and squirmed in his chair slightly proving just how wrong Will had been to make such an assumption. “Why would he know?” Nico questioned.

If it was at all possible Will was pretty sure his eyes went wider from shock at that statement. “Because you told him!?!” He retorted although that should have been more than obvious.

Nico looked at Will with clear confusion. “Why would I do that?” he asked sincerely.

Will stared at Nico for what felt like a half hour he was so stunned. He expected Nico to realize how crazy what he had just said sounded but Nico didn’t seem to recognize it. “Because he’s your dad!” Will exclaimed his voice coming out much higher than intended.

Nico rounded his eyes at that. “Technically,” he shrugged dismissively.

Will stared at Nico, eyes wide, and jaw practically hanging down to the table. “Oh dear gods, Nic!” He didn’t even know what to say at this point. Nico probably had the most involved godly parents Will had ever heard of and the whole meet the parents dinner they were currently stuck in the middle of was a prime example of that. Unfortunately, Will knew from past experience that Nico just didn’t seem to see the situation the same way. Will pushed his plate of food back, threw up his hands as a show of defeat, and dropped his forehead to the table. “I give up.”

He felt Nico’s hand come to rest on his back. It was a comforting gesture, and as much as he knew he should probably try to shrug it off Will didn’t. He chose to take comfort in Nico’s touch and to ignore the dismissive huff Nico issued.

“Underwear model?” Hades questioned. If someone had asked Will what was the last thing he would ever possibly hear a god say it would have probably been that. From the sounds of it, it was the last thing Hades had expected to say too. He rolled the words around rather than speak them and from the sounds of he didn’t particularly like the taste. “As in pictures of you in nothing but your underwear?”

“Mostly” Nico replied sounding annoyed that this was even being discussed and knowing Nico he probably was.

“They're pretty hot,” Apollo’s declaration was accented with a loud pop. Will’s experience with Apollo was limited, and he had tried to block every memory he had from their last encounter, but still, he recognized the sound. It was the same sound that he remembered hearing when the god conjured something out of thin air. Will’s curiosity won out over his dread and he lifted his head to investigate. Apollo had conjured a men’s fashion magazine and was flipping through it with determination.

While Will recognized the fashion magazine he wasn’t familiar with the particular issue. That didn’t mean he didn’t know what Apollo was looking for. Will had just come to assume that every new issue of every high-end fashion had at least one half-naked picture of his boyfriend in it. If Hades wasn’t thrilled with the concept, seeing a picture wasn’t going to make him feel any better about it. “Oh please don’t,” Will offered. He meant it but it didn’t come out sounding very enthusiastic. He just didn’t have much hope that Apollo would actually listen.

Unsurprisingly, Apollo ignored him. He flipped through a few more pages before finding what he was looking for. “See,” the sun god proclaimed before turning the magazine, so the rest of the table could see the ad.

It was a more recent ad, Will was pretty sure, or at least he was sure he had only seen it relatively recently. Will guessed if Apollo was going to showing one of Nico’s ads the one he chose was probably the best possible choice. It was a group shot which Will always hated because it meant two or three other dudes had been standing seriously close to Nico for however long it took to take those stupid pictures. Nico was standing toward the front of the group in the center (because he was always in the center). Most ads seemed to try to accent, amongst other things, Nico’s tattoos in the one Apollo was holding up all three was hidden from sight due to the position of other models around him. Instead, the ad drew focus to the scar left on Nico’s arm by Lycaon. Will figured scars would be more acceptable to Hades than tattoos, and he doubted Nico had given him a heads-up about those either. Mitchell’s dad only made high-end clothes so the ads were always as tasteful as one could expect, although when the ad figured Nico on his own there always seemed to be a lot of visible skin.

Will noticed his mother shot him a slightly surprised look. She knew that Nico had done a little modeling but Will had neglected to mention the underwear part. _Well, the cat was out of the bag now_ , Will guessed. Persephone showed her appreciation with a happy little clap which was pretty disturbing at least in Will’s opinion.

Hades didn’t smite everyone in the room so Will figured it could have been a whole lot worse. The god groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Maria is actually going leave Elysium and murder me for allowing this to happen,” He muttered under his breath. Even said quietly the reference to his ex-lover didn’t go unnoticed by his immortal wife who suddenly lost interest in Nico’s ad and glared at Hades. He ignored Persephone as he released his noise from his death grip and (unfortunately) turned his attention to Will. “Have you been encouraging _this_?” As if there was a question to what he was referring, Hades pointed toward the ad Apollo was (still) holding up for all to see.

“No, sir,” Will replied quickly and sincerely “I’d actually prefer if he didn’t, but I really don’t get a say.”

“I raised you well,” His mother chimed in (unhelpfully) mumbling under her breath as she picked up her glass to sip the last of her glass of wine. After she deposited the now empty glass back on the table she turned to Nico and declared sincerely, “Sweetie, do whatever makes you happy.”

“Thank you,” Nico replied clearly feeling vindicated by her statement.

“I think it’s great,” Apollo offered his unsolicited opinion on the topic. “You should be proud,” he told Hades before he turned the magazine around to examine the ad for himself. He hummed as he eyed the glossy pages with interest.

Will had his limits for weird and as a demigod, he figured his limits were actually pretty high but still watching his godly parent eye a picture of his boyfriend half-naked was still leagues above what he could handle. “And that’s enough of that,” he declared sternly as he reached across the table and ripped the magazine out of Apollo’s grasp.

“Hey!” Apollo protested at the action, but he didn’t conjure a new copy, so Will was counting it as a win.

Nico let out a heavy sigh. “It really isn’t that big of a deal,” he stated insistently.

“Then stopping shouldn’t be a problem,” Hades retorted matter-of-factly. The lights flickered dramatically and Will knew it was from Nico rather than Hades. The worst possible way to get Nico to do pretty much anything was to tell him in no uncertain terms it was what he had to do. Will had learned that the hard way on more than one occasion.

Will saw Hades and Nico locked in a staring contest, Nico glaring and Hades staring back sternly. Decades could pass and neither would yield, Will knew that. Will let out a little cough to draw attention to himself which was ironic considering he had been trying to avoid attention all night. “That is the exact opposite of how to handle Nico when it comes to pretty much anything,” he explained quietly. He meant to direct the statement to Hades, but he wasn’t sure how clear that was because he only made eye contact occasionally and it was fleeting at best.

Will could feel everyone at the table staring at him and it made him wish he had just kept quiet. “Is that so?” Hades questioned sounding sincerely interested.

Will looked up at met the god’s gaze as much as he dared. Nico now glaring at him “Yeah,” he confirmed choosing to ignore how he could see Nico glaring at him from the corner of his eye. He was so going to pay for this later. “Telling Nico to not do something or stop doing something is a sure fired way to get him to do it or keep doing it.”

“I’m not that simple,” Nico stated firmly.

“Actually, that does make a lot of sense,” Hades admitted ignoring his son completely. “His mother was much the same way.”

Nico definitely had something to say on the matter. Will heard Nico take a deep breath like he was about to launch into a speech or a shouting match but before he could get out a word a phone issued a loud buzz somewhere around the table. Nico growled under his breath before producing a cell phone. He glanced at the screen quickly before returning it to his pocket.

“Is everything alright?” Will asked out of curiosity. He was long past thinking it odd to see Nico with a cell phone.

“Percy’s mom had her baby,” Nico answered matter-of-factly before adding firmly “Now we are talking about something else because watching you two-” he gestured between Will and Hades with a look of distaste “bonding is weird and I don’t like it.”


	61. Baby's Homecoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all and happy Sunday to you,
> 
> I feel like I should apologize because this isn't my strongest chapter but it is meant to establish a few things and honestly I have been looking at it so long I was bound to hate it at least a little :). 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

When Percy’s mom and Paul had found out that Sally was pregnant they had moved into a bigger apartment which totally made sense considering there would soon be another person in the house. The place was quite a bit larger than their last place, when Percy first saw it he remembered thinking they would never run out of space. That was before he saw Annabeth, Jason, Piper, and Leo crammed into the living room as the waited for Sally and Paul to return home with the baby.

Percy and Annabeth had already got to see little baby Estelle at the hospital the day before when they had visited his mom but none of the others had seen her yet. There was a surprising level of excitement in the air considering that she wasn’t their little sister, but Percy wasn’t complaining, and he knew his mom wouldn’t either.

Percy wasn’t complaining but he would have paid for a little more space as he sat on the couch. Of course, there would have been enough space if Piper hadn’t been practically climbing over him for at least ten minutes as she and Leo hung up all sorts of welcome signs and streamers. The first time Piper climbed on to the back of the couch and nearly kicked him in the head he had looked toward Jason who was sitting in a chair directly across from him but all the son of Jupiter did was grin and shrug. So Percy figured he was on his own unless Annabeth got annoyed with it and Piper seemed to be being much more careful about her hand than Percy’s.

Around the time the living room started to seriously resemble the inside of a pre-teen girls birthday goodie bag Annabeth started looking around the room and humming critically. As soon as she did Percy and Jason exchanged a look. Percy was sure they were thinking the same thing, it would go far better if Annabeth said something rather than either of them. “Is this all a bit much?”  Annabeth questioned gesturing around the room just as Piper tossed another ream of pastel pink streamer over Percy’s head to Leo who caught it easily.

“Yes,” Percy and Jason both replied quickly and in unison.

“Hush,” Piper dismissed as she hopped down from the back of the couch between Percy and Annabeth nearly taking Percy out in the process. She stepped down off the couch and took a quick look around the room to admire her handy work before declaring, “It’s awesome.”

“Sally is gonna love it!” Leo stated in agreement before dropping himself in the last available chair.

Percy took another look around the room. There were pink streamers practically hiding the ceiling and a good chunk of the wall. There was a large ‘congratulations’ banner and a smaller ‘it’s a girl’ sign (which seemed unnecessary because they had known it would be a girl for a while), and glitter. There was glitter pretty much everywhere, and Percy didn’t even know where it had all come from. The whole scene reminded Percy of one of the big party supply stores that seemed like the physical manifestation of ADHD.

Glancing over his shoulder to where Annabeth was sitting Percy admitted, “I fear for our wedding.” The real scary thing was Percy was only about half kidding when he said that. Piper had decided to throw together welcome home decorations for his mom and Estelle about ten minutes before showing up to the apartment. Conversely, she had clearly made Percy and Annabeth’s wedding her personal project for months.

“I have felt that way for a few months now,” Annabeth agreed matter-of-factly.

Piper made a _pish_ sound and waved both of them off as she dropped herself on the arm of the chair that Jason was sitting in. “That’s going to be awesome too,” Piper stated with confidence as Jason casually wrapped his arm around her waist. “Just you trust me.”

“Is there any chance that I can request that our reception not be Barbie’s twelfth birthday party themed?” Percy questioned gesturing around the living room as an example of what he was referring to.

“Sure,” Piper responded with a bright smile “I can’t say the same for your apartment.”

Percy couldn’t tell if the daughter of Athena was kidding or not. The chances that that would actually happen seemed slim, but Piper was incredibly crafty, so Percy didn’t want to underestimate her. He didn’t want to come home from class or work one day and find that he and Annabeth’s apartment had been painted with Pepto-Bismol. “You’re kidding, right?” Percy questioned for no other reason than to quiet his runaway imagination. Piper smirked wickedly and shrugged which was so far from the type of answer he was looking for. He looked at Jason and Annabeth hoping they could provide some insight since they both knew the other demigod better then he did. Neither of them gave any indication of their opinion so Percy caved and asked, “She’s kidding, right?”

Their response wasn’t exactly reassuring; Annabeth just shrugged like she honestly didn’t have an answer which was frightening in its own right because when did Annabeth not know something, and just seesawed his hand up and down in a show of uncertainty. That was about the least reassuring reaction they could have possibly given. Percy accepted the idea that he might come home to find his apartment has been turned into Barbie’s dream mansion.   

The sound of the apartment door opening followed by Paul’s voice. “Mommy and baby are here,” Percy heard his stepfather declare with clear excitement.

Percy hoped off the couch and went to greet his mother and Paul at the door. He met them about halfway into the apartment; Paul with about a million bags full of baby stuff in hand and his mom with the tiny swaddled Estelle in her arms.

“Hi,” Percy greeted excitedly. “How was baby’s first car ride?”

“So much better than yours,” Sally admitted with a somewhat tired smile. “She slept the whole way.”

As if she knew they were talking about her Estelle issued a soft sigh. Percy could see her squirm slightly in his mother’s arms and immediately thought it was the cutest thing he had seen. He was pretty sure after meeting Estelle he wanted his own small army worth of kids. He was going to seriously have to start working on selling Annabeth on the idea.

He accompanied the Sally and Paul into the living room all the while resisting the urge to snatch Estelle out of his mother’s arms. As soon as they walked into the living room Percy saw his mother’s face just light up as she looked around the pink disaster with clear joy. “Oh, wow!” She declared brightly, “This is so sweet of all of you. I love it.”

“See,” Piper declared proudly before she turned to where Leo was sitting to hi-five with the son of Hephaestus. Jason shot Percy a look like, _great, that is just going to encourage them_. Percy couldn’t help but agree.

Paul looked around and Percy was pretty sure that he could hear his stepfather’s thoughts, _how am I going to get all of that down_? “It certainly is pink,” he commented as he tried to heave one of the bags of baby stuff that was slowly inching off his shoulder and down his arm.

“Here,” Percy stepped toward Paul with an outstretched. Watching his stepfather struggle to hold onto all the various bags of baby supplies causing him to snap into action. “Let me help you with at least some of that.”

Paul hemmed and hayed a little but ultimately showed his acceptance by shifting all the bags in his hands in an attempt to hand some things over. Percy didn’t realize that Jason had heaved himself out of his chair until he showed up at Percy’s side with an outstretched hand. “I can help too.”

“Dude,” Leo protested from somewhere behind him. “If you help than I’ve gotta!” Percy heard the chair Leo was sitting in creak as Leo got up to appear at Jason’s side.

“Thanks, boys,” Paul stated as he started handing out bags to each of them in turn. “Everything is going to the nursery,” he explained as he gestured in the direction of the nursery the best he could with his hands still pretty full.

Percy, Jason, Leo, and Paul lugged an absurd amount baby paraphernalia into the nursery, a room that had serviced as Percy’s bedroom for a very brief period of time before being repurposed. Percy’s mom and Paul had been busy since the last time he saw the space: the walls had been painted a soft yellow, and it had obviously been refurnished. Still, it wasn’t a large space and Percy didn’t see how they were going to manage to fit all the baby stuff in the room and still have space for Estelle, but somehow they did.

With everything more or less stored in the nursery, Percy and the others returned to the living room. His mother had taken position in one of the two available chairs while Annabeth, Piper, and Leo had all crammed themselves onto the couch that really was far too small for the three of them. Annabeth was sitting in the center of the couch with Piper and Leo on either side of her and cradled in her arms was baby Estelle.

Just as Percy re-entered the room he heard Annabeth coo as she looked down at the tiny baby in her arms. “She’s so beautiful.”

“And small,” Leo added like he seriously didn’t think it was possible for a human to be so small and he wanted to figure out how she was designed.

Piper looked up from the baby to look toward where Sally was sitting. “What’s her name?” She asked.

“Estelle,” Percy’s mother replied quickly.

“Awe!” Piper cooed and turned her attention back to the baby. “Such a pretty name for such a pretty little thing,” the daughter of Aphrodite commented her voice turning into baby-talk about halfway through.

Percy nudged Jason with his elbow softly before leaning in to whisper, “Dude, looks like you might want to get ready having some kids.”

Jason nudged him back not nearly as gently as Percy had him. “Not funny, bro. Not remotely funny.”

Percy hissed in protest and covered his slightly abused ribs. Looking toward Jason, Percy found the son of Jupiter white-faced and wide-eyed as he watched his girlfriend fawn over a baby. He guessed by that expression on Jason’s face the son of Jupiter wasn’t quite ready to think about kids.

Everyone except for Leo who definitely snickered seemed unaware of the little exchange between Percy and Jason, they were all just too focused on the baby.

Annabeth looked up at Percy with an expression of complete awe on her face. “Percy, isn’t she beautiful?”

“Yeah, she seriously is,” Leo commented before Percy had a chance to respond. “I would say it runs in the family but look at Percy,” the son of Hephaestus grinned at Percy with that comment to show that he was teasing.

Leo really had nothing to worry about. After having spent so much time with Leo, Percy doubted he could take any of his jokings seriously, it was Leo after all. “Ha ha, dude” Percy faked a laugh with a smile because how could he really be made at Leo for being Leo. Leo just grinned in return and the exchange was such a reminder that Percy missed the interactions he always had with the seven. He just didn’t connect with people on the same level with people in New Rome like he did with his friends back at Camp Half-Blood. He knew it was probably because he had just been through so much with the seven and all his other Greek friends. Whatever the reason he was definitely looking forward to Piper, Jason, and possibly even Nico and Will moving to New Rome for the next school year. Hell, he was even looking forward to seeing a few familiar (Greek) facing coming to New Rome over the summer with the Greek/Roman exchange program that was supposed to kick off in June.

Percy turned back to his finance and agreed with her original statement, “She is beautiful.” Percy really didn’t want to get too hopeful on the subject. Whenever he brought up the idea of having kids she either waved him off dismissively or looked at him like he was absolutely insane. Still, he couldn’t help but ask (and probably push his luck), “Does this mean you’re pro-baby now?”

Annabeth didn’t look up from Estelle as she shrugged. “Always have been,” She admitted matter-of-factly. A half a second passed and Annabeth could probably tell that Percy was trying to figure out where they could fit a nursery or even a crib in their tiny apartment. She looked at him with a stern expression and added with a new-found firmness, “just not right now.”

Percy should have seen that coming but still he felt a little deflated. He understood the rationale behind waiting until they finished school but at the same time they were demigods, three years was practically a lifetime.

Percy heard his mother chuckle. “That’s fine,” she stated. “You are both young and in school, you have plenty of time.” Percy could have argued that point because the life expectancy of the average demigod wasn’t exactly seventy-five.

“Plus,” Piper chimed in seeming to talk to Annabeth more than anyone. “You should at least wait until after the wedding,” she more ordered than suggested. “You already have a wedding dress you are going to want to fit into.”

Percy hadn’t gotten to see the dress gifted by the goddess of love herself. He had definitely wanted to but was told he would have to wait for the big day. They didn’t even have a date picked yet so that seemed plain stupid but Piper (yes, Piper who was not the bride) insisted on it. So, no private dress viewing for Percy.

Annabeth just chuckled good-naturedly never taking her attention off the baby in her arms for more than a second. “Talk to Percy,” She offered to Piper (Percy assumed at least). “He’s the one who’s baby crazy.”

Percy was aware of everyone’s attention suddenly on him. “I wouldn’t say baby crazy,” he defended. “I just think they’re cute and we’d be good parents.”

Leo snickered like he was seriously trying not to laugh. Percy would have smacked the son of Hephaestus for that, but he was out of reach at the moment. Besides he had about a half a second to think about it before Piper gasped dramatically catching everyone’s attention. “That’s so sweet,” she cooed.

Jason chucked dismissively before turning to where Percy was standing. “You’ll drop the poor thing on its head the first day.”

Percy had no problem smacking Jason’s arm hard enough to make a really pleasing sounded. “Hey bro,” Percy protested. Jason just shrugged although the smirk he was wearing made it pretty clear he was testing.

“He is sort of right,” Annabeth declared. Percy glanced back to where she was sitting to see she was clearly trying to hold in a fit of laughter.

Percy faked an annoyed huff, “Do I need to remind all of you of some of the crazy stuff I’ve done?”

“I don’t see how hearing about all the impulsive things you’ve done and somehow managed not to die is going to reassure us of your ability to not drop a baby,” Annabeth retorted teasingly.

“It may reassure us of Annabeth’s ability to catch the baby when you do inevitably drop it,” Jason added quickly in a teasing tone similar to Annabeth.

“You guys do realize at some point the incompetent Percy jokes will get old,” Percy pointed out matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, but we’ve got at least five years until that happens,” Leo replied. The comment was followed

Percy did reach around Jason to smack Leo for that one, not that he actually offended but he was still going to push back because that was what made teasing each other fun.

“Sweetie, you’ll be a great dad,” his mother chimed in sounding sincere as she gingerly eased herself further back in her chair “But I’m alright not being a grandma for a while, so listen to Annabeth and take your time.”

Percy couldn’t miss the way Annabeth looked at him with victory in her eyes. For someone who was supposed to be good at strategies Percy thought she was calling victory a little early, but he would let her think she had won for the moment. He was pretty confident he could win Annabeth over on the baby front with a little time.

Before anyone else could comment a knock on the front door carried into the room. Percy hadn’t done more than look in the direction of the door when Paul reemerged from the nursery still carrying a pack of diapers for some reason. “I’ll get that,” he stated.

Percy saw his mother work to push herself out of her seat as she spoke, “I can get it,” she offered.

Percy took two large steps toward the door before turning back to his mother and stepfather. His mother struggling to heave herself out of her seat and Paul, frozen, with a pack of diapers still in hand, “I’ll get the door.”

“Thanks, Percy,” his mother replied sounding somewhat relieved as she once again eased back in her chair. Paul seemed to suddenly realize he was carrying a bunch of diapers for some reason and just stared down at the package in his hands with confusion.

Since no one was fighting him for the privilege, Percy headed for the door leaving the others to chitchat and coo over the baby in his absence. He didn’t really think about who it could be on his way to the door. His mom and Paul both had friends (he assumed) so it was probably one of them. Pulling the door up he was taken by complete surprise. Standing just on the other side of the door was Nico dressed in all black and looking 40% bored and 60% annoyed (in other words, typical Nico) and behind him standing taller than most trees you found in New York City (outside of Central Park) was Will.

Percy had figured somewhere in the back of his mind that Nico would show up at some point. He had texted him when he first heard from Paul that Estelle was born but he hadn’t heard back. That wasn’t unheard of for Nico and Percy knew that Nico and Will were supposed to be doing the whole dinner with Hades thing, so Percy figured Nico had enough on his plate. He had meant to try to get ahold of Nico again but with the anxiety of flying from California to New York (Jason called in a favor with Jupiter, Percy was still positive he was going to die the whole time) he had sort of forgot.

So yeah, Nico was a given to show up eventually, but Will was seriously unexpected. Percy guessed he knew how Will had ended up there; he had shadow-traveled with Nico but that didn’t make much sense. Last Percy had heard Will was still anti-shadow-travel but there he was looking no worse for wear which suggested that it wasn’t even his first-time shadow-traveling. Percy was going to have to touch base with Nico when he had a chance because he clearly was missing some information.

Whatever the case, Percy was still glad to see the two demigods standing there. He hadn’t realized that it felt like something (or someone) was missing until he saw them standing there. With Nico and Will there it felt like his group of friends that were usually around. Obvious a few people, like Grover, Tyson, Thalia, and the Romans were missing but they weren’t always around, so it didn’t feel as odd that they were missing. “Hey guys!” he greeted.

Nico winced and looked at him with distaste. “Why are you so excited?” he questioned.

“Dude, I’ve got a baby sister,” he waved Nico off dismissively because Percy knew he was just being Nico. “You’re excited too and are just trying to hide it,” he stated even though he was only about fifty percent sure that was actually sure, or he was until he noticed the way Will grinned at that declaration. Will was like Nico’s walking tell, it was sort of funny. With that Percy was positive he was right.

Percy took a half step back from the doorway and gestured for them to enter. “Come in,” he told them even though they were already stepping into the apartment, so it was completely unnecessary. As he pushed the door shut behind the two new arrivals, Percy turned and called back deeper into the apartment. “Hey mom, Nico is here, and he brought some dude with him!”

“I will stab you,” Nico growled. Percy guessed that it was meant to be spoken under his breath but he was easily heard. Even if he wasn’t, the heated glare Nico was shooting in his direction made the son of Hades’ feelings perfectly clear.

“Will knows I’m kidding,” Percy assured. He even gave Nico’s shoulder a little nudge to emphasize the point which Nico did not appreciate based on his expression. Nico being difficult again, typical Nico, Percy thought to himself before turning to Will for a little backup. “Right, Will?”

Percy hadn’t been paying the son of Apollo much attention which would probably be a weird thing to admit considering he was like seven feet tall, but it was the truth. But it didn’t seem like Will had been paying attention either. Instead, he seemed to have been looking around what could be seen of the apartment which was pretty much the kitchen with a nervous expression until Percy said his name. Percy was pretty sure he saw the demigod actually jump a little with surprise. He looked at Percy and Nico for a second clearly unsure of what had actually been said before replying uncertainly, “Sure?”

“He seems nervous,” Percy told Nico as he pointed toward Will. “Was dinner with Hades that bad?”

That was the wrong question to ask based on Nico’s reaction. The son of Hades groaned loudly and threw his head back like he was about to literally yell at the ceiling. Percy actually had to laugh a little and not just because of Nico’s reaction but also because Will’s reaction was the exact opposite. The son of Apollo smiled brightly like having dinner with the god of the underworld was a pleasant memory. “Actually, that went pretty well all things considered.”

Percy shot Nico a seriously confused look because he definitely didn’t know how to interpret what Will had just said. Nico was back to glaring although this time it was directed at Will rather than Percy. “He and Hades bonded,” Nico explained turning back to Percy. “It was incredibly annoying.”

“He has been being so dramatic about this,” Will was quick to add. “It’s a good thing that Hades and I can get along.”

Nico looked at Will in disbelief for a few seconds before responding, “We are going to have to agree to disagree on that.” Before Will could do much more than smile at him Nico turned back to Percy and questioned matter-of-factly “Where’s Sally and the baby?”

“Living room,” Percy pointed further inside the apartment. “Along with pretty much everybody else.”

The only response Nico gave was a short nod before turning on his heels and walking toward the living room. Will immediately took a step forward to follow but Percy reached out a hand to stop him. For that Will gave him a concerned look which Percy pretty much ignored. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but I just gotta know,” Percy admitted. “How did you manage to bond with Hades?”

Will shrugged like that had actually been a pretty easy feat. Having meet Hades on multiple occasions he could attest that was not, in fact, the case. “Nico’s stubbornness.”

“Oh,” Percy guessed that would be the one thing that the two of them would have in common. “I guess that makes sense.”

He and Will followed Nico’s path to the living room and walked in the room just as Percy’s mom was releasing Nico from a hug. “Hi, sweetie,” She patted Nico’s cheek affectionately. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Hi, Sally,” Nico muttered in return. Percy was always surprised to see how uncomfortable Nico could get with when on the receiving end of affection. Between Percy’s mom and from the way Nico told it Will’s mom he would think Nico would just be used to it by now.

It never discouraged Percy’s mom any, if anything it just seemed to make her act more motherly toward Nico and Percy hadn’t meant Will’s mom, but from the stories Nico had told she sounded like she was the same way. Sally gave Nico’s cheek another affection pat before releasing him and turning toward where Percy and Will stood. At first, Percy thought she was looking to him but once she started speaking it was clear that she was looking toward Will. “And this must be the Will I have heard so much about.”

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am,” Will replied more quietly than Percy had ever thought he heard the son of Apollo speak. Glancing over his shoulder, Percy saw Will giving an uncertain wave. Percy couldn’t be sure, but he thought Will had sidestepped like he was actually trying to hide behind Percy. He didn’t know how successful that was going to be, Percy was definitely taller than Nico, but Will was still a half a head taller than he was.

Percy’s mom just smiled warmly and gestured for Will to step forward. Percy stepped aside to clear the path, but Will didn’t move at least not until Nico gave him a little nod as if to say it was in fact okay. Will shuffled forward nervously like he was expecting to get scowled. As soon as he was within reach, Percy saw his mother reach out, grab the son of Apollo by the arm and pulled him into a hug. “It’s about time Nico brought you around,” she declared brightly as she continued to hug a clearly surprised Will. She released him after a moment, “It’s so nice to have a face to put with a name and all the stories.” She patted Will on the cheek in the same gesture of affection she had used on Nico moments before. “And now there is no excuse for you two-” she gave Nico a pointed look with that comment before turning back to Will “-to be such strangers.”

“Um,” Will shot Nico an uncertain look. “Of course, ma’am.”

“He’s so polite,” Sally declared brightly. “It’s nice to see some of you weren’t raised by wolves.”

“That was just Jason,” Percy couldn’t help but chime in shooting a wink in Jason direction.

The only response the from the son of Jupiter, at least toward Percy was a dismissive eye roll before turning to Will. “Visiting is always fun, especially when you don’t bring Percy.”

“There are usually cookies,” Leo added.

“You will have to excuse the lack of cookies,” Sally offered with an amused chuckle. “I didn’t just have a baby.”

“Understandable,” Will replied seeming much more like his typical carefree self. “I don’t think I could eat anyway.”

“Shadow-travel?” Jason questioned. Percy had to work hard not to laugh because Jason actually looked a little green at the mere mention of shadow-travel.

Will went to reply but Nico beat him to it. “More like the three-course lunch his mom demanded that we eat before we left,” he explained resting his hand on his stomach like he was trying to contain all that food. “I’m surprised I can move.”

“You have no one to blame but yourself,” Will told Nico matter-of-factly. “She thinks you’re too thin.”

“So, she’s trying to fatten me up like a holiday ham?” Nico questioned.

“Pretty much,” Will replied with shrug.

“Oh, I like her already,” Sally joined in with a warm smile pointed in Nico’s direction. “Sweetie, you really are too thin.”

“I’m not going to be much longer,” Nico grumbled. “If Naomi and her fried chicken have anything to say about it.”

“You’d be cute if you were pudgy,” Percy offered only half teasing. He had a hard time imagining Nico ever getting to the point that he would be considered pudgy. When Percy had met him, Nico was still pretty young, but he was kind of scrawny kid then and that had never really changed. There were years were his thinnest looked like it was more the results of malnourishment then genetics or whatever, but he was always wiry. “But there will go your modeling career.”

“Will and Hades will be so happy,” Nico grumbled with a pointed look directed to Will.

Will shrugged and smiled earnestly, “I wouldn’t mind which I have been very honest about since the start and I don’t think the fact that Hades agrees with me should be held against me.”

Nico just rolled his eyes and waved Will off. He looked around the room for a second before setting on the bundle that was still nestled in Annabeth’s arms. “Is that Estelle?” he questioned pointing to the baby with clear excitement. Any of the signs of annoyance were completely gone at the sight which was pretty funny to see coming from the son of Hades.

“Yup,” Piper replied as she leaned into Annabeth’s space and used one of her fingers to pull back the blanket back from Estelle’s face a little to peek at her. The baby issued a little coo noise signaling she was awake which Percy wouldn’t have guessed. “She is tiny and perfect, and I want one.”

“You are going to have to take that up with Jason,” Nico replied moving around Percy and Will like they weren’t even there to get closer to the girls on the couch. Percy did see him a shot a quick look in Jason’s direction before continuing. “And based on the look on his face I’m going to say the answer is a solid no.” Nico wasn’t wrong, looking at Jason Percy couldn’t help but notice the son of Jupiter looked kind of pale.

After peeking at the baby for a second Nico stood up from his crouch and turned toward where Sally had already started to settle back into a chair. “Can I hold her?” he asked someone sheepishly.

“Of course,” Sally replied quickly. Percy was pretty sure his mom had resigned herself to the fact that all of Percy’s friends were going to hold Estelle.

Percy saw Annabeth give Nico a reluctant look for a long moment before actually relinquishing the baby. Nico happily took the tiny bundle and immediately did the thing that everyone seemed to do when holding a baby. He began to bounce and twist as he cooed and smiled at the baby in his arms. “Hello there little one, you may be the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen.”

Percy couldn’t help but notice how Will watched Nico’s actions, and he might not have turned as sheet white as Jason did every time Piper cooed over the baby, but it was a pretty close thing. Percy nudged the son of Apollo slightly to get his attention before asking, “So Will, you flashing back to delivering a baby or flashing forward to your future?”

Percy had thought he had said that pretty quietly, but Leo snickered slightly suggesting he had overheard and then there was Nico. “You can hit him,” Nico informed matter-of-factly never looking up from the baby in his arms. If there was any question that Nico meant Percy that was quickly put to rest when Nico added, “I’m going to tell you all about all the stupid things your brother has done over the years.”

Annabeth let out a dismissive huff of air before commenting, “That might take a while.”

“Hey, now!” Percy protested. How were they back to teasing him? Wasn’t it someone else’s turn? Leo did crazy, impulsive stuff all the time, and he was sure Jason had managed to do something stupid once or twice (he did try to eat a stapler once).

“We say it with love Percy,” Jason assured with a grin that made Percy doubt his sincerity a little.

“Yeah, sure,” Percy said doubtfully. Jason continued to grin undeterred. Percy turned to Nico and held out his hands in the universal gesture for ‘give me’. “Give me my sister before you turn her against me,” he demanded.

Nico turned his body, so Estelle was well out of Percy’s reach. “But you’ll probably drop her,” Nico replied critically.

“Jason already told that joke,” Leo informed matter-of-factly.

“What’s your point?” Nico questioned seriously still holding Estelle out of Percy’s reach. “It’s still true.”

“Bro, give,” Percy demanded a little bit more forcefully. Nico looked reluctant which Percy didn’t know if he should find funny or offensive. As much as everyone joked, Percy was not going to drop his baby sister. Out of the corner of his eye, he did notice Will still looking pale and couldn’t help himself. “Unless Will wants to hold her.”

Nico looked questioningly in Will’s direction as did pretty much everyone in the room which was pretty funny considering Will immediately started backing up at the suggestion. “No, I’m all set,” Will offered like Percy had just suggested he hold some live explosives rather than a baby.

“Didn’t you deliver a baby?” Leo questioned laughing. “How could you be that afraid to hold one?”

“Delivering a baby is a medical thing,” Will defended. “Also, that might have been the most traumatic thing that happened to me at camp.”

“We had very different camp experiences,” Annabeth mused. She had a point if Percy had to select the most traumatic thing that ever happened to him at camp he was pretty sure it would have been a lot more terrifying than delivering a baby. But Percy had never delivered a baby so what did he know.

“I’m sorry,” Paul interrupted looking confused as he entered the room. “How have you delivered a baby?”

“Will’s the camp medic,” Annabeth replied quickly.

“It was the middle of a siege and there was literally no one else to do it,” Will further explained. “It was horrible, and I hope to never do it again.”

“If you’re going to be a doctor you might not have a choice,” Nico declared matter-of-factly.

“And to prepare for that you should totally hold the baby,” Piper chimed in brightly.

Will was clearly about to say no again but Nico gave him another questioning look and he faltered. “What if I drop her?” he questioned nervously.

“Just support her head sweetie,” Sally stated calmly. Percy could tell that his mom was being reassuring. “Babies are resilient, Poseidon dropped Percy a few times, and he’s fine.”

Percy heard several people around the room take a deep breath all around at once, but Percy cut them all off before they could say it. “Yes, that explains so much.”

“Alright everyone Percy has enough teasing for one day,” Annabeth declared with clear amusement.

“If you say so, Annabeth,” Leo chimed in sounding similar to a child telling their parent they would do something when really they had no intentions of doing. Percy was pretty sure that the teasing would recommence shortly but would take the break however brief.

“I still don’t-” Will continued to protest as Percy turned just in time to see Nico pass Estelle over. Really left with no choice Will accepted and cradled the baby in his arms. Estelle for her part made a little noise and squirmed in his arms before setting.

“Just support her head,” Nico reminded, and Will immediately shifted his arms slightly although from where Percy was standing Will had looked fine before.

It took a few seconds before Will’s shoulders seemed to relax and he no longer had the general posture of someone carrying a bomb. “This isn’t as frightening as I thought,” he admitted looking down at Estelle with fascination. “She’s kind of adorable.”

“Thank you,” Percy heard his mom manage through a heavy yawn.

“I still find girl reproductive parts a bit gross,” Will paused a looked up before quickly adding, “No offense, girls.”

“None taken,” Percy heard Annabeth reply clearly unaffected by the comment.

“Good,” Will offered before looking back down at Estelle. “I kind of want one.”

“See!” Piper declared loudly almost immediately. “I’m not the only one!”

“I will tell you two the same thing I just told Percy and Annabeth,” Percy watched his mother heave herself out of her chair and walk over to Will to pat his shoulder. “I’m not quite ready to be a grandma or a surrogate one so if you could at least wait until Estelle starts kindergarten that would be great.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Will agreed. “I would prefer to wait until I finish med school.” Will sort of shrugged. “Considering I caught my mom making a Pinterest board of wedding ideas for gay couples I don’t know how she will feel about that, but she will get over it.”

“Your mother really sounds like my kind of person,” Percy’s mom offered brightly.

“You did not!?!” Percy tried to hold back his laughter, but it was really hard. Any way he imagined the situation going down it was just really funny.

“It’s actually the first time I’m hearing about that specifically,” Nico chimed in. “But I can’t say I’m particularly surprised considering how excited she was to find out we are moving in together.”

“You’re moving in together?” Sally questioned sincerely from her station.

“So you haven’t told anyone either,” Will declared directed in Nico’s direction with the type of satisfaction that made it more than clear that it had been a topic of discussion between the two.

Nico ignored him and turned to Percy’s mother instead. “Yes, Will will be a freshman in college this fall and we will be getting an apartment together,” he explained matter-of-factly. “We just aren’t sure if it will be in New Roman or in New York City.”

“All of your friends will be in New Roman,” Jason pointed out.

“Dean just got his acceptance letter to Columbia,” Will added looking up from the baby in his arms. “So it complicated.”

“We are going to tour both over spring break and figure it out,” Nico added quickly.

“Hey, who wants to bet Nico and Will have at least one kid in four years’ time?” Leo questioned brightly.

“No one here is stupid enough to take that bet,” Percy chuckled. If he knew any demigod couple destined for the white picket fence sort of life it was Nico and Will as strange as that may have seemed.

“I distinctly remember telling you to stop betting on my life,” Nico practically growled the reminder.

“Oh, calm down,” Percy waved Nico off like it was nothing which actually took a bit of enough. Percy had never found Nico intimidating to the same degree as other demigods did he still understood their impulse, and Nico was laying his whole child of Hades vibes on pretty thick at the moment.

“Alright boys,” Sally declared with finality as she heaved herself out of her chair. “You know the rules about fighting in the house, and since I can trust you to follow those rules I’m going to go take a nap.” She started out of the room, pausing momentarily to pat Paul’s shoulder. “Watch the kids and Estelle.”

“Of course,” Paul responded, “Get some rest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, as I promised in the comments of the last chapter, I will be posting something to my Tumblr today about the Solace family and the gods which gives some info about Dean as well. If you don't follow me but want to you can find me at delta-roseblr.tumblr.com . Sorry, I'm not searchable on Tumblr.
> 
> And to answer the inevidible question, I will probably post this information in some form on Ao3 as well but I honestly have no idea when. Most likely not until after I finish Normal Lives and Outtakes, so it is going to be awhile.


	62. The City that Never Sleeps

Will had been thinking about college since he had been in junior high, and that was mainly because of Dean. There was that stereotype about how girls started planning their weddings when they were like eight, that was Dean with college. Dean had started talking about college when they had still been in elementary school and planning every detail of it. Because of that, Will had had a pretty clear idea what their trip to New York to visit Columbia would be like and from the very start this trip wasn’t like what he had envisioned at all.

Will had expected Dean to be over the top excited form the moment they headed to the airport, but Dean wasn’t. His cousin just seemed distracted and slightly anxious as the headed to the airport and got on the plane. Will didn’t want jump to conclusions or get worried about it when there was nothing wrong, so he tried to let it go. Dean had never flown before, so he could have been nervous about that (although that didn’t seem like Dean). There was the fact that Dean still hadn’t heard if he got accepted to Columbia or not, and Dean was pretty stressed about that. That didn’t really explain why Dean was so annoyed that he couldn’t use his phone during the flight, and immediately had to check his phone when they landed, but Will really wasn’t trying to think too much into that.

The flight was smooth, not that Will was concerned. Maybe it had something to do with his dad being Apollo, but he usually had good luck flying. Dean couldn’t have asked for a better first flight, but Will doubted he even noticed. They actually landed early, but it took them forever to get through the airport because Dean stopped to check his phone every five minutes. Will really didn’t want to read into anything into Dean’s behavior, but he distracted, and it was making everything difficult. By the time Will was hailing a cab outside the departure level of the airport he just couldn’t take it anymore. That was the first (of many) time, Will asked his cousin if something was wrong, and it was the first (of many) time, Dean said everything was fine in the least convincing way possible.

Will didn’t push the topic. Part of him felt like it could have his fault that Dean was out of sorts about the trip. Dean’s plan had always been that they would go to college together, room together, the whole nine yards, and Will had put a serious wrench that plan. Dean was being really cool about the fact that he and Nico were planning to move in together, and they may be going to California rather than New York or at least he was acting that way. Still, Will felt a little guilty about the whole thing, it had been the plan for so long, and Will had changed it without even warning Dean.

More than anything, Will had expected the trip to New York to be fun. It was their spring break and Dean’s first time in New York. Dean was usually so into things that were new, and Columbia had been his dream for so long Will really thought they would have a blast for their two days in the city together. Will had been less certain how the rest of his spring break would go. Dean was heading back to Tennessee while Will and Nico were going to New Rome for the rest of the week. Will knew he would have fun with Nico but he nervous about meeting Reyna. Having had dinner with Hades and Persephone and meeting Percy’s mom, Reyna was the last piece of Nico’s family he needed to meet, and she was intimated.

Apparently, he had been worried about the wrong part of his break. Even after Dean had told him everything was fine, Will wanted to question it but even though their flight had gotten in early it was still pretty late, and he was too jetlagged to try to fight the information out of Dean if he didn’t want to give.

Next day was a little better although Dean was still acting distracted, but that all changed as soon as they actually hit Columbia’s campus. Will had been to the city plenty of times, but he had never actually been to the University’s campus that seemed insane because it was _huge_. They had planned to do a guided tour but had gotten to the campus late (thanks to Dean’s constant need to check his damned phone) but that actually worked out better. They found a self-guided tour map and wandered around campus on their own. The whole campus was amazing, and Will was glad for the ability to linger where ever they wanted which was pretty much every building. Dean even got out of his own head and whatever was going on with him and seemed excited.

After they finished looking around they went to one of the few restaurants Will actually knew of in the city even if he hadn’t been there in years. It was some tiny place that Lee used to bring new Apollo kids to eat their first time in the city, and Will was more than a little surprised he remembered where it was. The whole time they ate they talked excitedly about how it could work if they both went to Columbia. The campus was so big and spread out and there were plenty of places near campus where Will and Nico could get an apartment and probably see Dean daily if they wanted.

Dean’s funk was back before the day was over and by the next Will was really starting to get annoyed with all of it. The only plans they had for the day was to meet Nico for lunch so they kind of had a lazy morning before for heading out to the café Nico suggested the last Will had spoken to him.

Similarly, to their flight, as soon as they sat down in the taxi Dean’s attention was on his phone even though it never issued a noise. They had been in the cab for maybe five minutes, half of which Will had to resist the urge to slap Dean’s phone out of his hand, and Will couldn’t take it anymore. He took a deep breath to say something, and this time he had no intentions of taking _everything is fine_ as an answer. Before he could get a syllable out his own phone rang with the familiar lyrics of the song Will had set as Nico’s ringtone.

Will guessed he would have to say something to Dean later. “Hey, Nic,” Will greeted having brought the phone to his ear as quickly as he could manage in the cramped cab. “We’re in a cab on our way.”

“ _Wow_ , hey, Nic?” A voice that was definitely not the smokey and ethereal voice of the son of Hades questioned with amusement. “Not a hey babe, or hey love?” As the person continued to talk Will found the voice pretty easy to place. It should have been easy to place considering it was the same voice that woke Will up most every morning for close to three months for the last three summers. Austin was probably the only child of Apollo that woke up even earlier than Will, and for some reason thought four o’clock was an appropriate time to play the guitar or practice the saxophone (that only happened once because Kayla threatened to kill him in his sleep and everyone believed her). “And you call yourself a romantic,” Austin stated dismissively.

“Austin, why are you calling me?” He questioned not hiding his disappointment. Just because he had spoken to Nico for nearly an hour the night before didn’t mean he wasn’t looking forward to hearing his voice again. “And why are you calling me from Nico’s phone?”

“Love you too, big brother,” Austin dismissed. That was an annoying habit Kayla had started. The trend of dismissing Will in a somewhat teasing way by calling him big brother. Luckily, it hadn’t caught on with their younger siblings, but among the five or six kids in the Apollo cabin that were close to age with Will, it seemed to crop up now and again. Considering there was less than a year age difference between all of them Will understood it but that didn’t mean it wasn’t annoying. “I’m actually doing Nico a favor because he’s being _extra_ ,” Austin continued to explain like that a completely normal thing to say.

Will guessed Nico could be considered a particular person, but he wasn’t one to put up a fuss. Normally, if Nico didn’t like something he would just walk (or shadow-travel) away. Before Will had a chance to question it he heard the distinct sound of yelling coming from Austin’s side of the phone. Will couldn’t make out any of the words being yelled just that it was a male voice. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought it might be Nico.

The yelling only lasted a minute or two before Will heard Austin huffed. “Dude, you are so being extra right now,” Will heard Austin shout back at the person. Will could tell Austin was trying to exclude him from his ongoing conversation, but he was obviously shouting back so Will could easily hear him. “Like Drew-level extra.” Austin sounded so sure of himself as he said that, and Will obviously didn’t know what Austin was talking about, but he still doubted that could be true. A picture of Drew was probably next to the phrase drama queen, that was hard to meet for normal people. Whoever Austin was talking to didn’t appreciate that suggestion from the intensity of the shouting Will could hear through the phone. “Are you cursing at me?” Austin questioned when the yelling finally stopped (or the person went to take a much-needed breath). “If you’re cursing at me, you could at least do it in English.”

Well, that confirmed that Nico was, in fact, the person Will could hear shouting at Austin unless Mitchell spoke another language and Will didn’t know it. There were more sounds bickering that Will didn’t even try to make sense of. Instead, since he didn’t actually need to participate in the conversation he turned to Dean with every intention of apologizing for having to take such a ridiculous phone call. That was apparently unnecessary because from the looks of him Dean probably didn’t even notice. Dean's eyes were downcast, staring at his visibly blank phone screen with even more visible frustration.

The bickering sounds coming from the other side of the call were replaced by shuffling sounds for a few seconds before a new male voice came through the line. “Hi, Will, it's Mitchell.”

“Hey, Mitchell,” Will greeted with a bit of disappointment. For a split second, he had thought it would be Nico on the other end of the phone.

“So, the shoot ran a little longer than originally anticipated,” Mitchell explained quickly. Honestly, it had to be a child of Aphrodite thing because Mitchell was talking so fast it was challenging for Will to differentiate the actual words and he remembered Piper doing the same thing from time to time. Will had sort of forgot Nico had mentioned he had a photo shoot that morning. It must have really running late if they were still they were just finishing up. “Long story short, we’re going to be a little late.”

“Um?” Will hummed with confusion. Nico had complained about how photo shoots went that hearing they were running late wasn’t surprising. The confusion came from the ‘we’ Mitchell used. When he and Nico had talked the night before and Nico hadn’t mentioned anyone joining them for lunch. The sounds of bickering were still coming from the other end of the call telling Will it wasn’t the time to question it. “Okay.”

“Just grab us a table, and we’ll be there in a bit,” Mitchell instructed sounding distracted.

It so wasn’t the time, but it was kind of hard to get a table when he had no idea how many people to expect. If it was just Nico making those decisions Will figured he would just have to expect his boyfriend, but he obviously was dealing with Austin and Mitchell too, so he had no clue. Between those two they could be bringing everyone from the set for all Will knew. “Okay, but-”

The bickering in the background seemed to increase in volume. “Will, gotta go,” Mitchell declared quickly. “See ya in a bit.”

The line went dead before Will could protest or question it further. Will pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it trying to figure out if he should call back. He probably looked extremely confused because Dean actually took an interest. “Everything cool?” He questioned actually sounding a bit concerned.

“Yeah, Nico’s just going to be a little late,” Will explained as he looked up from his own phone. He was a little surprised to see his cousin watching him instead of having his eyes glued to his own phone like he had been for the whole trip. “And I don’t know, a few other people might be joining us I guess.”

Dean seemed to take a minute to process that before questioning, “Are we talking models or… um, camp people?”

“Camp people,” Will answered quickly. Will really didn’t know who was going to join them and if Austin had his way he would probably always be surrounded by models, but he still doubted that would be the case. Nico couldn’t stand other models and complained incessantly when every he had to work with other models. 

Dean shrugged and turned back to his phone, “Cool.”

They rode the rest of their way to the café in silence, Dean once again became too engrossed in staring at his phone than having a conversation. Luckily, it only took another five minutes to the little café Nico had suggested. Will had never been there, but for what Nico said it was a commonplace he had gone with Percy or Jason which was enough for Will.

The café was a little hole-in-the-wall type of place that only locals probably went to. That meant it was definitely a Percy find, for sure. It wasn’t too busy even though it was prime time for lunch and Will was easily able to get a table for five. The waitress didn’t even bat an eye when Will asked even though it was a small place. Even better, the waitress sat them toward the back of the restaurant which Will knew Nico preferred.

As the waitress left them to settle at their table Will took a seat that would allow Nico to sit on either side of him and still have his back against turned to a wall no matter which side of Will he decided to sit. “I’m pretty sure Nico got all his tattoos somewhere around here,” he commented. Even as he said it he recognized it was weird that he felt the need to make awkward small talk with Dean. Normally, talking to Dean was one of the easiest things he could do but with Dean’s constant distraction on this trip it just wasn’t. Still, it seemed like a safe topic, and Dean had expressed an interest in getting a tattoo at some point in the future.

“That’s cool,” Dean declared with clear disinterest as he dropped into a chair across from Will at the table. Dean had tucked his phone in his pocket when they hadn’t gotten out of the cab mainly because he had to but even before he settled into his seat his phone was already out and placed very carefully on the table. “Who else is coming?”

“I don’t know for sure,” Will admitted as he resisted to check his own phone out of principle. “But if I had to guess, I would say Austin and Mitchell at the very least.”

Dean looked up from where he had placed his phone and seemed to consider Will for a moment before looking around the restaurant cautiously. “Are they both children of Apollo?” He questioned once he deemed that it was safe to talk about demigod stuff.

“Austin is,” Will replied. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Will wondered if that would be a problem for Dean. He had never said it out loud, but Will could tell that Dean had mixed feelings about Will having siblings. Will could have probably pointed out that they were half-siblings and since they didn’t grow up with each other and so many of them were so close in age the relationships weren’t like a traditional sibling. “Mitchell is a son of Aphrodite,” he continued figuring that would be better than two children of Apollo. “He and Austin are dating.”

“So, I’ll be eating lunch with two couples,” Dean observed with clear displeasure. Will really hadn’t thought about it that way. He opened his mouth to say something but had no idea what he is to say so he ended up just staying silent. Dean slumped in his chair and swiped his phone off the table and started tapping on the screen. “Fucking fantastic,” he added under his breath.

Will watched his cousin for a minute or two, his fingers pecking at his phone’s screen with a scowl on his face. It was such a bizarre thing to watch, Dean had never been the type to be on his phone a lot even when he was dating. What made it even more bizarre was Dean didn’t seem all that happy about it either as he practically glaring at his phone. Will honestly couldn’t take it anymore. “Hey so remember how you used to get annoyed with me when I was constantly checking my phone to see if Nico called or texted?” he questioned realizing it was probably the worse segway in the history of spoken language.

“Fuck yes,” Dean responded not looking up his from his phone which made it clear to Will that Dean didn’t get what he was trying to get at. “I wanted to throttle you.”

Will probably could have said something more but didn’t. Instead, he let out a sigh and stared at his cousin and hoped he would figure it out on his own. It took a few minutes, but Dean slowly seemed to realize what Will was trying to say something more. Slowly Dean lowered his phone and looked up at Will the annoyed expression that had been directed at his phone was then directed toward Will. “What are you trying to say?”

“You’ve been on your phone so much I’m surprised it hasn’t merged with your hand,” Will replied. It was shocking how much of a relief it was to just get that out there. “So, could you tell me what is going on?”

“For the millionth fucking time,” Dean groaned. “Nothing is going on.”

Dean spoke seriously but it was obviously not the truth. Will was trying not to take the whole thing personally, but it was a challenge. Dean told Will anything, or at least he used to. There was only one thing they really didn’t talk about and Will didn’t know if he should actually bring it up if Dean wasn’t. He considered it for a half second and ultimately decided he needed to just do it. “If Felix did something you could talk to me about it,” he offered sincerely. Will might not be a big Felix fan, but he didn’t want Dean to think that meant he couldn’t confide in him about if he needed to.

Dean took a deep breath like he was going to say something but seemed to change his mind at the last second. He let out a huff of air and slouched down in his chair with a look of defeat.

Will wanted to push more but Dean’s expression told him it was probably not a good idea. Will couldn’t think of anything else to say. Normally, it was Dean that was a master of getting conversations away from awkward topics, but he clearly wasn’t looking to talk at all. So, they sat in awkward silence for probably the first time in their lives.

Will had no idea how much time had passed with them sitting in silence. It could have been only a couple of minutes, but it definitely felt like it had been hours. However long it had been he had been thankful when he heard a familiar voice approaching. “Jeez, dude,” Austin exclaimed as he appeared from the front of the café. “What are trying to do, hide back here?” Austin threw his coat over one of the chairs. “If it wasn’t for your big blonde head I would have never found you.” Austin dropped into a chair like he owned the whole café. So typical Austin behavior.

“Hey, Austin,” Will greeted somewhat distracted. As happy as he was to see his half-brother Will couldn’t help but look past him toward the door in search of his boyfriend.

Austin reached out and smacked Will’s arm forcing Will’s attention back to the table. “Dude, who’s your friend?” he questioned pointing toward Dean which highlighted the fact that Will had failed to even think about introducing the two. In a strange way, Will felt like Dean and Austin should already know each other since Will was so used to both of them being around all the time. He knew on some level that it was more complicated than that because Austin was around during the summer at camp, and Dean was always around during the year when Will was home. No matter what if his mother knew he failed to introduce the two she would be severely disappointed. Will opened his mouth to apologize before someone appeared out of the woodwork and took his southern manners card, but Austin kept rambling before he could. “Keep in mind,” he began, “I’ve already made Nico my brother-in-law in my mind, and I would be severely disappointed to hear your banging some dude who looks like he could be related.”

“I’m not you, I don’t cheat,” Will replied with as much annoyance he could muster in response to an Austin comment. Someone was cheating on someone was Austin’s first assumption about just about everything. Will and Austin got along well, and Will really liked him, but Austin really struggled with keeping his dick in his pants which reinforced that slutty child of Apollo stereotype that always drove Will nuts. Will was pretty sure every relationship Austin had been in since he showed up at camp had ended because Austin had fooled around with someone else. At this point, his relationship with Mitchell was so far the exception to that trend. Even if the comment annoyed Will slightly he couldn’t take it too seriously coming from Austin. “This is my cousin, Dean,” Will explained gesturing to where Dean was sitting his phone surprisingly not in his hand for what felt like the first time during their trip.

“Hey,” Dean acknowledged Austin with a little wave.

“Seriously?” Austin exclaimed looking at Dean with complete surprise. He propped both his elbows up on the table and leaned forward toward Dean like he was trying to examine him to confirm he was in fact real. “You’re really the famous Dean?” he questioned with clear awe.

Dean stared at Austin for a solid two minutes before he turned back to Will with a serious expression. “What have you told people about me?” he questioned with a touch of horror in his voice.

“I don’t really know,” Will admitted as he looked back and forth between Austin and Dean with confusion. Will knew he talked about Lee and Michael with the other children of Apollo because he felt like it was important that his older brothers be remembered by other children of Apollo. But for Will, home stuff had always been different, harder to talk about for some reason. That being said, Will couldn’t deny that Dean influenced a lot of his behavior, especially in the infirmary, because Dean was always so calm in the face of any kind of drama or crisis. “I didn’t realize I had mentioned you all that much.”

“He’s talked about you a lot!” Austin exclaimed quickly and excitedly. “The only person he talks about more is Nico,” he explained additionally and unnecessarily as he continued to stare at Dean like he was waiting for Dean to vanish into thin air or something. “It’s so cool to _finally_ meet you,” Austin declared like Dean was some sort of celebrity which just made Will feel more embarrassed. As Austin continued to talk Will started to remember all the little Dean comments and stories he had subjected his siblings to over the years. “Kayla is going to be so jealous, I can’t wait to tell her.”

“Another child of Apollo,” Dean stated questioningly as he looked between Will and Austin for a second before continuing. “So, is she not coming?”

“Nay, she’s back at camp,” Austin answered matter-of-factly. Will guessed he was happy to hear someone was back at camp taking care of the infirmary. “We were on set so….” Austin left the rest unsaid like it was completely self-explanatory which was arguable.

Dean clearly wasn’t going to question it further, so Will was left to ask the obvious question himself, “Where are Nico and Mitchell?”

“They’re on their way,” Austin answered with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Your boyfriend was being a bit of a drama queen and Mitchell hung back to calm him down or whatever.”

Will couldn’t help but get concerned with that statement. Sure, Nico could seem broody, but he wasn’t one to get upset over just anything. “Did something happen? Is Nico okay?”

“What do you honestly think could happen that Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, couldn’t handle?” Austin questioned before declaring with finality, “He’s fine, so stop fretting.”

“When it comes to Nico I don’t think Will knows how” Dean offered quickly and off-handedly before asking with far more interest. “Why didn’t you hang back with your boyfriend?” The question was asked with such genuine curiosity, it was like he couldn’t fathom the idea. It seemed so out of place coming from Dean of all people. Up until recently, Dean had always been the independent type even when he was in a relationship. Will had never said it out loud, but he always suspected that was why Dean’s relationships never lasted that long. He was always off doing his own things. That was obviously different with Felix since the two had been practically inseparable before they started dating.

Austin let out a heavy sigh and slumped in his chair like the question had a physical weight to it. “Because that meant hanging out with his dad,” he shrugged and actually slumped down further in his chair. After a rather long pause, Austin added under his breath. “And I’m pretty sure his dad hates me.”

“Oh, gods,” Will couldn’t help but laugh a little even though he knew he shouldn’t. Nico had mentioned Mitchell’s dad quite a lot. He was a fellow Italian after all and Nico seemed to like him at least enough to keep at that modeling thing. As nice as he may be, Austin wasn’t exactly the kind of guy Will imagined any parent wanted their kid bringing home although Will had always imagined Austin would be good at hiding it. “Why?”

“Because he’s always glaring at me and muttering under his breath in Italian,” Austin explained with clear annoyance. The way Will figured it Austin wasn’t used to people, especially adult people, seeing through his usual charms. In all fairness, Austin could be very charming when he tried to be, so it was likely not something he dealt with often, if ever. Dean hummed like he was about to say something, but Austin cut him off. “And yeah, I’ve asked Nico to translate and he won’t which probably means it is bad.”

“That’s not good,” Will agreed with a nod as he brought his hand to his mouth to hide how hard he was working to swallow a laugh. “Mitchell’s dad might hate you.”

Austin gave another shrug which when paired with the clearly unimpressed facial expression he was wearing made it clear Austin was not bothered by that idea in the slightest. “Mitchell doesn’t seem to mind, and it isn’t like we all can be parent charmers,” he shot Will a very pointed look before continuing. “Fricking bonding with Hades, that’s impressive.”

“I don’t know if we bonded,” Will corrected feeling bashful for some reason. Bonding was Nico’s word for it and Will honestly thought he was exaggerating it because he didn’t like that Will and Hades both disliked his modeling. “But I don’t think Hades is going to murder me in my sleep, and I’m more than happy with that.”

“Will has always been good with adults,” Dean explained matter-of-factly. “Aunt Naomi instilled all those southern manners pretty hardcore growing up which goes a long way.” It was funny listening to Dean talk like all of that had only been directed at Will. Growing up Dean was just as subject to Will’s mom’s lessons about proper manners, and if anyone had a way of charming adults it was Dean more so than Will. Dean had a way of selling the most ridiculous crap as a good idea without most adults even batting an eye. Will wanted to point that out, but Dean seemed disinterested, at least in that topic. “Sorry, I’ve just got to ask,” Dean prefaced not actually seeming particularly sorry. “I get why you think your boyfriend’s dad doesn’t like you but what did you do to make him not like you? Is it because…..?”

Dean stopped short of the actual question, but Will thought he knew what he was going to ask. That raised a whole host of other questions in Will’s mind but didn’t think that moment was the time. Austin being completely oblivious to Dean, his current relationship status, and whatever else was going on with him finished his question like it was nothing. “Because we’re both guys?” He questioned dismissively. “Mitchell’s dad is a clothing designer which may be the gayest profession on the face of the planet. He’s straight but still.”

“What did you do then?” Will questioned. Again, he couldn’t help but remember how Nico had first described Mitchell’s dad and from Nico’s description Will had a hard time believing the man disliked Austin without a reason.

“I didn’t-” Austin started like he was actually going to defend himself but seemed to think better of it almost immediately. “So, he may have caught us going at it a couple of times but really, why is that a big deal?”

Will couldn’t be sure, but he thought Dean shuttered in the seat next to him. Any feelings of horror he might have felt couldn’t have been at the thought of his dad catching him in the act. Uncle John wasn’t what anyone would consider strict, and the worse Will could imagine Dean having to deal with in that situation was a wildly inappropriate high-five.

Maybe that was what was going on with Dean? Maybe Felix’s dad had caught them. It was a good theory, but Will knew it didn’t make sense as soon as it crossed his mind. If something like that had happened Will would have heard, if not from Dean than from his mom.

Like so many things over their visit to the city Will thought about questioning it but didn’t get a chance. This time it was the arrival of their waiter that stopped him. They each ordered with Austin apparently ordering for himself, Mitchell, and Nico which was admittedly strange but not so much so that Will gave it more than a moment’s thought. From the waiter’s rather annoyed expression as Austin ordered Will figured that he was a regular and his ordering habits were both typical and frustrating for the waitstaff.

Will was the last to order and when the waiter walked away he turned to see Austin staring at Dean like he wasn’t completely convinced he was real and Dean staring back at him in confusion. It was in that moment Will realized having Austin be the first child of Apollo for Dean to met was probably a bad idea. Not that he really had a choice but someone a little less over the top would have probably been a better choice, like maybe Kayla.

Dean was the one to break the silence. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably and questioned, “Do I have something in my hair or something?”

“No,” Austin replied clearly missing the unspoken part of Dean’s question. “I’m assuming an allergy to styling products runs in the Solace family.”

“Nope,” Will retorted matter-of-factly. He often got teased (in a friendly way) by his siblings for being less concerned with his appearance. Not all of them took things to the extreme that Austin did but most spent far too much time primping on a daily basis meanwhile Will struggled to remember to brush his hair most days. “We’re just not shallow.”

“Sure, that’s it,” Austin replied with a doubtful roll of his eyes before turning back to Dean. “I feel like I should touch you or something, to make sure you’re real.”

“Um…” Will noticed the concerned look his cousin shot in his direction but really didn’t know what Dean expected him to do. “I’d rather you didn’t,” he admitted. Will thought he noticed Dean sit up a little in his chair like he was trying to put a little extra distance between himself and Austin.

“But you’re like a legend in the Apollo cabin,” Austin exclaimed. He really needed to stop saying things like that. It made Will sound like a giant dweeb. “It’s like meeting a mythical creature.”

Dean seemed to give that statement serious thought for a few moments, far more than seemed warranted in Will’s opinion, before corking his head to one side curiously. “Don’t you do that all the time?” he questioned sincerely.

“Fair point,” Austin agreed with a shrug. Will figured it wasn’t the time to point out that Austin’s experience with mythical creatures was restricted to those he ran into at camp. Austin had shown up not long after the Battle of Manhattan, so he didn’t have the experience with the monsters some demigods faced during the Titan War. He had taken a stray arrow of all things early on in the Battle of Half-Blood Hill, so he had missed out on most of the mess brought by the Romans. Even Austin’s trip to Camp Half-Blood had been rather uneventful compared to most demigods. When Will had ran away from home he had hitchhiked, stole, and stowed away to make it to camp. It took nearly a month and he had faced at least a dozen monsters along the way. Austin had stolen his mom’s credit card (or maybe it was his mom’s boyfriend’s credit card) and booked a flight. From there it was just one taxi ride to camp, no monsters involved.

Austin propped his elbows on the table and leaned forward with a new found interest that made Will feel uneasy. “I bet you’ve got some pretty embarrassing stories about this one,” Austin commented to Dean as he pointed toward Will like there was any question to whom he was referring.

Alarm bells went off in Will’s mind. They were so loud Will was surprised that he couldn’t make out bright flashing lights in his field of vision. This was why having Dean and Austin in the same space was a bad idea- it had nothing to do with Dean’s safety, it had to do with Will’s reputation. Dean knew almost every deep dark secret and embarrassing story Will had, and the few he didn’t know Austin most assuredly did. “No,” Will declared firmly. He hoped he could put an end to the whole conversation before it even started.

Dean looked in his direction for a second before grinning wickedly. That was the moment Will realized that he had had the exact wrong response. Dean had turned into a shark who just got the scent of blood in the water. Will was completely screwed. Dean turned to Austin, still grinning, and declared, “More than I could count.”

“We should trade stories,” Austin suggested excitedly. He actually might have been bouncing in his seat. Will hadn’t seen that from his half-brother since Will didn’t even know when (when was the last Avengers movie?).

Will shook his head in firm denial of what was obviously happening. “No.”

Will saw Austin wave his hand in his direction dismissing Will outright as he continued to look at Dean with a dark sort of excitement. “Did he ever tell you about the fourth of July?” Austin questioned much to Will’s deep displeasure. He should have seen it coming, fourth of July was Austin’s favorite story to tell. The fact that Will hated it just seemed to make him like to tell it more.

Dean perked up noticeable, any of his previous apprehension clearly gone. “No?” Dean admitted uncertainty as he looked toward Will questioningly. Will tried to keep his face neutral, but he doubted that it would work, Dean knew him too well. Dean turned back to Austin and questioned, “What about the fourth of July?”

Austin took a big deep breath clearly preparing to launch into the whole story but Will cut him off before he could get out a sound. “That’s not a story we are telling, not here,” Will stated firmly. The disappointment was clear in Dean’s expression while Austin looked like he was debating if Will was really serious. Will added to make sure he was completely clear, “Because Nico is never to know about that, _ever._ ” Will was completely aware that he sounded a little stalker-ish in that story and he would prefer Nico at least think he was a bit smoother than that.

“Oh my god,” Dean laughed “ _What_ did you do?”

This was not going away, Will realized sadly. Still, he wasn’t going to contribute to the conversation either. “Nothing,” he answered flatly.

“He got _so_ drunk but that’s not the funny part,” Austin started speaking quickly and waving his hands in a show of excitement. “See the whole things start because Will would not-” Austin continued to tell the story with a great deal of animation, but Will’s attention was diverted elsewhere by the sound of the small bell above the café’s entrance announcing the arrival of new customers.

Will glanced over his shoulder to see Nico and Mitchell walking past the front counter back toward their table. Some part of him was still aware of Austin continuing to talk and all he could do was panic. He turned quickly back to Austin as his heart tried to beat out of his chest. “Shh!” he hissed turning to be quiet so as to not be overheard. “You _need_ to stop talking.”

“Do _not_ stop talking,” Dean countered as he propped his elbows on the table and leaned forward as a show of interest. “I definitely need to hear this story.”

Will shot Dean a betrayed look which his cousin completely ignored. He glanced over his shoulder, and dear gods, Nico and Mitchell were getting closer. Will looked at Austin and whined not even caring that his growing panic was starting to show.

“Calm down,” Austin waved at him dismissively before looking away. Will could still make out the guilty expression that twisted his half-brother’s face. Austin shrugged before adding in a quieter and less self-assured tone, “Nico _may_ already know this story.”

Will felt like he had been slapped. Before he had left camp, he had made his siblings promise him two things (besides the usual “don’t destroy the infirmary”) check in on Nico and make sure he never hears the fourth of July story. When Nico and Austin started hanging out so much Will had again made Austin promise not to tell him that story. “You swore,” Will reminded not hiding the sense of betrayal he was feeling.

“Take it up with Cecil,” Austin replied quickly as he held his arms up in a show of surrender. “Not me.”

Will opened his mouth to say something. Maybe it was to express some kind of doubt, Cecil was his friend after all. Although, now that Will thought about it Cecil did have a tendency of talking before thinking. Or maybe it was just to protest at the general unfairness of the situation. Either way, it didn’t happen. Anything that he was going to say was lost when he felt Nico’s cool fingers graze the back of his neck affectionately.

The touch was gone almost as soon as it started. Nico dropped in the chair next to him, placing him between Will and Dean with his back to the wall as Will knew he preferred. “Perfect table,” Nico observed. He smiled brightly for a second as his gaze aligned with Will before he looked away sheepishly. Will couldn’t help but smile brightly, Nico’s slightly bashful sort of flirtation always made Will feel like the luckiest guy on the planet.

“Yeah, if going on the quest for the one ring to get to it is okay with you,” Mitchell huffed as he dropped himself into the chair next to Dean. He paused for a second and looked between Will and Austin for a second. From the way he perked up a little, Will guessed he saw something of interest there. “Looks like we got here just in time,” he declared with a mischievous sort of interest that Will was pretty sure only children of Aphrodite could muster. “What are we talking about?”

“Nothing,” Will answered quickly while shooting Austin a warning look because his half-brother really needed to just let it go. It was bad enough that he was definitely going to have to tell Dean the whole embarrassing story at some point and he knew Dean was going to tease him endless about.

Austin ignored his warning look which Will was starting to notice was becoming a bit of a bad habit. He didn’t like it at all. “Will’s embarrassing fourth of July story,” Austin answered like it was the simplest, most obvious thing ever.

Will let out an annoyed huff and let his hands fall to the floor dramatically. “Could we maybe not?”

“Pssh,” Austin waved his hand dismissively in the air. “Everyone at camp has one of those,” the son of Aphrodite stated like he was talking about last year’s fashion accessory. “It’s practically a rite of passage at this point.”

Will’s memory of the fourth of July before last was fuzzy at best, and he had heard that almost all the campers had gotten into their fair share of trouble that night, but he still doubted that many had a story as embarrassing as Will’s.

“Oh really,” Austin turned to his boyfriend with clear interest. It may have been the first helpful thing Austin had done for Will since he had sat down and while it may have been inadvertent, but Will was still grateful. “What’s yours?”

Before Mitchell could even begin to respond Nico did for him. “You,” Nico told Austin flatly. Will’s head whipped in Nico’s direction with surprise that he had actually said that. Nico just grinned, clearly aware of what he just said. Mitchell and Dean (who didn’t even know the story) both snickered with Dean doing a better job of hiding it than Mitchell.

“Hey!” Austin protested although Will would have been surprised if his half-brother was actually bothered. “Not nice!”

Will saw Nico shrugged unapologetically while Mitchell let out a little cough to cover up the last of his lingering laughter. “I’m just saying,” the son of Aphrodite began clearly trying to change the subject or at least get it back on track. “Yours isn’t even that bad.”

“I think it was sweet,” Nico offered sincerely as his slipped his hand over Will’s and interlaced their fingers. Will felt himself blushing and while it was great that Nico didn’t think he was a complete creeper he still wanted to crawl into a hole to hide from his embarrassment. Nico must have read his expression because Will felt him squeeze his hand reassuringly.

“Wait,” Mitchell called for everyone’s attention with clear confusion. Will looked away from where his and Nico were joined just in time to see the child of Aphrodite pointing between Will and his boyfriend with a questioning expression. “Are we not talking about the sex in the communal showers things?”

Will really hadn’t even thought about anything from the last year’s four of July. He hadn’t thought about how Jason and Piper had sort of walked in on him and Nico having sex in the communal showers which had been incredible (the sex, not the interruption). He hadn’t thought about how a bunch of them getting caught skinny dipping by Chiron. He certainly hadn’t thought about running into Ja (gross) propositioning him and indirectly Nico for a threesome (grosser).

“Wow,” Dean exclaimed. Will struggled to really pay his cousin any attention as he noticed Nico’s cheeks turn a bright shade of red. “That shouldn’t surprise me, but it does.”

Will went to speak completely willing to throw himself under the bus and direct the conversation back to his own embarrassment if it would direct the conversation away from something he knew Nico was uncomfortable discussing. In the end, he didn’t have to say a word because Mitchell, in true inattentive demigod style, moved on to the next. He turned to Dean and stared at him for several seconds like he was just realizing Dean was there and an unfamiliar person. “Well hello there, new blonde friend.” He greeted. His eyes remained on Dean with clear interest. “How did I miss you there?”

“No idea,” Dean replied with a bit of a shrug which Will couldn’t figure out if Dean was just trying to be casual in his response or if it was a show of discomfort at the level of interest being directed at him.

Will saw Mitchell nod with interest for a second before pointing toward Dean as he looked between Will and Austin. “New child of Apollo?” the child of Aphrodite questioned.

“Fuck no!” Dean answered before Will or Austin had a chance to make the correction. Dean didn’t do much to hide how insulting he took the suggestion. It wasn’t like he thought any less of Will or any of his half-siblings Dean just disliked Apollo that much. Before Dean knew about all the demigod stuff he had always basically refused to acknowledge Apollo existed and on the rare occasion, he would just called Apollo a deadbeat. After learning about the demigod stuff that really didn’t change much except maybe he was a little quieter about his dislike. Actually, meeting Apollo seemed to amplified Dean’s dislike. He had stopped calling Apollo a deadbeat which Will guessed was good, but he had started calling him the God of Fuckboys, so it wasn’t a complete win.

If anyone could be called the God of Fuckboys Will was pretty sure it would be Zeus, but he didn’t really think Dean wanted to hear it.

“This is my cousin, Dean” Will explained before Mitchell asked the confused question that was written all over the son of Aphrodite’s face.

“Wow,” Mitchell exclaimed as he once again looked toward Dean although this time it was less a look of interest and more one of being impressed. “The Solace clan are pretty people, aren’t they?”

“From what I’ve seen,” Will heard Nico comment under his breath. Will couldn’t help but look to Nico who was keeping his eyes on the rest of the table. It must have been the light because Will thought he saw a speck of light reflect off something at the corner of Nico’s eye.

“Good genes,” Dean grumbled in response to Mitchell as he apparently continued to participate in a conversation Will had all but forgotten about in favor of gazing at his boyfriend. It was probably the closest thing to a thank you the other demigod was going to get. “I guess”

Nico leaned back in his chair ever so slightly and the motion caused a few more flecks to reflect the light for a brief time. _Was that glitter_? It must have been, and Will was surprised in that it looked quite nice. Nico had little specks of gold in his eyes, not as light as Hazel’s but light enough to give his dark eyes a feeling of warmth which seemed to be accentuated by the little reflective flecks at the corner of his eyes running along his temple. Looking good or no glitter was not something Will ever associated with Nico.

Will’s month started talking before he had really thought it out. “Why are you wearing glitter?” He questioned only barely managing to resist the urge to reach out and touch the shiny bits he now couldn’t help but notice.

While Mitchell and Austin groaned in unison Nico’s head whipped in Will’s direction. “What?” Nico questioned a level of darkness in his voice that had Will realizing he probably shouldn’t have voiced his observation.

Will recognized he shouldn’t have said anything, sure but that didn’t mean he stopped talking. Instead, Will pointed to his own temple as a way to indicate what he was talking about. “It looks like there are flecks of glitter by your eyes,” he explained to another chorus of groans for the other demigods at the table.

Nico’s eyes went wide for a second before narrowing slightly as he turned to Mitchell. “You _said_ you got all of it,” Nico growled in the son of Aphrodite’s direction.

“I got most of it,” Mitchell replied with a large sigh as he dropped his hands with a bit of a thud that seemed punctuate his point. “And it really isn’t _that_ noticeable.”

Will may not have understood what they were talking about, but he could easily tell that Nico wasn’t remotely satisfied by the son of Aphrodite’s response. If anything, Nico’s glare intensified at Mitchell’s statement. Austin leaned forward to look at Nico from around Mitchell before offering, “The only reason Will noticed is that he was gazing lovingly at your face.”

Before leaning back in his seat Austin shot Will a look that Will was all too familiar with. It was Austin’s _you’re-make-the-rest-of-us-look-like-horrible-boyfriends-dude_ look. Once upon a time, Will would have ignored or even been embarrassed by a look like that but now he just felt mildly annoyed by it. Austin should try to be a better boyfriend rather than shaming (even if it was teasing) Will for being something of a romantic. Will looked at his half-brother without hiding his feelings on the subject and pointed out, “You say that like it is a bad thing.” Austin just shrugged which Will saw as an improvement. In the past, Austin would have been quick to tease him for being a gay guy who wanted to celebrate Valentine’s day (Why that was weird, Will didn’t know).

Nico and Mitchell either didn’t really care about the exchange between Will and Austin or simply didn’t notice. Mitchell did one of those child of Aphrodite things that was just so dramatic it really didn’t come from demigods outside of the love goddess’s lineage; he tossed his hands up before dropping them back to the table as he spoke to Nico like he had already had this conversation and he was completely exhausted with it. “Short of actually climbing into the shower with you and scrubbing you down, I did everything I could,” He shrugged as a show of how out of options he really was, Will assumed. “And, don’t get me wrong, I’m totally willing to do that anytime, but I doubt Will here would be okay with that.”

“You’d be correct” Will agreed quickly with a nod just in case his words weren’t clear enough.

“Oh, so very correct,” Dean chuckled out clearly much more comfortable now that he wasn’t the conversation. Will noticed more than heard Nico grumble something unintelligible under his breath as Dean joked about Will’s possessive nature before beginning to rub at his temple far more roughly than Will thought was necessary.

Nico’s behavior went largely unnoticed by the others at the table who continued to go back and forth in conversation. “You know,” Austin started as he twisted in his chair so he was looking directly at his boyfriend who was sitting next to him. “It’s also weird that you want to bang my future brother-in-law.”

Mitchell immediately scuffed and turned his head to meet Austin’s gaze. “Two words,” he declared. “Jason Grace.”

“Point taken,” Austin agreed with a nod as he turned back toward the table. Mitchell totally had him there. Austin would be on Jason in a hot second if he thought he had a chance.

Out of the corner of his eye, Will saw Nico drop his hand from his temple and examine his fingertips for a second. Whatever he saw there was clearly not what he wanted because he groaned audibly. “I’m going to wash my face,” Nico declared as he pushed his chair away from the table and stood up. He turned to Mitchell and glared before adding, “Again.”

Mitchell just shrugged as Nico stomped away from the table and toward the bathroom. Will looked around the table for a second before giving his cousin an apologetic look and then darting after his boyfriend. Dean was dating Felix, he could definitely handle a few minutes alone with Austin and Mitchell or at least that is what he hoped.


	63. A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Posting Day Friends!
> 
> First, if you have commented recently and I haven't replied- Sorry, I haven't gotten emailed about comments for some reason so I didn't know. I will try to reply soon.
> 
> Second, since there may be an issue with Ao3 notices I will just let you know here- A new Outtakes chapter will be going up hopefully this week (Wednesday). It's written, I just have to edit it. 
> 
> Also, if you follow me on Tumblr a new Delix piece will be going up soon as well (in the next week or so).
> 
> Now on to this chapter- This is a Delix-centric chapter, just so you know (and if you don't like that you could probably skip it). It contains a conversation about sex. It's not graphic but it is there just so you know. Also, there is cursing (I think).
> 
> Enjoy!

Dean knew Will was going to run off after Nico before his ass left his chair. His cousin was just pathetically predictable that way, especially when it came to his boyfriend. So, when Will gave him an apologetic look and darted out of his chair after the brunet, Dean couldn’t even fake surprise.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” the blond guy sitting across the table from him who Dean was only fifty percent sure was named Austin shouted after Will with a grin.

The brunet at his side, the guy Dean remembered was named Mitchell, snorted derisively, “That’s a short list.”

Austin (?) grinned at Mitchell wickedly and shrugged. “You’ve never complained.”

Watching the short exchange between the couple made Dean want to be annoyed with Will for running off, but he still couldn’t muster it. He probably deserved it considering how he had been pretty much the entire trip. Will hadn’t been wrong about Dean being practically glued to his phone. It would have probably been easier if Dean had just told Will what was going on the first time he asked but talking to Will about Felix was always difficult.

Maybe that wasn’t it at all, maybe Dean was just emotionally exhausted. That could totally have been the problem considering Felix was supposed to call him like two hours ago, and Dean was _really_ trying not to be the possessive paranoid boyfriend and freak out about that. Being around not one but two couples wasn’t really helping his internal crisis meter, but there really nothing he could do about that now.

Instead of dwelling or panicking about his own situation, Dean found himself trying to figure out how he felt about Austin. Since Will had told Dean about having half-siblings, Dean had given a lot of thought to what he thought those siblings would be like. Part of him figured that if they were related to Will that they would have to be just cool, laid-back people. Than Dean met Apollo, and the two minutes were more than enough for a lifetime in his opinion. It was actually really hard to believe that self-absorbed jackass was Will’s dad, and Dean secretly lived in fear that Will’s siblings were little Apollo-esque douche bags. Austin didn’t really seem to fall solely into either category which was interesting Dean guessed. How Dean actually felt about him, he wasn’t sure yet, but he didn’t have the visceral desire to punch him in the face, so it was a step in the right direction.

Austin and Mitchell continued to talk in this flirty type of banter that made Dean’s chest actually fucking ache. At least they seemed to ignore that Dean existed and talked amongst themselves which gave Dean an opportunity to check his phone without Will’s scrutinizing gaze. Not surprisingly he didn’t have any missed calls or texted. It was probably one of the most melodramatic thoughts he had ever had but looking at his notice-free cell phone screen made him want to crawl into a hole and die.

_So much for not turning into the paranoid, possessive boyfriend._

No more than a minute had passed since Will went chasing after Nico when the waitress arrived with their order. For the most part, everyone had just ordered drinks except for Nico and Mitchell who were splitting an absurdly large cookie (according to Austin who had placed their order). She deposited everything without saying much and left a few seconds before Dean heard Nico and Will exit the bathroom.

It wasn’t that his cousin and his boyfriend were loud. Alright, that wasn’t true, it wasn’t that Nico was loud. Nico was stealth as always while Will’s chasing after him fawning which was kind of noisy.

“You really look great,” Dean heard Will state insistently. He turned to see them approaching the table: Nico looked just as discontent as he had when he had stormed off, except now his right temple looked visibly raw while Will was a half a step behind him looking a little desperate.

 _Shit! Do I act like that with Felix_? Dean wondered with a bit of panic. _Was that a Solace family trait_? Dean had no doubt that his dad dated plenty, but he never brought people around and Dean’s mom had split when he was still in diapers so for all Dean knew his dad could have been equality as pathetic. He doubted it, but it was still a possible, and while Dean wanted to think he was more practiced in being in a relationship and therefore smothering than his cousin. Considering his behavior over the last few days he realized he was probably lying to himself.

“You always say that,” he heard Nico retorted as he stopped short standing behind the chair he had occupied previously.

“Because I mean it,” Will replied, and in all fairness,s Dean knew that was the truth.

Dean watched Nico stare at Will for a long moment like he was going to argue before he seemed to give up. He let out a huff before turning to the table, gesturing toward the red skin at his temple, and questioning aggressively, “Better?”

“Yup,” Mitchell answered quickly hopping up in his seat a little as he did. Dean couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, but he thought he saw the brunet elbow his boyfriend in the ribs as he spoke.

Austin sat up a little straighter before agreeing with far more enthusiasm than was necessary, “Yeah, no glitter to be seen.”

 _Oh, yeah_ , Dean thought with amusement, _Mitchell definitely elbowed Austin to get that reaction_.

Nico just glared at the two other demigods at the table. It was more than obvious that he didn’t believe a word either of them said. Dean couldn’t blame him for that the two were stupid obvious in their lying. Dean would have thought considering the huge secrets they had to keep demigods would be better at lying, but so far, all of the ones he had met sucked at it except for maybe Nico.

Dean didn’t notice Nico had turned his attention to him until he heard Nico huff. Turning, he found Nico staring at him intently. “I don’t trust them,” his cousin’s boyfriend declared as he pointed toward the other two guys at the table. “Is there glitter?” he questioned gesturing to his temple which had faded from a dark red to a lighter pink.

Dean took a few seconds to really look before answering honestly. “A little, but you can only see it in the right light.” He shrugged, “It’s probably the best you're going to get without scrubbing off half your skin.”

Dean’s last girlfriend had been a big fan of glitter in all its horrific forms, so he was intimately familiar with the staying power of glitter. They had broken up over a year and a half ago, and Dean wouldn’t have been surprised if he still found some in his car. Nico had his sympathy, to say the least.

“Thank you,” Nico nodded at him as a show of appreciation to Dean as he dropped into his chair at the table. Will followed suit, dropping down into his own chair without a word. Dean watched Nico shot Mitchell another dirty look. “ _Never_ again,” he reiterated with more heat in his voice than before.

“You may feel differently when you see the pictures,” Mitchell offered clearly completely unfazed by Nico’s annoyance. Dean was a bit surprised at how casually the other guy was with Nico. Ever since Will had finally filled Dean on all the demigod stuff, he couldn’t help but notice the dark sort of energy that Nico just seemed to give off. To be honest, at first it had really freaked him out. It took a little time, but he came to realize it wasn’t actually a bad thing, but it definitely made Dean reluctant to piss the guy off. From the way Will told it, a lot of demigods had thought having a child of Hades around was bad luck, and many were at least nervous around Nico. Apparently, Mitchell was not most demigods because he definitely wasn’t nervous even as Nico glared at him. “You looked seriously hot.”

“ _Never_ again,” Nico stressed enough for Dean to recognized that that moment was probably not the time to poke a little fun at Will by commenting that he would apparently have some good masturbatory material coming his way soon.

“Understood,” Mitchell nodded. Dean got the general impression from Mitchell’s mannerisms that he wasn’t completely sold by Nico’s insistence, and that if the time came he was going to suggest glitter again. It might just have been that Mitchell sort of reminded Dean of Felix, at least in ways of appearance (dark hair, hazel eyes, although Felix had more of the traditionally athletic build), but he would bet money the guy could convince Nico to get glittered up again if he really put his mind to it.

Felix had some sort of crazy superpower that no one ever seemed to give him credit for because of his brash demeanor (or maybe it only worked on Dean), but the guy was incredibly persuasive. It wasn’t even that Felix would talk people into things, he would just suggest something or off-handedly commented about something, and suddenly you were doing it.

When Will had gone to New York for Nico’s birthday was a perfect example of that. Dean and Felix had been driving to school that Friday without Will because he had already left for the city. Beside that it had was like any other morning, or at least it had started that way. They were driving to school, listening to music, and joking around until Felix made some comment about how neither of them had anything that they couldn’t miss first period. It was such a nothing comment, but Dean still ended up stumbling into the main office just after the second-period bell rang claiming car trouble to explain the tardiness. The whole time he was talking to the secretary he was praying to every deity he could think of that no one could tell he and Felix had just been fooling around in the backseat of his car.

Mitchell definitely seemed like he could be that type too which made him a little intimidating just in a very different way than Nico. Dean resisted the urge to turn to Austin and ask if Mitchell had ever talked him into something crazy, but considering Austin was a child of Apollo and seemed to share some of his father’s unappealing personality traits he would probably answer that question with an inappropriate amount of detail. Dean was positive he didn’t want to hear that.

Instead, Dean kept his interest focused on Mitchell. He seemed like a safer person to question, even if it was just slightly so. “Um, why glitter?” Dean asked with sincerely. He had seen his fair share of underwear ads, (because yeah, he always looked at those even those he bought whatever was cheapest, and yeah, Dean was aware that was another missed signed to his bisexuality) and he didn’t get ninety percent of what they did, ya know, besides the hot guys. “I don’t see what that has to do with underwear.”

“That’s what I said,” Nico grumbled under his breath. Apparently, Nico had moved on to the pouting stage of his annoyance. Too bad there wasn’t a photographer around to catch that on film because pouty with an air of mystery was definitely Nico’s signature look (at least from what Dean had seen).

For the moment Dean ignored how Nico and Will were already holding hands because if he acknowledged that more than just on a superficial level he was going to start thinking about Felix. That, unfortunately, was not the safest thing at the moment, so unless he wanted to rip his still beating heart out of his chest and present it to the table he was going to avoid that for the moment.

“It’s an aesthetic,” Mitchell replied plainly like that made any sort of sense (spoiler alert: it really didn’t).

Dean thought about letting it go for the sake of the conversation but at the end of the day he was a language nerd, and he just couldn’t let it go. “That’s just a word, not an answer.”

“No, it’s an answer,” Austin stated quickly with a grin that Dean was starting to suspect was just always plastered on his face (and never a good sign). “The aesthetic was gay disco tech,” he explained in a joking tone.

In fairness, it did seem like a funny joke at least to Dean although based on the way Mitchell glared at Austin he did not see it that way. “Relax, I was just teasing,” Austin defended to his boyfriend although he was still wearing that grin that seemed to undermine his point. Austin apparently had a very different perspective on apologies from Dean because instead of seeming remotely apologetic his grin widened as he leaned in and whispered suggestively, “You normally like that.”

Mitchell just rolled his eyes, “In the bedroom maybe.”

That seemed like kind of private information to comment on so casually in front someone they practically just met. Dean wasn’t the type to shy away from talking about sex (although he was trying to be a little more private since Felix seemed to be uncomfortable with talking about any of that stuff), but that was taking it a bit far even for him. He didn’t get a chance to comment or even shot Will a look like _how weird are demigods? Do none of you guys have boundaries?_ His phone vibrated noisily against the cheap surface of the table and Dean just sort of forgot everything and everyone else as he snatched it off the table.

It wasn’t Felix because why would it be? That would have brought Dean some relief, and he was apparently doomed so there could be none of that. It was actually a text message from his dad, asking if Dean could cover half the electric bill via text message. Dean dropped his phone back on the table without replying. He would deal with that dumpster fire later when he couldn’t muster the emotional energy needed to care.

Dean didn’t hide his disappointment well which was really starting to become the theme of the weekend. He dropped his phone back down on the table and fully expect to hear Will question him about if everything was okay for the thousandth time, but that wasn’t what happened. Sure, when Dean looked up he saw that Will was giving him that worried look he had been most of the weekend, but he didn’t say anything. Or maybe it was just that he didn’t get a chance.

“Relationship troubles?” Mitchell questioned sympathetically. “Want to talk about it?”

Well, if that wasn’t a verbal slap in the face Dean didn’t know what was. _Had he been so obvious? Did this even count as relationship problems? It wasn’t like he and Felix were fighting, Dean was just being secretly jealous and possessive. Fuck dude, just say nothing._

“What?” Dean managed to reply sounding surprised.

“I knew Felix did something,” Dean heard Will mutter under his breath. Dean loved Will and everything, but he had the worst timing, not to mention he could sometimes be an insensitive ass.

Dean really had become the master of letting things go. Considering his boyfriend and his cousin could barely tolerate each other he kind of had to be even if Felix had gotten better and Will normally tried. Normally he would have let it go, ignored it, but it just bothered him more than it normally did. “Why do you always have to assume Felix did something?” he questioned defensively. “Felix didn’t do anything, and everything is completely fine!” Dean was clearly trying to convince someone, and he honestly wasn’t sure exactly who. It didn’t really matter because his statement was so obviously a front no one was going to believe it. He certainly didn’t.

_Fuck!_

Will sputtered as he clearly tried to figure out the right thing to say which was at least better than the curious looks he was getting from Nico and Mitchell, so he chose to focus on that. Unfortunately, it wasn’t any of those three that break the silence. It was Austin with a question that put him squarely in the Apollo category for Dean. “Is the sex bad?” he questioned like that was a completely normal thing to ask a person.

No wonder Will never got bothered by the intrusive questions that Nora, Ruby, and the guys threw at him if this was the sort of things he dealt with a camp from his half-siblings. Dean found himself at a complete loss for words for maybe the first time in his life. He didn’t openly sputter but it was a near thing.

“Why do you have to make everything about sex?” Nico questioned thankfully filling the uncomfortable silence. Dean looked to his cousin’s boyfriend with a grateful expression that Nico missed because his attention was focused on Austin looking annoyed on Dean’s behave.

“Sexual compatibility is an important part of a relationship,” Austin replied quickly and with no signs of shame. If anything, he looked proud of himself. The expression was so reminiscent of Apollo it was a little unnerving. “Don’t get mad at me because I’m the only one willing to admit that.” Nico let out a dismissive huff but didn’t say anything to dispute that.

“That’s not it,” Mitchell declared thoughtful before popping a piece of cookie into his mouth. He chewed for a second before continuing to talk like he was giving a well-practiced lecture. “I’m not arguing the importance of sexual compatibility in a relationship, but I don’t think that the issue here,” he pointed at Dean with a chunk of cookie pinched between two fingers. “They haven’t had sex yet.”

 _How the fuck was this conversation even happening right now_ , Dean wondered in complete horror. Again, normally he really wouldn’t fucking care what people knew about his sex life, but this wasn’t just about him, and Felix was crazy private about that stuff. Even when they had just been friend Dean had noticed pretty early on that Felix got quiet if the topic of conversation moved toward locker room talk.

 _How could this guy he just met know?_ There was only one thing that Dean could think of and it didn’t seem right, but he was the only thing that made sense. After all, there was only one person who actually knew that, Nico.

“You told them?” He questioned looking at Nico in surprise. Maybe that was just what Dean got for confiding in someone besides Will, but Nico seemed like the take your secrets to the grave type. Dean guessed he could have been wrong about that.

Before Nico could do anything more than look back at him with surprised look Will sat forward and give Dean the most confused and betrayed look in the history of mankind. “What?” Will questioned.

 _Seriously, that look put kicked puppies everywhere to shame_. Dean understood it, they had practically grown up brothers so usually when they needed to talk something through they talked to each other. In all fairness, Dean had tried to talk to Will first, but about three seconds in he had realized that that was a fucking horrible idea. He had never been more thankful for Aunt Naomi showing up ever.

Put aside all the usual stuff that made talking about sex beyond locker room talk with Will a little awkward, Felix had been more defensive than Dean had ever seen when he finally told him he was a virgin, and that was saying something because Dean had seen Felix pretty fucking defensive before. Felix would not be okay with Will knowing about what at least Felix thought of as an embarrassing bit of his sexual history. Thing was, Dean couldn’t just not talk to someone about it because he had handled Felix’s confession so fucking badly. Some of that was on Felix because he may have picked the worst possible moment to drop that piece of knowledge but a lot of it was on Dean himself.

Dean wasn’t some cliché guy who was afraid of commitment or anything like that, but …. well, he just preferred his dating life to lack any long-term attachments at this point of his life. It wasn’t like he ever lied about that to anyone. He wasn’t one of the douche-bag high school guys that would drop the L word like it was nothing to get in some girl’s pants. Every girl he had been with had had experience: his first real girlfriend had been a junior when he was only a freshman, and his other serious girlfriend may have worn a promise ring and attended church every Sunday, but she was far from chaste. So, while someone took his virginity, he had never taken anyone else’s, and that felt like a big deal.

Things were already so different in his relationship with Felix than anything Dean had experienced before. The fact that Dean was ready to have a complete meltdown over one missed phone call was evidence of that. He was already in so deep but taking Felix’s virginity was just so much more. Felix would always remember it, no matter what, it would be his first time. Sure, Felix said he wanted to now, but that could change. In a strange way, it felt like Felix was offering Dean a gift, and while Felix acted like it was no big deal, Dean wasn’t sure if he was worthy of it.

Dean definitely needed to talk that shit out to someone and since Will was out of the question Dean had limited opinions. Wash and Watts were immediately out even though Dean was pretty sure Nora hadn’t been with anyone before Wash because those two were pretty much incapable of taking anything seriously. His dad was out because it was just too much to explain, and while he doubted his dad would care it wasn’t something he wanted to deal with. He even considered talking to Ruby and Nora, but in the end, he didn’t think that would be much help- there were some fundamental differences between men and women.

Nico had seemed like a good choice, or at least like someone who could give Dean a different perspective on the situation. Maybe he had put too much faith in Nico’s seemingly quiet demeanor?

“No,” Nico answered genuinely. One of his hands had come to rest on Will’s shoulder as a gesture of reassurance. Will had sat back in his chair clearly sullen, but willing to be silent, at least for the moment. Dean watched Nico shot Mitchell an annoyed look before turning back to him and explained, “Mitchell can just sort of tell when it comes to things like that.”

“It’s a child of Aphrodite thing,” Mitchell added on quickly like that was actually an explanation of anything.

Dean honestly found himself staring at the guy trying to figure out what he even meant. He remembered how Will had explained some demigods had powers related to their godly parent, like Nico’s shadow-travel or Will’s healing, but he couldn’t make that knowledge align with what Mitchell had said.

“Yeah, some children of Aphrodite get charmspeak,” Austin chimed in with the same level of enthusiasm he seemed to approach everything. Dean actually remembered Will mentioning chamspeak once or twice so at least he could follow what the guy was saying. Austin jutted his thumb to the side to point at Mitchell sitting next to him, “He can tell when people have banged.”

Dean couldn’t help but notice how Mitchell’s face immediately scrunched up. Clearly, he didn’t agree with Austin’s description of his abilities. “More like I can read people’s sexual aura,” he corrected plainly.

Dean didn’t completely buy into the belief of auras and shit like that which was probably kind of stupid considering some of the things he knew to be fact but whatever. At least that was a better explanation than Nico blabbing about everything Dean had told him.

Will was still staring at Dean with wounded puppy face, Dean could feel it. He could explain himself but didn’t really know how, and the whole conversation was just so weird he thought it might be better just stay quiet and hope it would stop.

“Is the lack of sex the problem?” Austin asked. The guy was clearly perplexed by the very concept. _Why couldn’t he just drink his stupid coffee and stop talking_? “I can totally see why that would cause problems.”

“Not everyone is a slut like you,” Nico interjected off-handedly as he reached for the plate sitting in front of Mitchell, grabbing a chunk of cookie, and popping it in his mouth.

“It takes you _at most_ three days to start whining about missing sex after seeing Will,” Austin was quick to retort. “You are really in _no_ position to judge me.”

Dean watched Nico turn an unearthly shade of red and slumped down in his chair like he was actually considering crawling under the table to hide from his embarrassment. It was almost a relief to have someone else’s sex life being pulled into the spotlight (almost). The problem was Mitchell didn’t seem all that interesting in his boyfriend and Nico’s back and forth. Instead, he was staring at Dean like he was a completely fascinating science experiment. It reminded Dean a little of his first lab partner in biology, nice guy but Dean still failed biology. For someone who could honestly be called an academic perfectionist that wasn’t a happy memory. Even if it was, Dean had never felt envious of the frog on dissection day.

“It’s not that neither,” Mitchell offered decisively. Apparently, he had read some facts on Dean’s face that he didn’t even know he was giving away. “No sex was your idea, right?” he questioned although, and this was the real horror of the thing, he seemed like he already knew the answer. Dean was usually pretty good at hiding his reactions to things, but that skill completely failed him, and he knew everything he was thinking probably read on his face. Mitchell either didn’t notice or just knew better than to comment (maybe that was another child of Aphrodite thing). That didn’t mean Mitchell didn’t keep talking, it just met that he didn’t point out that Dean’s face answered his question. “And sure,” Mitchell shrugged like the conversation was about something a whole lot more casual than Dean’s sex life. “You’re conflicted and a little... _frustrated,_ but that’s not the problem here.”

Dean had absolutely detested Apollo because upon meeting him. Dean found the god was exactly what he suspected, the personification of the douchey frat-guy-esque fuckboy. Dealing with Mitchell he was starting to think he wouldn’t like Aphrodite much either. _Did all the gods suck and make life difficult_?

Mitchell was just so fucking dead-on it was like he was he was reading Dean’s mind. Yeah, not having sex was his idea and yeah, he was fucking frustrated. Felix was fucking hot, and he seemed to instinctually know how to work Dean into a frenzy which was just fucking unfair because he was just trying to do the right thing. That was not even remotely close to a topic of conversation Dean was going to get into with a couple of guys he _literally_ just met.

“I’m _so_ confused,” Austin declared out of nowhere. Dean looked at the other guy to find him staring at him. Unlike his boyfriend, Austin was staring at him like Dean was an alien that he just couldn’t understand.

Dean squirmed under the scrutiny of all the eyes on him. _Why were they still talking about this_? “And I’m extremely uncomfortable with this whole conversation” Dean admitted. His tone was awkwardly cheerful enough that it could be passed off as a joke, but honestly, he hoped that someone would take him seriously enough to change topics. He was more than happy to go back to suffering through his relationship issues in silence.

Yeah, Dean wanted a distraction. He wanted to be talking about something else and then Will started talking, and he realized maybe having to explain his reasons for holding off on having sex with his boyfriend wasn’t the worse thing in the world. Whatever Will have been doing in the last few minutes it wasn’t following the ongoing conversation. “You talked to Nico,” Will stated sounding like he was in complete disbelief, or maybe it was just denial, “about your relationship instead of talking to me?”

So, Will was upset, that much was pretty obvious, and Dean guessed he should have expected that. Part of him, and that was the petty part, wanted to be a dick, and point out all the thinking Will had left him in the dark about over the years, like being a demigod, that he was gay, that he was dating someone, or losing his freaking virginity. All of that was so much bigger than anything Dean kept to himself.

Being a dick about it wasn’t going to help the situation, and really none of that was relevant so Dean kept it to himself. “I tried to talk to you but-” he started in an attempt defend himself or at least try to explain. But, seriously, how was he going end that sentence? But Aunt Naomi came home and saved him from what was obviously going to be a wildly uncomfortable conversation. What would be the point be in that? It didn’t even begin to get at the real underlying issue. He let out a heavy sigh and decided to change tactics. “Dude, you’re like my kid brother,” he declared sounding more exasperated than he meant. “It feels fucking weird to talk to you about certain things.”

“But you were _fine_ talking to my boyfriend about those things?” Will questioned. The shock and confusion that had been in his voice seemed to be slowly replaced by outrage.

Again, if Dean wanted to be a dick he could have pointed out that Will was sort of turning into a stereotype, the overly dramatic gay, but he didn’t. “I didn’t say that,” he corrected. Dean had been far from fine when he had called Nico. He had already had Nico’s number since before Felix had dropped the big V bomb. Will had given it to him not long after coming clean about the demigod stuff as sort of a break-glass-in-case-of-an-emergency type of thing. It might not have been what Will had in mind, but it was an emergency, in Dean’s view at least. Still, it had taken Dean over a week to work up the nerve to actually call. It probably would have taken him longer, but Felix had been so annoyed with him the whole week Dean had been desperate. It still hadn’t been what Dean would call a comfortable conversation, especially in the beginning. In the end, at least, Dean was glad he had stuck with it. “I know exactly two gay guys so talking to Nico was really the only choice I had.”

Dean had exhausted every other possible resource he could think of before he even entertained the idea of talking to Will let alone Nico. Since what he did in fact, only know the two gay guys his only other resource to speak of was the internet. Probably not a shocker to anyone living in the internet age, but Dean didn’t find much that was helpful on the world wide web. Some articles or websites he found weren’t too bad they just weren’t helpful for Dean’s situation, others probably could have been helpful if Dean could get past some of the language and terminology and how open they were about everything (Dean was still processing his own sexual and wasn’t sure if he was ready to read something so detailed), and some clearly were just misinformation from people who hated homosexuality. Beyond that, there was just porn and that was never a reliable source of information about anything. Plus, Felix was keeping him plenty of frustrated enough, he didn’t need porn to add to it. So, yeah Dean caved and called his cousin’s _son-of-Hades-underwear-model-I kick-ass-while-looking-hotter-than-you_ boyfriend for advice on his sex life. It may have been one of the weirdest things he had done, and he was sorry that Will felt some level of betrayed by it, he still didn’t regret it.

“It worked out well for me,” Dean admitted with a shrug as he tried to avoid making eye contact with Will to avoid seeing the look of betrayal in his cousin’s eyes. “Nico gave me some really helpful advice,” he informed guiltily. It hadn’t all been the advice Dean had been looking for, but it had been the advice he had needed at the time. It dawned on Dean as he spoke that his conversation with Nico had ended rather abruptly, and he had never gotten a chance to express his gratitude. He leaned forward to look around Will at Nico who had been characteristically quiet through most of the conversation. “Thanks, by the way.”

“Glad I could help,” Nico nodded an acknowledgment. He sounded sincere, but Dean couldn’t help but notice the guilty look the brunet shot at Will. It was more than evident that Nico had never spoken to Will about he and Dean’s little chat either. At least Dean wouldn’t be the only one in Will’s dog house although Dean was pretty sure Nico at least wouldn’t stay there long.

Dean watched as Will looked between Nico and him with displeasure. Nico shrank back in his chair slightly giving Dean the general impression that the details of Nico and Dean’s conversion that the details of their previous conversation wouldn’t remain private for much longer. Nico remained silent, at least for the moment, and Will turned back to Dean with clear annoyance. If Dean had to guess, he figured his cousin wasn’t used to his boyfriend telling him everything. “I still don’t understand,” Will stated with a force that made it more than clear he expected answers.

“Neither do I,” Austin of all people chimed in raising his hand and everything (looking way too much like Apollo for Dean’s taste at the moment). Dean turned toward the other blond with interest to find him staring back like Dean was the world’s most impossible puzzle. “If the sex or lack thereof isn’t the problem, then what is?”

“That wasn’t really what I was trying to get at but…” Will was quick to add. “take out the bits about sex and I have to second that question.”

And there it was, Dean guessed. He looked around the table and everyone (except for Nico who already knew at least some of the details) were staring at him obviously waiting for answers. Dean wanted to crawl out of his skin, literally anything other than to talk about what was actually going on. There was no getting around the truth and that was more than evident, but that didn’t mean Dean liked it anymore. He sighed heavily before saying the thing that he had been afraid to admit out loud since before he took off for New York. “Felix is in Vermont visiting his mom.”

The words felt like poison on his tongue. Somehow, saying it out loud made Dean feel even worse. For so long he had built up the idea of college and Columbia that it practically felt like all he ever wanted but now, considering his current situations all he wanted was Tennessee. Sure, Felix wouldn’t actually be there, but at least Dean would have one foot on familiar ground.

No one around the table understood the gravity of his words, that much was clear. One look around the table, and Dean found everyone was staring at him expectantly which was really fucking annoying. He just huffed and sank down a little further in his seat.

A few seconds passed in awkward silence before Mitchell drummed his fingers on the hard surface of the table and stated, “You’re going to have to give us more than that.”

Why did he have to spell it out? Dean took a sudden and intense interest in his hands and silently cursed his life before answering, “He’s just been, ya know, hanging out with his old friends while he’s there, and-” Was his mouth dry? His mouth definitely felt dry. He tried to swallow but that didn’t help. “-his ex-girlfriend and stuff.”

And there it was, while Dean had been trying and mostly failing to think about college and his future in general Felix was touring his old life. The life he hadn’t wanted to leave. Dean really tried not to freak out about it at first, but he couldn’t help but remember how Felix had talked about Vermont when he had first moved into town. Felix clearly missed it there, or at least he had at one point. Dean wanted to think that Felix would feel differently now that they were together, but he had his doubts. He could have probably got through the visit with only being mildly distracted but then when he had talked to Felix the night before he mentioned how he ran into his ex and a few of his only friends, and they were going to hang out. Felix had acted like it wasn’t a big deal and was frustratingly vague on the details which just made Dean worry more. That had been the night before and they were supposed to talk this morning, but Felix hadn’t called.

What if this was how it ended? Dean’s little experiment with bisexuality, the first relationship he actually gave a fuck about, the most important friendship to him besides Will, all coming to an end with the silence of a missed call. How fucking poetic.

 _Great_ , Dean thought frustrated at himself, _now I’m turning into the overdramatic gay stereotype_.

“They broke up,” Nico commented plainly. “I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.”

That was sweet of Nico to say. It was also incredibly naïve, and an oversimplification of the facts, but it was sweet. And of course, Nico saw it that way, it wasn’t like Will had an ex he had to worry about, and even if he did, Will was so obviously head-over-heels for Nico it wouldn’t have been a concern. Dean didn’t look up from his hands as he explained. “They dated for like three years, and only broke up because he moved.”

“Oh,” Will exclaimed with understanding. His voice was only the loudest around the table, Dean still heard the others hum thoughtfully as they truly grasped his dilemma.

The mood around the table turned somber which was at least appropriate considering Dean felt like they were at a funeral for his relationship. It didn’t last as long as Dean thought it should and it was Austin of all people who ended it. “I knew it had to have something to do with sex,” he declared like that was some kind of victory.

That at least forced Dean to look up from his hands to look at the blonde demigod and wonder if Will would be mad if he punched his half-brother in the face. He just looked so proud of himself which pissed Dean off. Dean definitely wanted to hit him or tell him off because it really wasn’t about sex, not completely.

“Ignore him,” Mitchell chimed in dismissively waving at his boyfriend before holding out his hand expectantly. “Can I see your phone?”

It took Dean a few seconds to move from thinking about punching Austin in the face to actually processing what Mitchell had asked. It didn’t make sense. Why would he want to see Dean’s phone? What did that have to do with anything they were talking about? Still, Dean grabbed his phone off the table where he set it and stared at it for a second. He genuinely thought about handing it over without question. His hand began to outstretch before he came to his senses and stopped. “Why?” he questioned.

Mitchell’s response was to huff and wiggle his fingers in the universally recognized signal for _give-me_. That non-answer didn’t exactly reassure Dean, and in fact, he found himself pulling his phone back closer to his chest in a protective gesture. He looked toward Will for some sort of signal on what exactly was he was supposed to do, but Will just shrugged. He knew about as much as Dean did which was jack-fucking-squat.

“Just hand it over,” Nico stated flatly. “Trust me, if he wants it he will end up with it one way or another.”

That wasn’t exactly a reassuring statement, but it did at least clarify his options. He still didn’t know if he liked the idea, but he quickly unlocked his phone’s screen before passing it over to Mitchell. The demigod didn’t exactly make Dean feel better about his decision as he grinned widely while accepting the device. Dean watched as the brunet immediately started tapping at the screen with a clear mission. Austin was at Mitchell’s shoulder almost immediately watching what he was doing which just had Dean questioning his decision more.

“Shouldn’t you ask before you check out the pictures on another guys phone?” Austin asked after a few seconds as Mitchell continued to tap at the screen. Well, at least now Dean knew what Mitchell was doing although he didn’t understand why he was looking at his pictures. “Unless you want to stumble on something private.”

Mitchell didn’t even pause at his actions to respond. He just snorted derisively and asked, “What’s the worst thing I could find? Dick pics? Nudes?” Mitchell still didn’t pause in his periodic swiping at Dean’s phone screen, but he did smirk before he continued, “I wouldn’t be complaining about that.”

So, if Felix is about to dump Dean like yesterday’s trash at least it seemed that he could have a shot with a child of Aphrodite if he wanted. He guessed that should have been a kind of reassurance (they should have high standards, right? Children of Aphrodite), but it wasn’t. For one thing, he didn’t want a replacement Felix, he wanted Felix (Brash attitude, dirty mouth, and all), and for another, he wanted no part of any of the godly/demigod drama (no offense to Will and Nico). He guessed if he had to go that way, Mitchell wasn’t completely unattractive even if Dean was pretty sure if things didn’t work out between himself and Felix that he would be switching back to girls. No guy made Dean ache with want like Felix did than again no girl ever had either, but Dean was trying really hard not to think about that.

Unaware of what was going on in Dean’s head (thankfully) Austin brought his chin to rest on Mitchell’s shoulder before pointing out flatly, “You would smack me if I said something like that.”

“That’s because, historically speaking, you struggle with the concept of look but don’t touch,” Mitchell retorted confirming Dean’s growing suspicion that Austin like Apollo was a bit of a fuckboy. _How was that guy related to Will again_? Dean was pretty sure Will was physically allergic to the concept of sleeping around much less cheating.

“Well, the touching is the fun part,” Dean made out Austin’s matter-of-fact response and immediately fantasied about kicking him in the nads.

Mitchell didn’t seem bothered by the response and of anyone at the table that had the right to take offense it was him. He just let out a little huff that made it clear to anyone with ears that he thought Austin had just proved his point as he continued to flip through Dean’s phone. A few more seconds passed, long enough for Dean to start trying to figure out exactly how many pictures he even had on his phone. It couldn’t have been that many, but Mitchell seemed to have been looking through them forever before for he seemed to find what he was looking for. He turned the phone, so Dean could see the picture illuminated on the screen and asked, “Is this the boyfriend?”

Dean immediately recognized the picture Mitchell showed him. It was actually one he had taken before he and Felix had started dating, before he had even known Felix had an interest in him, back when they were just in this really intense friendship that involved totally normal, and hetero feelings (Read: looking back it was so obvious the fact that Dean himself didn’t realize until someone pointed it out was really sad). Dean even remembered the day he had taken it. The weather had been sort of shitty and Felix’s dad wasn’t around, so they had just been hanging out at Felix’s house playing video games and generally fucking around when Dean had noticed how focused Felix could get on a game. Felix was fucking adorable when he got all focused and intense about something, not that Dean would have admitted that out loud (or even to himself) at the time. Instead, he had just sort of gave Felix shit about it, even taking a few pictures as proof.

_God, I had been so oblivious._

“Yeah?” He answered uncertainly, not meaning for it to sound like a question of its own. That was definitely Felix, but why was he being questioned about that.

Mitchell’s only reply was to hum slightly, turn the phone back around, and return to flipping through Dean’s phone with continued interest. Dean was officially sure he did not have that many pictures which was starting to freak out a little because what was the guy looking for.

Worse yet, Austin leaned more on his boyfriend’s shoulder, and also turned his attention back to Dean’s phone too. It took him exactly two seconds before he perked up with interest at whatever picture he had just seen and declared, “He’s _hot_!” Yeah, Dean was going to need to hit him because _what-the-actual-fuck_. The fact that Dean was picturing him bloody on the floor went unnoticed as Austin turned to his half-brother with a grin. “Will, are all the guys at your school so hot? How were you single for so long?”

Will shrugged and replied flatly, “I have particular tastes.” Dean guessed he should feel lucky Will didn’t reply with complete and utter disgust at the actual suggestion that Felix was attractive. Usually, if Dean commented on Felix’s appearance Will pretended to gag. Nico at least was willing to admit that Felix was “objectively” attractive but not “his tastes”.

Mitchell finally looked up from Dean’s phone and seemed to ignore the conversation that had been taking place between Austin and Will. “How long have you two been dating?” He asked plainly the question clearly directed to Dean.

Dean normally didn’t pay attention to shit like that. He didn’t have to think about when it came to Felix. “About three months.”

“Seriously?” Austin exclaimed, and Dean saw the other child of Apollo look at him like he thought of Dean as an impossible thing. “And you haven’t had sex, really?”

Dean sputtered and struggled to find the words. It wasn’t like three months was a weird amount of time to wait to actually have sex, especially considering the situation. Dean was willing to wait as long as it took for their first time ( _Fuck_ , Felix’s _first_ first time) to be at the right time.

_Fuck, that’s sappy._

Luckily explanations weren’t necessary because Nico chuckled before interjecting, his comment clearly directed at Austin, “Not everyone puts out two minutes into the first date like you.”

“Two minutes is generous,” Mitchell stated off-handedly before looking up from Dean’s phone. “He is cute,” he commented Dean assumed about Felix. “Has a whole child of Hecate type vibe.”

Hecate was the goddess of magic, Dean remembered that from his research. He also remembered Will mentioning a daughter of Hecate in a few of his camp stories. What it meant that Felix had a child of Hecate vibe he didn’t have a clue. He probably would have just questioned it or at least look to Will or Nico for an explanation, but he didn’t get a chance. “He does!” Austin exclaimed excitedly like what Mitchell had just said was the most obvious thing and he couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it before. “I guess the Solace boys have a type!”

Dean blinked hard at that and choose to ignore the way Will scoffed indignantly at the suggestion. He didn’t find the comment insulting or anything, but he just didn’t see any similarities between Felix and Nico. Will’s boyfriend was on the small side, lean, with sharp features and large eyes while Felix was more average in height with a square, muscular build with a strong jawline and sharp cheekbones. Besides their hair color the two didn’t have much in common physically and if you factored in their personalities the difference just became even more apparent. Austin clearly had no idea what he was talking about.

Mitchell ignored his boyfriend which seemed to be a skill he was well practiced at as he set Dean’s phone down and pushed back toward him. “You are one hundred percent fine,” he declared with finality.

Dean was sure that he had heard Mitchell right or that he knew what he was talking about. “Excuse me?” he questioned sure the guy couldn’t gauge the staying power of Dean’s relationship based on seeing a few pictures, Dean didn’t care who his mother was.

“You have _nothing_ to worry about,” Mitchell reiterated as he pushed Dean’s phone further across the table like he was trying to stress his point. “He is just as into as you are into him,” He leaned forward propping his elbows on the table and grinning. “And judging by the sheer volume of photos of him you have accumulated over three months, I’d say that you are _very_ into him.”

 _Shit! Do I really have that many pictures of Felix_? Dean wondered before starting to count out all the ones he could remember taking in his mind. There was at least three or four he could remember from before they were dating, probably a lot from championship weekend (everything had been new and exciting, and they had a lot of time to themselves), and since then….. _Oh, god, I’m worse than Will_!

There was no doubt in Dean’s mind that his face was the color of a tomato, and he couldn’t miss the way Will was staring at him. That was going to be a conversation at some point he was sure, but at that point, it was just another thing to add to the list. Maybe he could get lucky and get a chance to get some dirt on Will from Nico before then.

Dean didn’t know what to say, but he could feel Will about to go into full mom mode and demand to see his phone, and he couldn’t have that. “Is this a child of Aphrodite thing?” He grumbled under his breath.

“No, not really,” Mitchell shrugged before continuing, “It’s more like an I have eyes thing.” Dean watched as Mitchell reached across the table and picked up Dean’s phone. He punched in a code that seemed to work although Dean knew he had never given the guy the access code to his screen before turning the phone back around, so Dean could see the screen.

It was another picture but this one wasn’t one Dean had taken. Nora or Ruby had actually taken it not long after Dean and Felix had started dating, and the girls had pretty much just found out. One of them had snapped a picture of Dean and Felix when they weren’t looking and had texted it to Dean later. To be honest, Dean had almost deleted it because at first glance it didn’t look like much. It was just a picture of Dean and Felix sitting together like they did all the time, even before they were a thing.

Dean couldn’t remember what had happened, but in the picture, he was staring off and looked to be in the middle of saying something. Felix was next to him in the picture sitting so he was turned toward Dean, one leg curled up so that it pressed against the outside of Dean’s thigh. They sat like that a lot even before they were dating, and in all fairness, even Dean realized it was a bit intimate at the start of their friendship, but over time, he just sort of got used to it (he really should have seen the whole Felix thing coming). In the end, Dean hadn’t deleted the phone because the longer he looked at it the more he saw something he liked. He couldn’t put a name to the thing he liked, which might have been a first, but he saw it all the same. Mitchell pointed at the picture in the general vicinity of where Felix sat. “That is the look of someone who’s head over heels, so you’re good.”

Mitchell talked with such certainty Dean wanted to examine the photo closer, so he could see what Mitchell saw. Before he could an incoming call pushed a contact photo up on the screen, and Dean couldn’t help but be excited at the sight because it was Felix’s picture. Mitchell responded to the buzzing phone in his hand by turning the screen toward himself and looked at for a second before declaring excitedly, “Owww, and now he’s calling!” Mitchell quickly turned the phone back to Dean, “Go get ‘em, tiger.”  

Dean could feel Will struggling between being supportive and hating Felix without seeing his face. That didn’t stop Dean’s heart from skipping a beat at the sight of Felix’s picture, and it definitely didn’t stop him from snatching the phone out Mitchell’s hand. “I’m going to take this. I’ll be right back,” he declared as he stood up so fast he was surprised the chair he had been sitting in didn’t flip over with the force of his motion. He didn’t’ wait for Will’s protests before starting for the door of the café figuring outside would be a better place to have whatever this conversation was going to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, another cliffhanger- I'm a horribly mean person.


	64. Monsters Complicate Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Posting Day!
> 
> I suck at writing action sequences, I'm so sorry. But I do hope you enjoy anyway.

Nico couldn’t help but think how it was so sweet to watch how Dean’s face lit up as soon as he knew Felix was actually calling him. Nico knew Will had mixed feeling about the relationship between his cousin and his enemy/friend (yes, Nico knew there was a word for that, but he could not bring himself to even think frienemy), but Nico was rooting for them to work. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he just thought they worked on a fundamental level. They just seemed better, happier, together then they were before. But really what did Nico know? He certainly wasn’t going to push that topic with Will who at present could barely contain his discontent.

In his excitement, Dean practically bounced out the door of the café paying absolutely no attention to anything going on around him. Nico was sure he was completely unaware of the man that walked out the door only a few steps behind him. Dean’s actions were understandable but incredibly sloppy. If he was a demigod, Nico would have gone out of his way to chastise Dean for being so unaware of his own surroundings, but Dean wasn’t a demigod.

Nico was a demigod and a well-traveled one at that so for him there really wasn’t any excuse for him to miss the potential threat. Nico had actually noticed the man when he had first walked into the café with Mitchell. The man didn’t look particularly dangerous, just out of place as he hunched in a corner table by the door alone. It wasn’t like Nico could say for certain the man was monster, just like he couldn’t say for sure the guy had intentionally followed Dean out the door. It all could have been very normal and innocent, but Nico’s instincts said otherwise.

It could have just been listening to all of Chiron’s speeches about the raising monster activity lately had made him a little edgy. Or maybe it was the fact that he had stayed at camp for so long. When he had been on his own he had never dared to stay in one place for too long. It had just felt like too much of a risk. Then again, Nico couldn’t help but notice he was sitting at a table with three other demigods. Four demigods in one place carried with it some inherent risk.

Will hadn’t noticed the guy, or at least that was what Nico figured since his back was more or less pointed toward the door. That was for the best because Will would have completely lost his mind if he thought there was even a possibility that Dean could be in the smallest amount of danger.

Nico figured he could just excuse himself without letting Will in on his concern, slip out the door, and just check on Dean to be safe. It was a good plan that he never got a chance to implement because Mitchell, who he did like, couldn’t keep his observations to himself. “Did anyone else notice that?” Mitchell questioned with an apprehensive look toward the door.

“Uh hu,” Austin hummed before taking a sip of his drink. Nico noticed how his eyes remained on the front door of the café making it more than clear that he and Mitchell were thinking along the same lines as Nico. At least now Nico knew he wasn’t just being the paranoid old demigod who had seen too much. “Suspicious to say the least.”

Nico noticed Will’s eyebrows knit together in a show of confusion as he looked between his half-brother and the son of Aphrodite questioningly. “What?” he asked with a curious look around the room. “What was suspicious?”

Will kept looking around, but there was nothing for him to see. Dean and the potential monster were already out of sight. Nico shot Austin and Mitchell a warning look hoping they got what he was trying to say. Will didn’t need them to tell him that there was a small, incredibly tiny, chance that a monster could have followed Dean out of a café. All that would lead to was Will worrying and maybe even running out the door after Dean.

“I’ll take care of it,” Nico assured instead actually answering Will’s question. Will wouldn’t be happy about that especially when he heard about Nico’s concerns, but that was future Nico’s problem. He stood, placed a hand on Will’s broad shoulder, and gave it a light squeeze hoping that was enough to keep Will from worrying. “I’ll be right back.”

Nico went for the door before Will could argue, and he had absolutely no doubt Will would have argued. Will had been thrust into a position of authority in the Apollo cabin at a pretty young age, so he was used to being the one to make the decisions. Beyond that, in Tennessee, Will definitely took on a leadership role amongst his friends even if he wasn’t aware of it. Will wasn’t really used to other people taking charge, and Nico wasn’t great about asking permission. That was when there was time to ask permission and, in this case, there definitely wasn’t time. He would explain everything to Will after he made sure everything was squared away.

Nico hadn’t realized how dimly lit the café had been until he stepped outside and was practically blinded by the mid-day sun. Considering he tended to prefer his spaces dark, Nico should probably have been used to it, but he still found himself blinking hard against the light. It took a few seconds for him to adjust as he internally cursed the whole time. Not being able to see made him feel vulnerable, and Nico didn’t like being vulnerable.

Once the glare of the sun faded, and the city street came into view, and Nico was able to spot Dean immediately. The blonde was leaning against the corner of the neighboring building at the entrance of what Nico guessed was a small alley. Nico couldn’t help but think it wasn’t the ideal place for Dean to be standing since his back was at least partially unprotected from the alley, so anything could just sneak up behind him. Poor form on his part, but Nico guessed worrying about monsters sneaking up on him wasn’t something Dean ever had to worry about so Nico shouldn’t judge.  

Besides, something coming from the ally was only a hypothetical threat. The man from the café that was lumbering toward Dean was a real threat. Nico no longer had any doubt that the man was actually a monster. He was much larger than he had appeared to be in the café, and he walked with an abnormal gate.

Considering all the cloak and dagger tactics the thing was going through, Nico’s guess was the thing was young or weak. It had probably been attracted to Nico, Will, Mitchell, and Austin and just assumed that Dean was a demigod too. Seeing through the mist and knowing about all that stuff could give mortals an energy that monsters could sense. Nico could see how Dean could be mistaken for the child of some lower level god; young, weak, and easy prey. The monster probably thought Dean was the easiest target and wanted to take advantage of him separating from the others.

Nico wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but Dean appeared completely unaware that he was being stalked by some kind of mythical monster. He was leaning against the building, phone pressed to his ear with his eyes downcast and a little smile on his face suggesting that things were fine with Felix. Well, at least that was one good thing, and maybe Dean would stay focused on his phone call and never notice the excitement. That would be a win.

Nico was able to close whatever lead the monster man had gained in a few large strides, catching him at the entrance of the alleyway. Nico reached out a hand and grabbing ahold of the monster near the elbow (assuming the thing had elbows under its coat).

There was no point in taking on a monster in the middle of a busy New York street. Whatever kind of monster it was, he was dense. Nico actually had to strain a bit to pull the thing into the alleyway with him. As the thing stumbled passed him deeper into the alley, Nico was pretty sure he heard it growl which put to rest any lingering question that remained regarding his monster status.

From the corner of his eye, Nico saw Dean’s head pop around the corner, phone still pressed to his ear with a concerned and confused expression on his face. “Everything is fine,” he assured quickly. It came out louder and more strained than Nico had intended, but the majority of his attention needed to be focused elsewhere. It probably wasn’t the most convincing thing he had ever said, and considering he had a monster cornered in an alley he couldn’t exactly keep his attention on Dean to see if he actually believed him.

Nico turned back to monster man just in time to see him shed his coat and reveal himself for the Laistrygonian giant he was. Normally, that would be less than ideal considering Laistrygonian could be a difficult kill, but this one seemed undersized and possibly malnourished. Even if it was in prime fighting shape it wasn’t like Nico could just walk away.

He shrugged and commented more to himself than the monster. “Well, at least this should be quick.”

The monster sneered, and Nico reached into the nearest shadow and retrieved his sword. With monster activity lower than normal the need for a weapon wasn’t as strong as it had been at other times. Nico still felt naked without a weapon on his hip, but the Stygian Iron sword could complicate walking around in the mortal world. Stashing the blade in an especially dark park of his cabin where he knew he could easily retrieve it by slipping his hand into the nearest shadow. He still felt naked but at least clothes were nearby.

Nico couldn’t miss how the monster’s eyes went to the blade in his hand or the recognition on his ugly face. There was a hint of fear in the thing’s eyes, and that was enough to fill Nico with a dark sort of cheer. It really had been a while since Nico had had a real fight, like one with a monster, not just sparing and practice.

The fear in the monster’s eyes didn’t go away when he looked up to meet Nico’s gaze, but another emotion became more than evident: Rage. It lunged at Nico like a wild bull seeing red. It wasn’t particularly coordinated, and Nico was easily able to sidestep the attack. One strategically placed kick, and Nico sent the giant stumbling into the side of a nearby dumpster.

The monster clattered against the large metal bin sending trash falling to the ground like a cascade of incredibly dirty and rather disgusting snow. The monster stumbled for a few seconds before righting himself and turning back to once again face Nico.

Nico hadn’t moved, instead choosing to wait for the monster to make the next move. It wasn’t a long wait before the thing was lumbering at him again, growling as he did. The thing wasn’t fast, and he clearly thought the fact that he weighed at least twice what Nico did would be enough for him. He was very wrong about that, and the fact that he couldn’t already see that was just proof that he wasn’t an especially bright monster. Nico sidestepped the second attack as easily as he did the first, and as the monster passed he slashed the sharp edge of his blade across the monster’s back. It wasn’t enough to turn the thing into a pile of monster dust, but it was enough to have it roaring in pain as it charged right into the brick wall of the neighboring building.

Nico readied his blade as the monster bounced off the wall and came charging back at him. One thrust forward, and the giant was impaled by the length of Nico’s sword by his own momentum. He gaped at Nico for a moment, maybe the length of a heartbeat, before turning to dust.

 _Well, that was fun while it lasted_ , Nico thought as he dropped his sword into the nearest shadow returning it to it’s hiding space in Cabin Thirteen until it was needed again. Hopefully, that wouldn’t be too soon. Now that the problem was taken care of, Nico brushed off the bits of monster dust that were sprinkled on the front of his t-shirt and jacket (at least it was better than glitter) before turning to head back into the café.

He took about three steps toward the alley’s entrance without really paying much attention as he made a few last passes at swiping off the monster dust from his clothes. It wasn’t until he looked up did he realized that Will, Mitchell, Austin, and Dean were all standing at the mouth of the alley staring at him.

Nico stopped dead in his tracks at the sight. He couldn’t be positive, but he had the feeling that they had been standing there for the entire little fight with the monster. Mitchell and Austin looked at most to be mildly impressed which was about what Nico would expect from demigods who had seen battle before. Will looked like he was trying very hard to keep his expression neutral which could really mean one of two things: he liked what he saw and was trying to hide how arousing he found the display, or he was angry that Nico didn’t tell him about the potential monster and was trying to hide how frustrated he was until they could talk about it in private. Nico was hoping it was the first one. And then there was Dean who still had his cell phone pressed to his ear. To his credit, he didn’t look frightened or even shocked, but Nico was sure he could actually see the laundry list of questions forming in his mind.

“Everything is fine,” Nico offered less as a reassurance and more to fill the silence that grew more awkward with each passing second. “I took care of it.”

Nico had always preferred silence over talking so it seemed strange that he actually found the fact that no one wanted to talk about the monster attack so unsettling. No one brought it up and Nico wasn’t going to be the one to start the conversation, so the conversation simply wasn’t had. After paying the bill at the café, Mitchell and Austin went their own way, Mitchell grumbling something about homework, and Austin happily offering to act as a distraction from said homework.

Nico had really grown to like Mitchell and Austin. As friendships went, they were different than any of his others, and there was something he liked about that. Still, as sad as he was to see them go, he realized it was for the best. Fewer demigods in one place the less like another monster attack.

After a quick stop at Will and Dean’s hotel (which was made quicker by Jules-Albert driving), the three of them headed to Newark airport with plenty of time for Dean’s flight. The plan for the trip as Nico understood it was for Dean to fly back to Tennessee after two days after which Will would stay in New York for an additional night before he and Nico left for New Rome. They appeared to be sticking to that plan even if Will was fussing over Dean like he thought Dean might break at any second.

Funny thing was Will seemed far more bothered by the monster attack than Dean was. The older Solace actually seemed rather chipper, a bit quieter than Nico had ever seen him, but still chipper.

When they arrived at the airport Nico hung back so Will and Dean could talk in relative privacy. The drop-off area at the arrival gate of the airport wasn’t that big and was rather crowded so even standing back at the SUV Will and Dean were only a few feet away, and Nico could hear every word they, said but it was the best he could manage.

“Maybe I should go back to Tennessee with you,” Nico heard Will offer after asking if Dean was okay for maybe the hundredth time. That hadn’t been the plan, and Nico was pretty sure Reyna would steal one of the Legion’s SUVs and drive to Tennessee herself if he didn’t show up at New Rome with Will in tow. Nico knew no one wanted that, especially Will considering that he got the same terrified expression he used to get at the mention of Hades whenever Nico mentioned Reyna. Will not going to New Rome simply wasn’t an opinion, and it took every ounce of his being not to point that out. Instead, he remained quiet and listened to Will as he continued to talk, “just in case.”

“In case of what? Flashbacks?” Dean questioned dismissively. Nico couldn’t help but smile at the way Dean didn’t hide how ridiculous he thought Will was being but wasn’t offensive about it. It was like he found Will especially cute like a basket of yippy puppies. “Will, dude, I’m _fine_.” Dean must have been so sick of saying that considering Nico was pretty sure he had heard him say it at least two dozen times since they had left the café. “Besides, Felix is going to be back tomorrow, and we’re going to hang out. Maybe go into the city, we haven’t made solid plans yet.” Nico watched Dean shrug like that was nothing although the little smile that spread across his face as soon as he spoke Felix’s name suggested it was a lot more than nothing to him. Dean was quick to continue, shoeing Will as he talked, “So go have fun with Nico already.”

That, in a nutshell, was why Nico liked Dean, he pushed Will to relax a little when Will was stuck in doctor mode. Nico would have thought Will would recognize what Dean was doing since he grown up with him, but he clearly didn’t. Either that or he got blinded by the Felix of the situation. “I thought Felix was in Vermont for the break?” Nico heard Will question.

“He was,” Dean answered, “He still is I guess, but he’s coming back to Tennessee early. He apparently has hated the whole trip.” Dean didn’t even try to hide how happy that made him which was pretty adorable in Nico’s opinion. “I think he lied about having homework, but its Felix, so who really knows.”

“I guess that’s good,” Will offered, and while he didn’t actually sound enthused by the idea Nico could at least tell he was trying.

“Yeah,” Nico watched Dean look down toward his shoes and rub at the back of his neck. Nico couldn’t be sure considering the distance, but he thought Dean was blushing slightly. “I’m relieved even though I know I should feel like an ass for freaking out about the whole thing.” Blowing small things way out of proportion apparently was a Solace family trait, but at least Dean could see he was being ridiculous in hindsight as that was something Will often struggled with that. He had a reason to be embarrassed because thinking Felix would cheat was one of the stupider things Nico had heard (which was impressive considering who some of his friends were).

Nico noticed Dean make a show of patting his pockets like he was looking for something for a few seconds before hissing, “Shit!” Nico saw him look up at Will before explaining, “I think I left my phone in the car, could you check?”

 _Odd_ , Nico thought. Dean, didn’t strike him as the type to lose things or the type to ask for help with something when he could easily do himself. The way Will hummed a bit before actually responding with clear uncertainty, “Yeah.”

Will turned on his heels and marched back the SUV. Dean watched him take maybe two steps before Nico noticed him signal Nico to come closer. Nico wasn’t actually sure if he had interpreted the gesture correctly or that it had been meant for him, but then Dean did it again and that left little to question. He shot a confused look in Will’s direction, but Will was already in the SUV and had missed the whole thing.

Nico really didn’t know what else to do so he stepped forward closing the distance between himself and Dean in three or four long strides. Nico watched as Dean looked over his shoulder at Will who was still rummaging in the SUV for Dean’s lost cell phone nervously before focusing his attentions back on Nico. “Listen,” Dean started speaking in a hushed voice while wearing a serious expression. “Will _has_ to go to school in New Rome.”

“What?” Nico questioned with surprise. He wasn’t sure what he had expected Dean to say, but it wasn’t that. From the way Will told it, it was Dean’s dream that they went to college together. It took far longer than Nico was proud of to figure out why Dean would suddenly change his tune. The monster attack, it had to be that. Dean must have been more spooked by the experience then he had let show. “If this is about earlier it really wasn’t a big deal,” Nico offered the assurance genuinely. It hadn’t been a very dangerous monster, and the fault had really been on them. Four demigods in one place had been sloppy of them. They wouldn’t make the same mistake again. “Really, it wasn’t, to spite what Will’s fussing would suggest.”

“The fact that being attacked by a monster _isn’t_ a big deal is exactly why Will needs to go to New Rome,” Dean stressed still speaking in a harsh whisper. “He can’t focus on med school when monsters could be around every corner.”

Nico understood Dean’s point, but demigods were just so used to dealing with that he didn’t see it being a problem. Plus, it wasn’t like Will would be on his own. “I can-” he started.

Dean held up a hand calling for silence and Nico actually stopped. “You _know_ how Will is,” he stressed with a finality in his voice that made it clear that he was set. Nico was familiar with that tone, Will got that way too. Nico knew there was nothing he could say was going to convince Dean he was wrong. “You’re going to have to convince him,” Dean shrugged. “But if anyone can it’s you so just do me a favor and make it happen.”

Nico honestly didn’t know what to say to that. How was he supposed to convince Will of that, and was he supposed to keep this conversation from Will? If he wasn’t, that was going to make the convincing a bit more difficult.

In the end, he didn’t get a chance to say anything at all. Will reappeared from the SUV empty handed and completely unaware of the conversation that had just taken place. “I couldn’t find it.” Will explained looking a little helpless. “Could it be back at the hotel?” he asked, and Nico could only assume he was talking about Dean’s lost cell phone.

Dean made a show of check his pockets for a second time before miraculously producing his cell phone from his back pocket. “Nope,” he declared. “It’s in my pocket after all, but thanks for checking,” Dean offered shaking his phone a little in the air as proof before returning it to his pocket. Phone out of sight, Dean heaved his bag onto his shoulder. “So, I’ve got to catch my flight, but you guys have fun in California.”

Dean didn’t wait for a reply before turning and walking toward the airport’s entrance. Will didn’t make any obvious motions to chase after him which was good because Nico’s mind was too wrapped up in trying to figure out how he was going to convince Will to go to university in New Rome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is paying attention to the total chapter count just so you know I need to up date it. Looking at my current outline I'm thinking the total number of chapters is going to be closer to 80.
> 
> A Delix ficlet will go up on Tumblr this week for those who are interested. I will being finishing the editing today :)


	65. Unplanned Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and happy Sunday,
> 
> Happy Easter for those who celebrate.
> 
> I know I mentioned this last chapter but I still need to adjust the total number of chapters so there are more then ten chapters to come.
> 
> Warning: There are some discussion of smut in this chapter but no actual smut (for those of you who are interested there is smut coming in the next few chapters)

Will had heard New Rome described by so many people since the Battle of Camp Half-Blood. First the Roman legacies of Apollo that helped in the infirmary and later from Nico and Jason and the others. He had heard so much about it that he thought he knew what to expect when he finally was able to visit the city. He expected a sprawling city tucked into a valley, Camp Jupiter, the fields of Mars, temple hill, talking statues, the whole nine.

All of that was there like Will had expected, but it was just so much bigger than he had imagined. It seemed so weird to be amazed by the size of the place considering he had been to New York City plenty of times, and that was bigger. Still, it was so much bigger than Camp Half-Blood, it was hard to comprehend.

Maybe it wasn’t just the size of the place that had Will in complete awe. Maybe it was the Roman-ness of it as well. There seemed to be arches and pillars everywhere he looked, and in the distance, he could see the aqueduct.

As he and Nico walked through the city heading toward their hotel, Will was sure he looked like a hopeless tourist as he looked around at everything with amazement. Nico, for his part, was patient with him and would occasionally point to things of interest and briefly explain what it was. As much as Will tried he only managed to catch about half of what Nico said.

On the bright side, Will was so distracted as he took in all of New Rome his mind didn’t wander back to the unsettling end to his trip to New York. A monster trying to go after Dean, Dean actually seeing a monster, and all the weirdness about Dean calling Nico for sex advice (weirdly Will was pretty sure that had bothered him the most), he probably should have been more bothered than he was. In all fairness, the general sense of panic over all of that had subsided substantially since the night before thanks in large part to Nico (Will was still amazed and extremely grateful for Nico’s tongue).

If New Rome was breath-taking Will didn’t have words for their hotel. When Nico first pointed toward the gilded golden doors of the building and said that was where they were staying Will thought for sure Nico was making a joke, but he wasn’t. The lobby of the hotel was all marble and ivory and made Will feel immediately underdressed in his worn jeans with a rip by his right knee, a t-shirt that had once been blue but had faded so much that it looked more like grey, and brown zip-up hoodie with a ripped pocket.

If he was inappropriately dressed none of the staff said a word. Of course, they seemed solely focused on Nico from the very second the two of them walked in the door. The hotel staff had practically jumped when they saw Nico which wasn’t a completely abnormal response to Nico’s presence, Will had seen it before. But instead of apprehension or visible fear that Will had seen in response to Nico’s presence from the Greeks (especially in the beginning) the staff of the hotel were all smiles, and there were a lot of ‘yes sirs’ thrown around.

Will remembered how Nico had explained that his father’s reputation amongst the Romans as Pluto was very different. Hazel had once described it as Hades became more respected as Pluto as the Romans focused more on the underworld god’s relationship to wealth rather than all the death. Will guessed he was seeing the end result of that as one of the bellman offered to carry their things to the suit for what seemed like at least the sixth time.

Nico handled all the fussing in the most Nico way possible. He looked to be a mix of uncomfortable and annoyed as he grabbed the room key, and shoed the staff away as he ushered Will into the elevator like they were in a hurry. Just before the elevator door slide closed Nico shouted back to the staff that they were **_not_** to be disturbed in a warning tone.

Will couldn’t help but smile at that even though he knew he shouldn’t be surprised. Over the summer Will had acted much the same way with his siblings when he planned to spend the night in Nico’s cabin. Usually, he had run out the Apollo cabin before dinner reminding either Austin or Kayla where he would be and reminding everyone he was not to be disturbed except for a serious crisis. It didn’t matter, seeing Nico act like that made him smile and blush a little that Nico wanted him all to himself.

The elevator was an older model and moved slowly, taking about a minute to move up two floors. They had stood shoulder to shoulder in silence both watching the floors ticking by as Will’s mind lingered on the hotel staff’s response to Nico’s very presence. It was like Nico was royalty or something. When the elevator let out a ding to indicate they had reached the third floor Will’s curiosity won out. “Are they always like that?” Will asked turning to look at his boyfriend inquisitively. “The hotel staff I mean.”

Will watched Nico turn to me his gaze. His dark eyes thoughtful, if slightly confused as he spoke, “Like what?”

“So…” Will tried to find the best word to describe the hotel staff’s behavior and failed so he went with the closest thing he could come up with. “Attentive.”

Will noticed Nico nod slightly with understanding before turning back to look at the stately gilded doors of the elevator. “It comes with being the Ambassador of Pluto,” he admitted with a small shrug. The elevator issued another ding as they made their way up the building. Nico turned to him again with a more sympathetic expression. “Sorry, I should have warned you. I’ve gotten used to it I guess.” Will couldn’t help but notice the little smirk that spread across Nico’s face as he spoke. “And it’s worth it for the perks.”

Nico clearly had something in mind with that comment, Will could tell. That only made Will’s mind race with all the possible meanings. “Perks?” he questioned before his mind got too carried away.

Will noticed the little smirk spread wider across his boyfriend’s face but before Nico could response the elevator shuttered to a stop and issued another ding. It sounded more abrupt than it had at any of the other floors although Will was sure that was just in his mind. Nico turned to him and smiled genuinely as he interlaced his fingers with Will’s. Nico’s fingers were cool to the touch and yet the familiar feeling of them intertwined with Will’s filled him with warmth. “I’ll show you,” he promised just as the elevator doors slide open.

Will had his fair share of experience with hotels for soccer, so he had expected the elevator doors to open and reveal one of the generic hotel hallways: overly busy carpets, neutral colored walls, and rows of nondescript doors. Instead, the elevator doors parted to reveal a small sitting room. The space was maybe a half the size of Will’s bedroom in Tennessee with a few chairs and a tall table with a decorative bowl of absurdly large gemstones. The color scheme of the space was far more intimating than the hotel’s lobby could have ever been. It was a mix of rich earthy colors intermixed with vibrant jewel tones.

It wasn’t until Will felt Nico gently tugging him forward that he had the nerve to exit the elevator. He let Nico guild him through the space as he looked around awestruck.

_Were_ _there small diamonds encrusted in the walls? There was definitely diamonds in the walls._

Nico paused at the large gold (intimidating) doors that stood opposite the elevator. As Will continued to take in tiny details of the sitting room (there were rubies in the walls as well as diamonds, and Will thought they made out a pattern, but he just couldn’t tell what it was). Nico used the jewel-encrusted key the especially flustered man from behind the hotel’s main desk had given him to open the large doors and pushed the doors open with a bit of dramatic flair. 

Nico, with his hand once again intertwined with Will’s, pulled him into the room without a word. The first thought that crossed Will’s mind as he let Nico pull him along was at least the sitting room had set appropriate expectations of the hotel room proper. The room’s color scheme was similar to the smaller space; dark but rich with the occasional jewel tone intermixed here and there. The walls were the color of chocolate while the plush carpet under their feet was cream. A large couch, which was the only piece of furniture visible from the doorway, was a vibrant blue which matched the heavy drapes which hung over what looked like a smaller door opposite the room’s entrance.

It wasn’t until Will took a few steps in that he was able to turn and see the true focal point of any hotel room. A large four post bed stood on a slightly elevated platform at one side of the large room draped in fabric that matched what was over the windows. The whole space was too much. It looked like it was meant for royalty, not two teenagers. Will couldn’t stop himself from looking around in disbelief.

“I know it’s all kind of gaudy,” Nico explained as he dropped Will’s hand and moved further into the expensive space, dropping his bag on the couch as he passed without missing a step. Nico walked and spoke so casually like it was all so commonplace for him. Maybe it was, Nico had been acting as Pluto’s ambassador for a while, after all.

Normal for Nico or not, staying in a hotel room that looked like it belonged in a palace was definitely not normal for Will. Nico noticed Will was completely awestruck, Will was sure of it. Nico had to have noticed, but he didn’t tease him or draw attention to it. Instead, Nico pointed toward the narrow set of double doors that Will had noticed earlier as he continued with his tour of sorts. “But the balcony has an amazing view of the city,” Nico explained as he hopped up the two steps up onto the elevated platform where the bed stood. Will watched Nico turn on his heels, so he was facing him wearing the most wicked grin. “And the bed-” Nico patted the bed behind him not that there was any question what bed he was referring, “-is like sleeping on a cloud.”

With that Nico let himself fall back on the bed, bouncing slightly as he hit the plush looking mattress. Will was pretty sure no matter how impressed he was by the hotel room he would still never see a sight as memorizing as Nico laying on the edge of the plush bed, sitting up on his elbows, and smiling back at Will with that glint in his eye that Will knew all too well.

The setting might have been more than Will had expected, but seeing Nico laying on the bed all sprawled out with a look that might as well have been an invitation and Will didn’t feel so out of his element. No matter where they were, it was him and Nico, and Will was good at that.

“Oh?” Will questioned teasingly. He matched the playful mood Nico was clearly trying to set as he took a few steps toward the bed. “And what about over things?” He asked as he took the first step up onto the bed’s platform and slide his bag off his shoulder, letting it fall to the floor. “What is it like then?”

“Wouldn’t know,” Nico replied tilting his head to one side and looked back at Will with curiosity. “Haven’t done anything else on it….yet.”

Will took another step forward, wearing a grin that he hoped hide the fact that he wanted to pin Nico to the bed, stripe off every article of clothing he was wearing, and lick every inch of his skin. “Want to change that?”

“We have time,” Nico replied with a casual shrug like he didn’t want to have sex just as badly as Will did. Will wasn’t buying that for one second, but he was happy to play along for the moment being. “We don’t have to meet everyone for dinner for a few hours,” Nico added, and Will couldn’t miss how Nico punctuated his point by looking him up and down like he was hungry, and Will was an especially succulent piece of meat.

Will didn’t mind the way Nico looked at him, he didn’t mind _at all_. In fact, he smiled even more brightly as he took another step forward until his knees hit the edge of the bed with Nico’s legs on either side of his own. “We could do a lot in a few hours,” he pointed out suggestively as he eyes wondered down Nico’s form. _Why were they wearing clothes again? In fact, why did they ever both wearing clothes?_

“Or,” Nico sat up a little more and reached out with one hand, catching Will’s shirt in his grip, and pulling Will in until the motion force Will to move at least one knee onto the bed. Will didn’t fight the momentum as he moved to straddle his boyfriend. Nico’s dark eyes stayed on his own with every motion. “We could take our times.”

Will leaned in until he was looming over Nico so close he could feel Nico’s breath on his skin, the heat of Nico’s lips begging to be kissed. He could practically hear Nico’s heart beating hard, or maybe that was his own. Every molecule of Will’s being screamed for him to close the distance between them and press their lips together, but he resisted. Instead, he managed a cocky grin that he definitely didn’t get from his more godly parent. “Don’t we always?” he asked playfully.

Nico didn’t respond with words. Instead, he sat up quickly and pressed his lips against Will’s in a hungry kiss. Will kissed back like he hadn’t known Nico’s touch for centuries, and he was starved for it. Things couldn’t have been further from the truth, as they had spent the night before together, but at the moment, it definitely felt that way.

When their lips met it was like a fire ignited between them. Nico’s lips were soft, but their motions were hungry and demanding which Will was excited to match. Within seconds Will felt Nico’s long fingers tangle in his hair tugging gently while pulling Will in more. With Nico still propped up on one of his elbows Will’s hands were happily left free to roam over Nico’s body. He let his hands run over the muscled curves of Nico’s arms and shoulders and down his chest and stomach.

The need to feel more, to feel skin under his hands and under his lips won out over the desire to go slow just to prove he could. He felt the first sliver of cool skin under his fingertips as he pushed his fingers under the thin cotton of Nico’s black shirt, and it was sweet relief. Will pulled away from Nico’s lips only slightly to kiss along his jaw.

Will heard Nico let out the smallest sigh and felt Nico let his head fall back. It was all like an injection of pure lust shot straight into Will’s veins. He kissed at Nico’s throat with increased vigor, breathing deep so he could take in Nico’s earthy scent as he did until he found the spot he was looking for. Soft skin and the feel of Nico’s pulse under his lips, and Will couldn’t help himself.

He lavished the pulse point with his tongue before sealing his lips there and beginning to suck at the tender flesh. Will’s efforts were rewarded within seconds as Nico moaned at the attention, and Will felt Nico arch up under him, pressing his body more tightly against Will’s. The feeling and the sound of Nico’s pleasure, the feel of his body, the familiar and not so subtle feeling of his growing arousal pressing into the hinge of Will’s thigh just made Will want to mark the pale skin of his throat more.

Will wasn’t aware of Nico’s fingers leaving his hair until he felt his shirt tighten as Nico’s hand took tight hold of a clump of fabric near his shoulder blade. “Will,” Nico sighed with pleasure.

“Mmm,” Will hummed contently as he pulled away from Nico’s throat to soothe the spot with his tongue before sitting up further to examine his work. The spot that had been the focus of Will’s attention only seconds before was red almost to the point of being purple. In short, Will was sure it would definitely turn into a rather impressive hickey given a little time.

His eyes lingered too long on his work, taking pride in his accomplishment, that he missed the heat in Nico’s eyes, the desire that was focused solely him. He finally noticed when he felt Nico’s hand release the back of his shirt in favor of sliding his hand forward and pressing his hand against Will’s chest. Will met Nico’s gaze and found his boyfriend’s already dark eyes to be even darker as his pupils were blown wide with lust. If Will hadn’t already been hard with excitement already that sight would have gotten him there _fast_. “Gods, I want you,” he admitted.

Before Will could even take a full breath, Nico’s lips were once again where they belonged, pressed against his own. Something unquantifiable had changed in the seconds they had been apart. Nico’s kisses were just as passionate as before but now there was tongue and teeth nipping at Will’s lower lip all the while one strong hand on his shoulder was pushing him backward.

A little shuffling, some soft creaks from the mattress in protest to their motions, and then they were both standing up on their knees still kissing through all of it. Their lips didn’t part until Nico started to pull off Will’s shirt roughly. Frantic in his passion, Nico’s attempt to remove Will’s article of clothing was sloppy at best. It was more of tugging and pulling at fabric with a few disgruntled noises to accompany the effort. It was a strange and new sort of exhilaration feel Nico struggle with his clothes for a change, but Will was too eager to let it go on long. Will pulled back just long enough to tug his shirt over his head and tossed it away blindly before returning to their kiss.

Nico’s actions, his movements, were all demanding and almost aggressive in his need, and Will was more than happy to follow his lead. Will groped at Nico’s well-sculpted arms catching fabric instead of the hard muscle he wanted. He thought about pulling off Nico’s shirt, but he never got a chance because before he could move he felt Nico’s hands on his hips. His grip was strong as one hand pulled Will tight against himself while the other moved him. Will wasn’t even sure how it happened, but he found himself lying on his back, amazed at how soft the sheets felt against his skin, and how plush the bed felt as Nico moved to straddle his waist.

The weight of Nico was so familiar and enticing. Will loved it, or he would have if Nico didn’t pull away from their embrace. Will tried to sit up to chase Nico’s lips, but Nico’s strong hands splayed on his chest held him in place.

Will took the hint and laid still his eyes on Nico as Nico’s eyes wandered over his bare chest. All the while Nico’s fingers danced across Will’s skin tracing lines and unknown patterns. Everywhere Nico’s cool fingers touched came alive with sensation, and Will made no attempt to hide it. He sighed and gasped at Nico’s touches hoping his boyfriend would never stop.

Will keep his eyes on Nico the whole time, enjoying the little smirk that danced on his full lips. Dark eyes settled on his own, and Will watched Nico’s smirk turn into a genuine smile. “I love you,” Nico whispered softly.

“I love you too,” Will replied as easy as breathing. If there was one thing Will knew for certain it was that he truly and deeply loved Nico with every fiber of his being and always would.

Nico’s hands stopped in their motions, and once again pressed against Will’s chest as he leaned down and pressed his lips against Will’s. It shouldn’t have been surprising, but Will was taken by surprise Nico’s kiss. It was like the feverish kiss they had been engrossed in before although there was still passion it was just a more controlled way. Nico apparently had been quite serious about taking his time.

Nico’s lips moved from Will’s lips too soon, but Will couldn’t complain as Nico moved first to his jaw then his throat taking his time to kiss his way down Will’s body. As he felt lips flutter over his clavicle Will sighed with satisfaction, “Nico, that feels so good.”

Warm breath against his skin had Will moaning seconds before he registered the soft sound of Nico chuckling. “That was the goal,” Nico informed. His voice all teasing and playful before his lips returned to Will’s bare skin and continued in their path down his body.

“Success,” Will sighed his breath hitching as he felt Nico’s tongue swirl teasingly around his left nipple.

Nico really had been serious about taking his time Will realized as he licked and sucked at his nipples to the point Will wanted to scream and beg for the attention of Nico’s talent mouth a bit lower. He moaned wantonly, grabbed fists full of sheets or Nico’s shirt in the attempt not to squirm at the sheer intensity of the sensation.

The feeling of Nico’s cool fingers hooking around the waistband of his jeans was such a welcomed sensation Will was genuinely surprised he didn’t cry out with relief. But just as the caress of cool fingers became something more solid Nico’s lips (and tongue) left his skin which made him want to weep it was such a tragedy.

His eye fluttered open although Will didn’t know when he had even closed them. It didn’t matter as he sought out Nico, catching his gaze in a matter of seconds. Nico’s eyes were impossibly dark, his cheeks were flush, his lips were bee-stung and glistening with his own saliva. Nico looked like all the sin they warned people about in bible study, not that Will had ever gone to bible study, but he had heard stories.

Nico continued in his efforts to unbutton and unzip Will’s pants, making much better work of it than earlier, as his eyes remained locked with Will’s. Will was beyond words or questions, so he didn’t try he just stared back at his boyfriend inquisitively.

“Lube?” Nico panted out the question the sound of Will’s pants zipper sliding open punctuated the question in the most lewd way Will could possibly imagine.

For a moment, Will was convinced Nico had been speaking Italian because his brain struggled to comprehend. When it struck him, Will lifted a hand weakly to point in the general direction of where he thought he left his backpack ( _maybe_?). “In my bag, front pocket,” he impressed even himself by managing that explanation. He was happy at least to see Nico turn, his gaze following Will’s gesture. “There should be a few bottles there.”

Nico nodded with understanding before doing the most horrible thing Will could think of: he rolled off his position atop Will’s lap before hopping off the bed and moving to Will’s bag which did, in fact, rest on the first step leading up to the bed’s platform. Will sat up enough to watch and enjoy the view of his boyfriend’s perfectly sculpted ass as he crouched down next to Will’s bag.

“A few?” Nico questioned looking over his shoulder and back at Will with a teasing smile.

“I was being realistic in my packing,” Will admitted without shame as he sat up a little straighter to watch Nico rummage in his bag. When putting his things together Will had actually considered bringing only one tube of personal lubricate on the trip, but common sense won out. He and Nico were going to be in New Rome for close to a week, and they liked sex and why shouldn’t they? They were really, _really_ good at it, after all. Bringing only one tube would have just given them a few bothersome errands to run.

Nico made an amused little noise in response before Will watched him turning his attention back to the backpack. As cute as Nico’s backside was, and as much as Will enjoyed admiring it as Nico bent over he let laziness win out and laid back on the bed. Staring up at the ceiling Will realized there were gemstones embedded up there as well, and unlike the ones in the walls of the sitting room which were tiny these looked huge. From the looks of it, each stone appeared to be the size of a man’s fist or larger. There was quite the variety of stones as well. Will saw emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds.

 _How strange_ , Will thought, _to be laying under a fortune of jewels._

“What’s this?” Nico questioned. His voice pulled Will from his thoughts.

Once again, Will pushed up on his elbows to see what Nico was referring. If Will’s heart stopped he wouldn’t have been surprised as he found Nico standing next to his bag with a small vial of purple, iridescent liquid in his hand, and a curious expression on his face.

“Nothing,” he answered sitting up a little straighter. Internally he was cursing himself for even bringing it. He almost hadn’t but like with the lube he figured it was practically as they were least likely to get interrupted in a hotel room. He didn’t know if something read in his voice or if Nico simply didn’t find his answer very informative, but either way, the questioning expression he was wearing only deepened. “Just a birthday gift from Lou,” Will clarified hoping that would be enough, at least for the moment being. “The lube is actually in the bigger front pocket,” Will explained gesturing toward his bag at Nico’s feet as he tried desperately to get the moment back on track. “Sorry, I should have been more clear.”

Nico’s eyes, unfortunately, stayed on the potion in his hands. Will watched as he shook it slightly causing the flecks of silver in the vial to swirl around the purple liquid. “Your birthday or mine?” Nico asked with the same level of curiosity as before. Will didn’t hear an ounce of suspicion in his voice which he guessed was good. And the question was valid as Lou Ellen was notoriously big on birthdays and got everyone something.

“Um…” Will actually considered lying, at least for the moment, but the idea was just too unpleasant. “Mine,” he admitted sure Nico could be hear the reluctance in his voice. Nico just knew him too well.

“Your birthday was in October,” Nico pointed out. He tilted his head to one side in that cute little way he did when he found something to be out of place. Most often it was something Will saw directed at Percy or Jason when they were acting especially stupid, but every once and a while he was on the receiving end of it. He supposed he could find it condescending, but it was just too cute to take offense. There was silence for what felt like an eternity, but Will was sure it hadn’t actually been that long. He wasn’t sure if Nico was expecting him to say something or if he was simply thinking on the curiosity. “Why haven’t you used it yet?” he questioned bringing an end to the silence as he turned to examine the vial in his hand.

Nico wouldn’t be able to guess the purpose of the liquid in the vial, Will was sure of that. Nico might have been insanely smart and well-studied, but some things were beyond even him. Nico probably even had some basic knowledge of magic and potions because of how closely related those things could be to the underworld, but nowhere near the wealth Lou Ellen had. And it wasn’t like that particular potion was something that would have caught Nico’s attention in the past. Still, watching Nico examine the liquid made him even more nervous than he already was.

It wasn’t like he had done anything wrong, Will reminded himself as he tried to bury his nerves. “Haven’t had a chance,” Will admitted with a shrug.

“What does it do?” Nico questioned looking away from the bottle and back at Will. The lust that had filled his dark eyes was replaced with genuine interest.

That might have been the worst thing about the whole conversation. Will wanted the Nico from moments before back. The one that had had him pinned to the bed and ready to beg. Maybe he could get that back if he was just a bit more forceful in his own attempt. “Hey, weren’t we…” Will smiled hoping it came across as suggestive as he meant it to. He gestured between himself and Nico to make his meaning perfectly clear.

 _Maybe I should take off my pants suggestively_ , Will thought desperately as Nico remained exactly where he was. Will noticed Nico arched his eyebrow questioningly. _That’s not going to work_ , Will realized as he considered how much effort it would take for him to even get off the bed to strip off his pants.

Nico continued to look at him expectantly and the longer Will tried to think of some way to divert the conversation the more he realized it wasn’t going to work. He let out a long sigh as he surrendered to his fate. _I guess we are talking about this now_.

“Yeah, um,” Will pushed his hand through his hair nervously before continuing. “It would let me understand any language I heard spoken for about eight to twelve hours.”

Nico didn’t immediately react which was surprising at least until Will figured out he didn’t completely understand. “Why would you…?” Nico began to question as he looked away from Will and back at the bottle in his hand. He gave it another shake causing the silver flecks to dance and swirl in the purple liquid for a few seconds. The exact moment Nico figured it out Will saw the realization spread across his face. Not only in the sharp features of Nico’s face, but in his body language as well. His eyes went wide, his pouty lips pulled down at the corners, and his shoulders pulled back tight.

“Oh,” Nico exclaimed. He went visibly tense, and the grip on the vial changed so drastically it was almost comical. For one, Nico held the vial out as far away from himself as he possibly could, and instead of gripping it in his fist as he had before he held it cautiously pinched between his thumb and forefinger. Suddenly, it looked like Nico was holding toxic waste or a venomous snake. Will watched as Nico’s dark eyes darted between where Will sat on the bed and the bottle in his hand. “Oh,” Nico repeated before ever so gently placing the vial back in the pocket of Will’s beg before taking a rather dramatic step backward. “No,” he declared with finality.

“No?” The question left Will’s mouth before he even really thought about it. He knew he should have tried for something reassuring to at the very least start a conversation, but the part of him that desperately needed to know what sweet, dirty, sexy things Nico moaned when they made love wouldn’t be silenced.

“No,” Nico repeated with more force. He took a few more steps back before stepping off the platform where the bed rested entirely, and taking several large strides toward the other side of the room before turning back to look at Will. He pointed at where Will’s bag still sat like he was accusing it of a crime before adding, “Absolutely _not_.”

Not trying to hide his disappointment, Will pushed himself forward on the bed until his legs dangled off the edge. “But-”

“Oh gods!” Nico exclaimed cutting Will off before he could say anything more. His eyes were wide, and he was wearing an expression of actual terror. “Have you already….?”

“No,” Will assured quickly, “Of course not.” Will was happy to see the look of horror disgust leave his boyfriend’s face but not as happy as he would have been if the tension Nico had been carrying since the moment he learned the purpose of the potion had left with it.

Will felt more than a little guilty if for no other reason than ruining the start of their first trip to New Rome together. He looked down at his hands in hopes that if he couldn’t see Nico’s distress it wouldn’t bother him as much (that had never worked in the past but who knew, maybe this time would be different). He lifted his shoulders in an attempt to shrug, but the motion was so weak he doubted it could be called that. “I was hoping to talk to you about first,” Will gave that statement a moment’s thought before adding, “Maybe.”

Peeking up through his eyelashes Will was unlucky enough to catch Nico’s eyes narrowing in like a laser beam focused solely on him. “Maybe?” Nico questioned with a darkness to his voice that was unnerving.

Will guessed maybe didn’t sound great, but he had his reasons. He sighed and pushed off the bed, so he could pace along the bed’s platform. He suddenly felt too passive just sitting there as they talked. “I didn’t think it would bother you, but that it might make you….” Will stopped as he searched for the right word. He didn’t find exactly what he was looking for but something close enough to get by. “ _Nervous,_ ” He actually managed to fully shrug this time before continuing, “So it might be better not to.”

“Oh gods, Will!” Nico exclaimed with a look of distaste on his face.

Will had to admit, now that he heard it out loud he realized how bad it sounded. _What had I been thinking_? “I’ll admit, not my best plan,” Will offered, not ashamed to admit how badly he had messed up.

Will had hoped that Nico would recognize his words as the apology it was meant to be, but as he watched Nico’s features turn hard like a stone he realized that wasn’t going to happen. “Well, now we talked about it, and it isn’t going to happen,” Nico stated firmly before pointing toward the offensive vial still visible in Will’s bag. “So, you can get rid of it.”

“Wait,” Will took a few steps toward Nico in an effort to close the distance. “I get that I probably should have talked to you about this, but I don’t get why its such a big deal.”

Nico shifted, pulling his arms tight over his chest. Will noticed him look down at the carpet and shrug slightly. “Its… _embarrassing_ ,” Nico answered in such a quiet voice Will just barely made out his words.

“Why?” Will questioned sincerely. Will had figured if Nico knew he could understand him when he was moaning in Italian he would feel self-conscious, but he never considered Nico would find it embarrassing. No wonder Nico had been so upset when he learned what the potion did, Will realized regretfully.

He reached out a hand and brought it to rest on Nico’s arm just above his elbow and was pleased that Nico didn’t make a move to remove it. “It wouldn’t change anything,” he reassured softly. “I would just be able to understand the things you say.” Will hoped it didn’t come across as insensitive, but he couldn’t help but smile at the mere thought. “How could that be a bad thing?”

Nico made an attempt to glare at him, but Will could tell the difference between Nico’s genuine glare and one that was only an attempt to intimidate it. “I don’t know,” Nico shrugged before letting his arms fall to his sides. Even if he was still trying to seem angry Will was happy to see him loosen back up a bit. He would have preferred them back on the bed tearing each other’s clothes off but baby steps. “I still don’t like it,” Nico stated firmly although it was more pouty child then true anger.

“Well, I wasn’t like I going to use it right now,” Will offered as a compromise of sorts. He didn’t want to push Nico to do something he wasn’t comfortable, but he didn’t want to give up on what he wanted either as selfish as that may be. Will let his hand run down Nico’s arm as he continued, “Would you be willing to at least think about it?”

Nico didn’t have to say a word for Will to know that he immediately wanted to say no, it was written across his face and in his dark eyes. Nico didn’t say no, much to Will’s surprise. Instead, he sighed after a few seconds and answering without any enthusiasm, “Yeah, I guess.”

 _It was official_ , Will thought as he felt a grin spread across his face. He was simply too happy to let it be contained. _He had to be the luckiest guy on the planet to have a boyfriend as amazing as Nico_ , he thought, because even though Nico still was obviously not thrilled with the idea he meant would he said, he would actually consider it.

Will leaned in and placed a kiss on Nico’s cheek as a show of his gratitude before asserting, “You spoil me.”

Nico scuffed and rolled his eyes, but the little smile that Will noticed playing at the corner of his mouth gave away his true feelings. “That’s debatable,” he dismissed in a teasing tone.

Will leaned in once again and placed another kiss on Nico’s cheek. This time he lingered there a little longer before pulling back. “You totally do,” Will insisted brightly. “And I’m totally willing to fight you on that to prove it.”

Will watched the shadow of a smile that had been playing at the corners of Nico’s lips bloom into a true grin as he arched an eyebrow at Will in a clear show of doubt. “Don’t pick fights you can’t win, doc,” he retorted playfully.

“You don’t think I could take you?” Will replied faking outrage at the suggestion even though he knew Nico could whip the floor with him if he wanted to and couldn’t have cared less.

“Absolutely not,” Nico replied matter-of-factly. To Nico that was all it was, a fact. He was probably the only person outside the Ares cabin at camp that could rank order every camper based on their fighting abilities. Unlike the Ares campers, Nico didn’t think less of those who weren’t really fighters because the way he saw it everyone had their place when it came to a battle, and not all of them needed to be swinging a sword or shooting a bow. Still, while Nico would play modest he was aware of his own ability and made no apologies for his skill. He shrugged casually before adding with the same grin as before, “Not unless I let you.”

“You’re probably right,” Will agreed with a smile and a shrug just as casual as Nico. After all, he was happy to play medic to Nico’s battle-tested soldier. Actually, that sounded kind of hot, they might have to revisit that idea in a roleplaying sense at some point in the near future. Will let his hand slide down Nico’s arm as he took a few backward steps toward the bed. “You are just going to have to take me then,” he offered suggestively just as he felt the first shallow step that led up to the bed under his foot.

Nico arched his eyebrow at him again although this time it wasn’t doubt but surprise, the pleasant kind. A few seconds past, Nico didn’t move, and Will began to wonder if maybe he had tried to switch gears too quickly. But then a look of sheer determination spread across Nico’s features, and he took several long strides toward him. “Yeah, I can do that,” he stated with purpose just before he stepped into Will’s space.

Before Will knew it one of Nico’s hands had slipped around the back of his neck and fingers had entangled in his hair while the other found station on Will’s hip, gripping at the bare skin just above the waistband of Will’s jeans.

Nico’s soft lips found Will’s own as strong hands drove him backward. Will stumbled up the steps onto to the bed’s platform but trusted Nico to guild him and catch him if need be. When he felt the plush mattress press against the back of his knees Will sat without a second thought, and Nico moved in tandem with him. Will felt the mattress give not only from his own weight but also the weight of Nico’s knees coming to rest on either side of his legs as the brunet climbed into Will lap.

Will felt the hand Nico had planted at his hip start to snake up his side settling at the midpoint of Will’s ribs. Nico’s other hand, the one that had been tangled in Will’s hair, moved down to settle on his shoulder. Will didn’t realize Nico’s hands had been urging him back until he felt the soft sheets against his back.

Nico’s lips continued to move on his own in the most amazing ways. The occasional pass of his talented tongue or the graze of teeth sent lightning like electricity through Will’s body making it all the better.

As Will felt Nico’s cool hands began to once again explore his bare chest Will let his hands do some exploring of their own. He started at Nico’s strong shoulders blades before letting them slide down his back. The feel of Nico’s lean muscles moving under his grasp even though Nico’s t-shirt had Will desperate for more of him.

Without realizing what he was doing Will began grabbing at chunks of fabric. He pulled Nico’s shirt upward as they continued to kiss with increased hunger. Their lips only parted at the last possible moment when Will was about to pull Nico’s shirt off, but before he could three hard raps on the hotel room’s door interrupted them.

Will made no attempt to move from where he lay, and he certainly didn’t release Nico’s T-shirt from his grip although he did turn his head in the general direction of the suite’s door. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Nico too turn to look toward the door as he remained stationed above him on the bed. Will wanted to be hopeful, maybe it was one of the overly helpful hotel staff with horrible timing, but any hope died with the second more demanding succession of knocks.

“Why does this always happen to us?” Will questioned giving voice to a disappointment he typically kept buried when he and Nico were interrupted when they were trying to get intimate.

“It’s our curse,” Nico admitted what Will had long suspected with a sigh before leaning in and placing the most chaste kiss on his lip for the briefest of seconds before pulling back. “I’ll get rid of whoever it is,” he offered with far too much good cheer considering the situation as he hopped off the bed and started toward the door of the suite. Will hated to lose the closeness, but he wasn't above watching Nico walk away just to see his perfect butt move in his tight pants. Nico was about halfway to the door when Will saw him pause and looked back over his shoulder toward Will. “Want to grab the lube,” he suggested with a telling grin as he pointed toward Will’s bag.

“Absolutely,” Will replied with a grin even though Nico hadn’t waited for his response before continuing to the door.

Will hopped off the bed and practically skipped to where his backpack still rested on the floor. He bent down just as he heard Nico pull the hotel room door open roughly while declaring gruffly (or as gruffly as Nico with his velvety voice could manage), “We don’t-” Nico stopped talking abruptly, and Will stopped too. His fingers still clung to the zipper to the pocket of his bag that actually contained the lube. After a momentary pause, Nico spoke again with his tone of voice noticeably friendlier and far less annoyed, “Oh, hey Reyna, what are you doing here?”

“I got impatient,” A female voice replied. Will stood quickly but found his feet wouldn’t move. He now understood what a deer in the headlights felt like. This certainly couldn’t be actually happening. He knew he was going to meet Reyna on the trip, but it couldn’t be happening now. The female voice continued and even through his fog of panic Will detected the faint signature of an accent he couldn’t quite place. “Can I come in?”

_No, no, no, no, no!_

Will heard Nico hum nervously before trying to answer, “Um actually-”

“I won’t be long,” Will heard Reyna offer before Nico ever got the chance to say no. The words were accompanied by the sounds of movement. Will found himself both extremely frustrated and extremely grateful that he couldn’t see the suit door from where he stood. On the one hand, he had no idea what the sounds could have meant although the footfalls of boots on the room’s carpet suggest Reyna had stepped through the threshold and into the room proper. On the other hand, Reyna couldn’t see him standing there disheveled, shirtless, and probably wearing a look of complete panic. “I just want to meet this Will without Jason and Hazel and everyone talking at me about how fabulous he is,” she went on to explain, “I would rather decide for myself.”

“Um well-” Nico began, and Will could hear his boyfriend desperately searching for an excuse to keep her out.

Will had an infinite amount of faith in Nico when it came to so many things but from the sounds of it, this was not a battle Nico was going to win. Strangely, that thought was enough to shook Will into motion.

Will had given a lot of thought to what it would be like when he met Reyna, what he would do. After all, Reyna was kind of like his last stop on his tour of Nico’s parental figures. After her, the only ones that remained had passed away, and Will knew he wouldn’t get to meet her. In a weird way, Reyna was the most terrifying. Will had been plenty scared of Hades, but while Hades could torture him for the rest of eternity, he knew Nico didn’t care what his father fault.

Frantic, he quickly zipped his fly and started looking around the room trying to find his shirt. He hadn’t really been paying attention to where Nico had thrown it which at the time made sense, but now he was really regretting that. When he finally spotted the crumpled-up wad of fabric sitting on the floor on the far side of the bed he practically lunged for it.

He managed to snatch the thing off the floor and get one arm in but then he realized he was about to pull it on backward and inside out which wasn’t the impression he wanted to make either. He was turning it right side out when Reyna strode into the space with Nico a half a step behind her and zeroed in on Will in all his shirtless glory.

 _Well, this couldn’t get any more embarrassing_ , Will thought bitterly.

So, it wasn’t going as Will had planned, but Reyna standing there was exactly what he had pictured. Dark hair, dark eyes, deeply tanned skin, and a regal posture. There was no wonder an army followed her without question. She practically oozed leadership from her pores. To sum it up, she may have been the most intimidating person Will had ever meet. _This could not go well_.

“Oh, hello,” Reyna greeted with a look of surprise. Will guessed she hadn’t expected to walk in and find him half-naked. They were both surprised, maybe they could use that as a point of commonality on which the could bound. Will managed to move his jaw a couple times, but no sound came out not that Reyna seemed to notice. Instead, she turned back toward Nico to comment knowingly, “I take it I’m interrupting.”

“Obviously,” Nico replied with an easy smile and a shrug. Was Will losing his mind? Was Nico admitting to something sexual without blushing? Normally, that was Will’s thing, and Nico would yell at him for it.

Will noticed Reyna smirk with amusement before turning back to Will with an expectant look. Will froze until Nico gave a little cough to snap him back to reality. “Sorry,” he finally managed to stammer out as he righted his shirt and pulled it on. He tugged at the fabric trying to make himself look halfway presentable even though he knew there was nothing he could do without a complete change of clothes. “Hi,” Will greeted as he gave up on his probably wrinkled and lopsided t-shirt to push his fingers through his hair. Not that there was much of a point in that either as his hair was usually an unruly mess. “I’m Will,” he introduced himself probably unnecessarily as he held out his hand.

Will figured putting on his shirt, and at least attempting to fix his hair would be helpful, but Reyna was staring at him with a look that couldn’t be good. She didn’t take the hand Will offered which made the silence seem worse. “I’ve met you already,” Reyna stated with what sounded like confusion in her voice as she pointed at Will.

“Um,” Will replied uncertainly. Will had heard Reyna described plenty so in a way he felt like he knew her, and he had probably seen her after the Battle of Camp Half-Blood when the Roman’s were still around but beyond that, he didn’t know. He let his hand fall to his side and looked at Nico for help.

Reyna turned to Nico as well as she continued to point toward Will. The longer she did that the more it felt like an accusation. “I have met him before,” she informed insistently.

Nico was leaning with one elbow propped against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, and a vaguely bored expression on his face which if Will knew Nico at all he knew that expression meant he probably knew full well if Will and Reyna had already met. Nico just shrugged and asked, “You have?”

“Yes!” Reyna turned back to once again look at Will, the uncertainty was gone from her face and now she looked like she had just had a revelation. “You ran the infirmary after the battle at Camp Half-Blood.”

“Oh yeah, that would be me,” Will replied sounding far more uncertain then he met.

Honestly, Will felt a little guilty. On a logical level, he knew it would make sense that Reyna had come by the infirmary after the battle. Outside of her own injuries that Will knew he hadn’t attended to (he would have remembered that) but many of the Romans were treated in the infirmary, and it would have made sense as a leader amongst the Roman troops to visit the wounded. Still, he didn’t remember her.

“Sorry, the first few days after the battle are kind of a blur with all the injuries,” he explained quickly. He had been a bit of a mess after the battle. Any of his siblings could have attested to that. “I think I went a few days without sleep and minimal food,” Will admitted with a nervous laugh. There had just been so many injured. Some of the Roman healers tried to help out, but Will had a system which meant their attempts to help usually just made more work for Will. On top of it, Will had been distracted- he and Nico had talked, they had touched. Anytime Will hadn’t been directly caring for a patient he had been thinking about Nico and wondering if maybe, just maybe, he would come to the infirmary. “I guess we could have met,” Will admitted his ignorance bashfully as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Will noticed the small smile that appeared on Reyna’s face which he took as a good sign. At least she didn’t seem offended that Will had apparently forgotten meeting her. “You did appear quite occupied every time I was there to check on the Romans being treated there,” she admitted, and Will thought she sounded amused as she spoke, but that couldn’t have been right. “You did impressive work. I had figured you were a child of Asclepius rather than Apollo.”

“You’re not the first person to think that,” Will admitted. When he had first arrived at camp he had told Chiron about his healing abilities and like everything else at camp the information spread like wildfire. For the brief period of time that passed between his arrival and being claimed as a child of Apollo, the ruling theory was that he was a child of Asclepius. No one ever admitted it, but Will was pretty sure that most of the Hermes cabin had lost money on his parentage.

Reyna nodded in acknowledge before turning back to Nico. “Why didn’t you tell me this is who you have been dating?” She questioned very much sounding like a parent chastising a child as she gestured at Will like he was evidence of something. “I’ve been terrified that you’ve been dating some self-absorbed, selfish child of Apollo.”

“I did tell you who I was dating,” Nico retorted with a bit of a huff before questioning with clear annoyance, “Why does everyone assume I can’t handle my own dating life?”

“I can be worried without assuming you’re incompetent,” Reyna offered. Will guessed that was true. He often worried about Nico’s safety like back in New York when he had taken on that monster, and that worry didn’t equate with a lack of faith in Nico’s fighting abilities. Nico didn’t seem completely convinced if the way he rolled his eyes and huffed dismissively.

Will didn’t really know what to say. He had gone through a million possible conversation topics he could use with Reyna, but now that she was standing in front of him he was drawing a complete blank. He was relieved when Reyna turned back to him and asked, “So you’re looking at the university here in New Rome?”

“Yeah,” Will responded with ease. “We’re going to check it out this week while Nico shows me around the rest of the city.” Will doubted no matter how beautiful New Rome, and the university there was that it would live up to Columbia, but there really was no point in mentioning that to Reyna. “It should be a nice relaxing trip.”

“Relaxing?” Reyna questioned with a bemused smirk that Will didn’t quite understand. “I take it neither of you have talked to Percy yet, have you?” She questioned looking back at Nico for a few seconds before turning back to Will.

“No?” Will questioned more than answered as he looked toward Nico. The truth was Will and Percy weren’t that close so while he had spoken to Jason a few times in the weeks leading up to the trip he hadn’t even thought about speaking to Percy. The way Reyna asked the question had Will suspecting that was a mistake.

Nico’s response to the questioning looks being directed at him was far from reassuring. Will watched Nico roll his eyes dramatically which he was pretty sure was an expression Nico saved sole for Percy’s special brand of ridiculous. Instead of actually explaining anything, the brunet looked toward Reyna with disappointment as he declared, “You should know not to listen to Percy.”

That pretty much solidified it in Will’s mind, he was now sure that Nico had spoken to Percy and knew exactly what Reyna was talking about. Reyna only smiled more confidently, “I have learned to assume that Percy can make the impossible happen.”

That statement didn’t exactly sound reassuring and Nico certainly didn’t seem pleased by it either. “Is there something I should know?” he asked no one in particular in hopes that _someone_ would fill him in. It was generally challenging to participate in a conversation when you didn’t actually know what people were talking about.

“I’ll tell you later,” Nico informed quickly.

“Oh,” Will got the distinct impression that Nico was saying that more to prevent Reyna from explaining rather than having any actual intent of explaining. He made a mental note to actually ask later. “Okay.”

“Well,” Reyna interjected, “I should probably go and let you both get back to-” She paused for a moment to look between Nico and Will stood. Will wasn’t sure if she was remembering walking in on him shirtless or just found something particularly telling about their current state, but she grinned knowingly. “Whatever it was you were doing.” She took a few steps backward before turning on her heels and striding toward the door. She stopped and turned back toward where Will and Nico still stood. “Will, we should talk more at dinner,” she stated. “I want to hear more about you.”

Again, Will doubted, to spite Reyna’s pleasant tone, that he had any sort of say in that which he fine with. “Um, yeah, sure,” he managed to reply flatly. The way Reyna had come barging in he had expected an interrogation. The fact that she was leaving after a short and rather pleasant conversation left him stunned.

Nico, on the other hand, was either handing his shook a lot better or simply wasn’t surprised. He let Reyna stride past before turning on his heels and following her to the door. Will heard the suite door open and the two exchange brief goodbyes before heavy footfalls signaled Reyna’s exit. He heard the door fall shut a few seconds before Nico strolled back into the room.

“So…did I pass?” Will questioned. Now that they were alone he could give voice to at least some of his panicked thoughts.

“What?” Nico questioned as he came to a stop at the foot of the bed’s platform. His eyebrows knotted together in a show of confusion that was actually really adorable before pointing back over his shoulder toward the exit. “Did you think meeting Reyna was some kind of a test?”

Will looked down at his feet out of embarrassment. “Yes,” he admitted reluctantly. He managed, just barely, to look up and meet Nico’s gaze before asking the really important question, “Do you think she likes me?”

Nico didn’t even seem to think about it. As soon as Will had voiced the question he saw a soft smile spread across Nico’s normally mysterious face. “Yeah, she likes you,” he answered in a reassuring whisper as he stepped up onto the platform until he was standing right in front of Will. A cool hand reached up gingerly and grazed Will’s cheek in a purely affectionate gesture. Being on the receiving end of such affection, Will couldn’t help but met Nico’s gaze and as he did Nico leaned in and kissed him softly on his lips. Unlike before, the kiss was soft and brief before Nico pulled back although his hand lingered on Will’s cheek a few seconds longer. “You passed,” Nico stated, and Will immediately brightened. Reyna was Nico’s friend, he knew her well, so if he thought it went well then Will felt confident it had, in fact, went well.

As Will let go of the tension he hadn’t even been aware he was carrying Nico’s repression changed. His sharp features went from reassuring to playful before he asked teasingly, “Weren’t you supposed to be getting the lube?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated.
> 
> Follow me at delta-roseblr.tumblr.com


	66. A Gathering of Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday Beautiful Readers!
> 
> Outside of some implied smut this chapter is pretty tame! I know it might feel like filler but it is setting up a lot that is to come.
> 
> On the topic of smut- It's come up in the comments a few times so I figured I could just address it here. I know it has been a while but there is a few smutty chapters in the works that will be coming soon. One will be Jercy and one will be Solangelo.
> 
> An Outtakes chapter will be coming out in the next couple weeks.

Piper and Annabeth darted across town taking every shortcut and alleyway Annabeth could remember even though they both knew they were going to be late. They probably could have shaved a little time off their trip if they didn’t keep stopping to laugh, but where would the fun be in that?

The plan had been for the seven (minus Frank and Hazel who had Legion things to attend to), Nico, Will, and Reyna to met up at One O’clock that day so that Percy and Annabeth could give them a tour of the university since most of them might be going there the following year. Nico would not, as he still had a year of high school to finish, and Will seemed on the fence between University at New Rome or Columbia. Piper didn’t completely understand it, and she got the impression that there were things going on between those two that she wasn’t aware of, but she let it be. For the most part, the second youngest couple in their group of friends seemed to find ways to handle any relationship hurdle that was put in their path with ease that even she as a child of Aphrodite found impressive.

When the statue toward the west end of New Rome University came into view they were only about ten minutes late, so it wasn’t too bad. Still, Piper could see that Jason, Percy, and Reyna had all already arrived, but Nico and Will were nowhere in sight. At least she and Annabeth weren’t the only ones running late.

As they approached Piper looked over and shared a smirk with Annabeth over the scene. Reyna was leaning against the statue and looking at her watch with clear impatience when Jason and Percy stood nearby talking animatedly and occasionally pushing each other lightly. It didn’t look like an actual fight or anything serious just Percy and Jason being Percy and Jason. In a word, they looked ridiculous.

“Hey!” Piper called out announcing her and Annabeth’s presence as they approached. “Sorry, we’re late.”

Reyna looked up from her watch while Jason and Percy stopped their manly (only slightly homoerotic- really for them that was impressive) display to turn in their direction. “You’re late?” Percy questioned as Piper noticed him take a step forward to catch Annabeth’s hand in his own before place an affectionate kiss on her cheek. Piper released her grasp of Annabeth’s other hand and moved to Jason’s side. “I hadn’t even noticed. Did you two have fun?”

“As much fun as shopping could be I guess,” Annabeth replied unenthusiastically. Shopping was one thing Piper was just never going to get Annabeth to enjoy, and she had accepted that. At least Annabeth would still go with her even though it wasn’t her favorite thing which was about all Piper thought she could ask for from a friend.

Piper noticed Annabeth gesture between Jason and Percy with a curious expression. “What were you two even doing?” she questioned. “I can never tell if you are about fight or make out.”

“Could you ever?” Reyna questioned flatly. Out of all their friends, Reyna seemed to accept their nontraditional relationship with the greatest ease. Piper was half convinced that was just because she wanted to tease Percy and Jason about it, and Piper couldn’t really blame her for that. Teasing them was especially fun.

Piper watched as Annabeth pretended to think about it for a second before nodding in agreement and declaring, “Good point.”

Percy just grinned, it usually took a bit more to embarrass him, but Jason turned a deep shade of red. Piper reached out and grabbed her blushing boyfriend’s hand and pulled him a little closer before she joined in on the teasing. “Jason’s blushing.” She pointed out, “I think we all know what that means.”

“Piper!” Jason exclaimed with disapproval as Piper watched him turn a darker shade of red. Jason was an easier target when it came to embarrassment on the topic of sex.

Almost as quickly as Jason protested Percy was offering her a hand to high-five as he declared with approval, “Nice!”

Piper didn’t hesitate to slap Percy’s hand with her own as a show of comradery. She had always gotten along pretty well with Percy. Back on the Argo II, when there was a few moments silence Piper and Percy would sometimes exchange stories about getting kicked out of school or other such teenage rebellion. The arrangement hadn’t changed that any, in fact, if anything they got along even better.

Piper heard Jason groan. “Don’t team up against me,” he whined (Jason would never admit it was a whine, but it was definitely a whine).

“You and Annabeth tag team me all the time,” Percy declared dismissively in Jason’s direction as he released Annabeth’s hand in favor of slinging his arm over her shoulder. “And not in a sexy way.”

Piper sought out Annabeth at the same moment that Annabeth seemed to look at her. They exchanged a dismissive look at that comment. Percy was obviously joking, and a foursome was definitely not on the table now or ever (no offensive to Percy but _no_ ). “What Percy is trying to say,” Piper began as she turned to her still (slightly) blushing boyfriend, “Is turnabout is fair play.”

“Yeah, we’re P2, partners in crime,” Percy declared quickly with a large grin. It was one of those goofy Percy things that were just so ridiculous it made it hard to believe Percy had done some of the things he had done. Piper couldn’t help but chuckle under her breath. “Get used to it.”

From the corner of her eye, Piper noticed Jason’s face scrunch up like he had just sucked on a lemon. “Oh gods,” he declared in what Piper suspected was mock distaste as he turned to Annabeth “What were we thinking?”

Annabeth chuckled before replying with an affectionate glance in Percy’s direction, “I ask myself that often.”

“See, you two team up against me all the time,” Percy pointed out cheerfully. “And everyone knows what you were thinking. _Damn, Percy’s hot_.”

“That’s definitely not it,” Annabeth retorted flatly with the hint of a teasing smile playing at the corner of her lips.

The conversation probably could have continued that way for a while. Both Percy and Jason looked like they had something to say, and Piper was well aware of their ability to tease each other. Before anyone could say another word, Nico and Will appeared walking out of a nearby alleyway.

Ever the adorable couple, Nico and Will were strolling toward their group, hand in hand without a care in the world. Considering they were pretty late (and judging by Reyna’s face when she spotted the couple that hadn’t gone unnoticed) maybe they should have acted like they had at least one care.

As they approached Piper noticed how the two seemed to be talking to each other in quiet tones as they smiled at each other. As cute as it was it was far from the most notable thing about the youngest pair. Even from afar Piper could tell that both Nico and Will’s hair was wet, not damp, wet like they had both just went for a swim or just gotten out of the shower. On top of that, both of their clothes seemed more thrown on than normal.

It was obvious they had gotten up to something fun that had caused their lateness and if Piper had to guess she felt pretty confident she could. It had been a surprise to her when Nico and Will had started dating, how physical they were. Nico had been so quiet and closed off when she had first met him on the Argo II. She had figured it would take him a long time to get comfortable enough with someone, but with Will it seemed to make sense somehow. Now the fact that Nico and Will were probably late because they had found some dark (and apparently wet) corner to screw around was funny (well, to everyone except Jason and maybe Reyna).

 “Hey,” Percy called out being the first of the group to greet the couple. “Look who finally decided to show up.”

Piper saw Will give a little wave as the couple joined the group where they stood. Will was all smiles with a bounce in his step even in response to Percy, which was pretty much Will in a nutshell. While Nico’s response was a bit less friendly. He just stared at Percy critically for a moment before responding flatly, “Hello to you too.”

“Where have you two been?” Reyna questioned critically as she held up her wrist as if to show the two knew arrives her wrist, so they could see her watch and better understand just how late they were.

Neither Nico or Will got a chance to answer before Jason chimed in with a question of his own. “And why are you wet?” he asked. It seemed like a pretty valid question considering that now that the two were standing closer Piper noticed Nico’s hair was still dripping slightly and the shoulder of Will’s sweater were visibly damp. The disapproving tone with which Jason asked the question was less valid but pretty much expected. The ongoing joke was that Jason acted like Nico’s mom and often time he played the part well, this being one of them.

If Nico had been the one to answer, Piper was sure he would have said something about how it was none of anyone’s business where they were, and he would have been right. But it wasn’t Nico that answered. “We were at the baths,” Will admitted as he gestured back over his shoulder the way they came.

“I was showing him the Roman baths,” Nico was quick to explain now that Will had outed them so to speak. Piper didn’t miss for a second the slight blush that colored the pale demigod’s cheeks. Nico had come a long way when it came to so many things, but with others, he was still the quiet demigod that preferred to hide in the shadows. “Because they are building the replica at Camp Half-Blood.”

Will looked to Nico as he spoke which was common enough and from his reaction Piper guessed she wasn’t the only one to notice how the son of Hades’ was blushing. “And we just must have lost track of time,” Will offered quickly. Will was obviously trying to help Nico save face or at least hide that they had been up to something naughty, but he did a poor job of it. The little smile that had spread across his face as soon as he mentioned the baths that refused to go away gave him away. If Piper had to guess she would say that Nico and Will had had a lot of fun together at the baths.

“Ah-ha” Percy at the couple knowingly because if Jason played the part of Nico’s mom, Percy had the constant need to be the exact opposite of that. Real funny thing was, Piper wasn’t sure which Nico hated more because he obviously wasn’t a fan of either behavior. “Likely story.”

“Ignore him,” Annabeth chimed in quickly before Nico had a chance to snap back with some aggressive comment to Percy that Piper could see him thinking up. “We were late too,” Annabeth pointed toward where Piper stood as she talked. Piper gave a small nod to verify that Annabeth was speaking the truth.

“Oh?” Will questioned although Piper wasn’t sure if his interest was genuine or if he was just happy to get the conversation off how he and Nico had, if Piper had to guess, had managed to have sex somehow in the Roman Baths. “Where were you two?”

“Dress shopping,” Piper answered simply. She was fine with helping Will and Nico change the topic of conversation if for no other reason then it would make Jason happy. As much as Jason questioned Nico about things and said he wanted to know, he didn’t, and every time he got answers he immediately freaked out. He had been getting better about it, but the initial reaction of horror that his (adoptive) little brother was having sex (and liking it) was still very much there.

Will nodded but didn’t comment further while Nico, on the other hand, looked first at Piper and then to Annabeth before questioning, “I thought you already have a wedding dress.”

Piper immediately realized the cause of Nico’s confusion, but Annabeth must not have because she suddenly looked equally as confused. “I do,” Annabeth agreed “Why?”

Nico just looked more confused as he pointed toward Piper. She waited for a few seconds to see if either of them would figure it out on their own, after all, both Annabeth and Nico were intelligent demigods. Neither of them seemed to get it, and she was started to feel guilty for letting them hang there so she chimed in to explain, “We were shopping for prom. I need a dress.” she gave Jason’s arm an excited squeeze before adding “And I only have a month left to shop.”

Piper wasn’t a girly-girl. She really wasn’t. Sure, she had gotten excited about planning Annabeth and Percy’s wedding, but that came more from wanting her friends to have a perfect day. If any couple deserved a perfect day it was Annabeth and Percy after everything they had been through. Still, she was weirdly excited about prom for some reason. Maybe because it was such a normal thing. It was like the normal cherry on top of the normal sundae that had been the last year.

Maybe it was her excitement that made her miss it because normally Piper was pretty attuned to the emotional reactions of people around her, especially her friends. Still, it wasn’t until Will spoke that she realized she had struck some kind of nerve.

“Oh,” Will declared in a quiet voice that still managed to be much too grave for the discussion of something as silly as prom.

“Prom sounds nice,” Nico declared through clenched teeth. Piper had always thought that was just expression, but one look at Nico and she saw his jaw was visibly clinched.

There was a story there, and while Piper knew that Nico at the very least was private about their relationship she couldn’t help but be curious. “Oh,” She tried to read the couple’s body language. The way Will’s eyes were downcast and turned away from Nico while the son of Hades was tense and looking toward Will was telling her something but not what she would expect for that couple in particular. “Will, do you not get to go because you’re graduating early?” That wouldn’t have made much sense, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

“No,” Will answered in a more clipped tone than Piper had ever heard from him before.

“It’s not one of those things that you hear about on TV is it?” Annabeth questioned with audible dread. “Because you’re gay.”

“No,” Nico answered in Will’s place before pulling his arms over his chest and shooting Will a pointed look. “He just hasn’t asked me.”

The silence that fell over the group was thick and extremely uncomfortable. Only Percy was brave enough to say anything, and all he could muster was a half-hearted _Oh_.

As the awkward silence stretched, and Nico and Will stared at each other: Nico in accusation, Will in clear surprise all she could think of was the couple storming through camp in the middle of their first real fight. After the fact, both boys dismissed the argument as trivial and each admitted they had handled it poorly, but, at the moment, to the unexpecting bystander it looked like it could have been the end of the world. Piper hoped that the two didn’t replay that little show because Percy and Jason hadn’t handled that too tactfully the first time, and she doubted they had learned much from their mistakes. And, while Reyna was more thoughtful than either of the boys, she didn’t know how she would handle a front row seat to Nico and Will fighting either.

It was a relief when Will let out a heavy sigh. Piper noted the look of resignation Will gave Nico as he spoke, “So, I should add prom to the list of things you and Dean have been talked about behind my back?” It was said as a question although from the looks of it Piper didn’t think Will had much doubt on the answer. Nico didn’t react as far as Piper could tell, but even for her, the son of Hades could be hard to read.

“Who’s Dean?” Reyna questioned as she looked around the group confused.

Piper noticed both Percy and Jason go to reply but Nico bet them to it. “Will’s cousin,” Nico answered matter-of-factly.

Piper could have answered that one easily, and she bet Annabeth could have too. Both Jason and Percy had come back from their trip to Tennessee with a few funny Dean Solace stories. Honestly, she wanted to meet this cousin of Will’s if for no other reason than to have a face to put with the stories. But beyond that, he actually sounded like he would fit into their group well even though he was mortal (as far as they knew- he could see through the mist so who knew for sure).

“My cousin who Nico has been talking to and giving _sex advice_ behind my back,” Will stated with a pointed look clearly directed to Nico.

Piper would have never believed it, Nico willingly giving sex advice to someone he hadn’t almost died with, it was just wasn’t in character for the Nico she had in her mind, but the son of Hades groaned like this was a conversation he was very tired of having. “Like I explained before,” Nico began with a practiced calm. “It was more relationship advice than sex advice.”

Weirdly, it didn’t seem as strange to Piper for Nico to be giving relationship advice. Maybe it was just how well Nico and Will worked as a couple. It gave her the impression that Nico would have some good advice to give in that category. “And it wasn’t behind your back,” Nico corrected sounding exasperated. “It just wasn’t for me to tell you.”

Will didn’t look even remotely close to impressed by Nico’s answer, but he didn’t look like he was going to argue it either. That was probably a good thing because Percy jumped in before Will had the chance. “Is Dean still dating that guy from championships?”

“Felix,” The way Will said the name like it was actual poison. “Yeah, unfortunately.”

Piper hadn’t heard the name before, but Jason had definitely shared the story of how awkward the first night in Tennessee had been. When Jason had first tried to tell her the story she honestly hadn’t believed him because the way he described Will was just so out of character for Will, and she definitely didn’t believe Nico would let someone who had hit on Will live. She guessed based on Will’s reaction to just saying the guy's name that maybe at least some of Jason’s story was more believable.

“I liked him,” Percy declared brightly.

The responses were more telling than anything Piper had ever seen, and suddenly she really wanted to meet this Felix guy. Nico shrugged like he at least understood if not agreed with Percy while both Jason and Will looked at the son of Poseidon in visible horror.

“Really?” Jason directed the question to Percy with clear repulsion. “I did _not_.”

“Thank you!” Will practically shouted in celebration that Jason apparently agreed with him.

Nico let out a heavy sigh which made it pretty clear where he fell on the topic. “Will, you really have to get over the Felix thing,” he stated with little sympathy and a level of certainty that told Piper that Nico’s relationship conversation with Dean had been pretty in depth. “He isn’t that bad, and even if he was, he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”

The betrayed look Will shot at Nico seemed a bit dramatic in Piper’s opinion, but what did she know. “Why do you say things to hurt me?” Will questioned.

Whatever response Will was expecting Piper doubt it was the one Nico gave. Nico turned to Will, so he was staring at him straight at Will before asking flatly, “Why haven’t you asked me to prom?”

Jason coughed with discomfort. Nico really went right for it without making any attempt to beat around the bush. Will sputtered but didn’t get out a response which wasn’t surprising, Nico had been painfully direct.

Still, it was always uncomfortable when couples have intense personal conversations in public. Piper knew better than to get involved, and that wasn’t even some brilliant child of Aphrodite insight either, it was just common sense. So, of course, Percy chimed in because Piper was pretty sure he didn’t have much in the way of common sense. “Well, that was to the point,” The son of Poseidon commented completely unnecessarily.

Percy’s comment didn’t exactly make the situation more comfortable, but at least she didn’t have to worry about someone else chiming in and making things worse. Or at least that was what she thought right up until Reyna spoke. Her voice was matter-of-fact, almost hard, as she eyed Will with what Piper would dare to call disapproval. “Seems like a valid question,” she pointed out. Jason was apparently not the only one that could be overprotective of Nico, although Reyna showed it in a very different way.

Nico’s expression reminded expectant, and Piper wasn’t envious of Will as he somehow managed to have three sets of expectant demigod’s eyes on him. None looked like that they were going to falter anytime soon either. Will handled it better than Piper thought she would have (Reyna and Nico could be pretty intimidating). “So not far to team up against me,” Will declared with a sigh before focusing his attention solely on Nico and admitting softly, “I didn’t think you’d want to go.”

The way Will shrugged and looked down at his shoes the moment the words left his mouth was telling. If Piper had to guess Will had given prom a lot of thought but didn’t know how to broach the subject with Nico. It was pretty obvious where Will fell on the subject of prom even if the son of Apollo tried to hide it. “But you want to?” Annabeth asked curiously and much to Piper’s surprise. “Go to prom I mean.”

Will might have been the only person to look more surprised by Annabeth’s question than Piper. Annabeth really knew better than to get involved, or at least that was what Piper had thought. Maybe her curiosity had won out over her better judgement. It took Will several seconds to bounce back and actually manage to answer. “Yeah, I guess,” Will admitted with a shrug being more honest than Piper would have figured he would be at least to start. “I mean,” Will gave Nico a pointed look as he continued, “If we can get through it without anyone else on the football team ending up with their nose broken.”

Piper smirked at the memory of hearing the story secondhand while Reyna actually laughed. “You broke someone’s nose?” The daughter of Bellona directed the question to Nico.

Nico just shrugged as a reply, but Will stepped in to clarify, “The guy deserved worse.” The way Piper had heard it told the guy had been lucky Nico had shown restraint. In a similar situation, Piper doubted even her own ability to do so in the face of such close-minded bigotry. Reyna just nodded, as a soldier Piper figured Reyna was pretty used to and comfortable with the application of violence even if it wasn’t her first response.

“I’ll go,” Nico declared suddenly and more decisively than expected considering Piper wasn’t even sure what he was talking about at first. “I promise nothing on the nose part, but I will go.”

Will blinked hard and looked at Nico like he expected the son of Hades to grow a second head. The rest of the group just looked between Nico and Will and waited with baited breath to see how long it would take, or at least Piper was. “Wait, what?” Will finally questioned after an absurdly long stretch of silence.

“I’ll go to prom with you,” Nico clarified stressing every word as if he was talking to someone who was hard of hearing, which in all fairness Will was acting rather hard of hearing. “Even though you haven’t asked.”

Piper watched as Will just blinked in Nico’s direction. Clearly, he still didn’t quite get it. It was actually a little sweet, but Piper felt sort of bad for him and was ready to step in and clarify for the son of Apollo. As it turned out, she didn’t need to, Will got there eventually although he didn’t react with the pure excitement Piper would have expected. “But it’s only like a month away from now,” Will stated uncertainty.

That was pretty soon, Piper was now left to wonder how long Will had been planning to wait before bringing it up. Sure, guys didn’t have the crazy dress shopping and shoes and jewelry, but she figured they needed a little time to at least rent the appropriate formal wear.

Nico didn’t seem bothered. He smirked at Will with a confidence that a year ago Piper thought the son of Hades reserved for the battlefield. “Why do you think I am bringing it up?” Nico asked.

“You have to get dressed up,” Will replied dumbly.

“I got a suit ages ago,” Nico replied waving Will off with a smile before reaching out and patting Will’s chest reassuringly. “Got you one too.”

Will’s jaw actually dropped with surprise. He made a few attempts to say something but didn’t manage to get anything out. Piper was a bit surprised herself. She loved Nico to death and everything, but when it came down to it he could be just as clueless as Jason and Percy when it came to a lot of relationship stuff. She just couldn’t imagine Nico thinking to get them both formal wear independently. She could think of someone Nico had apparently been spending plenty of time with that definitely would have thought of that. He probably would have done the shopping too if Piper knew her half-brother at all.

Piper’s curiosity won out. She turned to Nico and asked, “Mitchell?”

“Yeah,” Nico confirmed. “He was obnoxious about it. I didn’t really get a say in the matter.”

That made a lot of sense. Mitchell wasn’t the biggest talker in the Aphrodite cabin, but he wasn’t the quietest either, so Piper knew that while her half-brother had no interest in designing clothes like his father he did but still had a passion for fashion. He had a pretty good eye for things too and was happy to lend his advice around the cabin even when he wasn’t asked. Since he had seemed to have adopted Nico as his life-sized barbie of sorts she had no problem imagining that Mitchell had been all sorts of excited to dress Nico (and Will) for prom. “That sounds like Mitchell.”

“Sorry, um,” Will interjected with his attention focused so solely on Nico the son of Hades might as well as have been the only person standing there. “I just want to make sure I’m hearing this all correctly. You want to go to prom….with me?”

“Well, I wanted to go with Jason, but Piper has apparently beaten me to it,” Nico replied with heavy sarcasm. “And if she hadn’t I would probably have to fight Percy for it. I’d win, but it seems like a lot of work.” Nico sarcastic grin turned into a genuine smile, “So yeah, I want to go to prom with you.”

It seemed like Will finally understood, at least if the huge grin that spread across his face was any indication. “I really didn’t think you would want to go,” Will let out a giddy little laugh which was kind of adorable. “Thank you so much!” Will leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Nico’s cheek. “Is it weird that I’m excited.”

“Not at all,” Piper was happy to chime in, glad someone else had the prom bug so she wasn’t completely alone (she swore Annabeth was starting to look at her like she was crazy).

“I’m not dancing,” Nico offered quickly as a warning.

Will grinned, and this time instead of simply planting another kiss on Nico’s cheek he wrapped an arm around Nico’s shoulders and pulled him in to kiss him firmly. “I promise nothing.”

“I’m regretting this already,” Nico sighed. He was clearly faking his disinterest because Piper could see the grin he was trying hide.

“Aw,” Percy faked a coo. “This is all so sweet,” Percy was laying it on so thick Piper was pretty sure where he was going. Percy had started talking about a second bro’s weekend at least a month ago and from what Annabeth and Jason had told her Nico was the only holdout. She had figured the idea was dead since Nico could be incredibly stubborn. Of course, Percy could be incredibly stubborn too. “We should do something to celebrate,” Percy stated brightly before turning to Nico and adding, “I’ll even forget that you actually think you could beat me in a fight.”

“I don’t care,” Nico replied flatly. He and Percy now appeared to be locked in a staredown as Nico more or less ignored how an excited Will continued to fawn over him affectionately, and Percy was oblivious to how Annabeth was rolling her eyes and shaking her head in disapproval. “I’m not going, and of course I could beat you in a fight.”

“Come on!” Percy replied like a whiny child. He even did that little foot stomp thing that Piper thought everyone just naturally aged out of around seven or eight. “It will be just us guys, and I know just the place.”

Piper didn’t know if Percy had thought that would somehow convince Nico to agree or not. From the look on Nico’s face, it only worked to further solidify his resolve about not going. “I already told you, I am not going back to that gay bar,” Nico stated firmly.

“What? The one from New Years?” Will questioned curiously as he looked around the group for a few seconds. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Jason nod as an answer to Will’s question. Nico clearly had something to say on the matter but didn’t get a chance before Will shrugged as he declared, “I would be cool to check it out. It kind of sounded like fun.”

If Percy’s endgame had been to suck Will in so Nico didn’t have a choice but to agree to bro’s weekend part two, Piper had to admit it was rather brilliant. Nico looked to be trying to figure out what to say next, but Percy didn’t give him a chance. “Then it’s settled,” Percy declared with finality as he clapped his hands to punctuate his point. “Tonight, we go to Gladiators.”

Piper expected to hear Nico groan or maybe protest. After all, he definitely wasn’t the bar type. But it was Will that had a reaction and one that was pretty far from what Piper had been anticipating. The son of Apollo visibly blushed before turning and attempting to bury his face in his boyfriend’s shoulder. She could only barely make out his words when he spoke because he was laughing softly. “I forgot that was the name,” she heard him state.

Nico looked extremely confused by his boyfriend’s behavior. His eyebrows knotted together as he tried (and mostly failed) to figure out what Will was saying just by looking at him. “Huh?” he questioned voicing the uncertainty she was sure the entire group was feeling. It was a very not-Will response, and Piper couldn’t pinpoint what had caused it. Will didn’t respond but after a few seconds, Nico seemed to put it together (whatever it was). Like Will, Nico turned a similar shade of red before bringing his hands up to cover his face. “Oh gods,” she heard Nico declare muffled by his hands. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“So, there is a story there,” Percy pointed out the obvious as he looked at Nico and Will expectantly even though the couple was clearly oblivious as they continued to laugh. “You two should share with the class?” He questioned with interest.

Nico didn’t even drop his hands. Actually, and this could have just been in Piper’s perspective, but if anything, it looked like Nico covered his face more, and he definitely shook his head answering no without saying a word.

Will seemed to bounce back much more quickly from whatever was going on between him and his boyfriend. He unburied his face from Nico’s shoulder and looked at Percy. “Not a chance,” he answered decisively. “I’ve learned my lesson about that from the last time.”

Piper resisted the urge to smirk at that. Nico had definitely been pretty vocal about not liking when Will overshared about certain parts of their relationship, but she had never thought that would be enough to stop Will from slipping up from time to time. The child of Apollo urge to brag being as strong as it was rumored to be (and as a child of Aphrodite she could understand that urge).

“That’s fine,” Percy shrugged clearly undeterred by Will’s response. “Get a few alcoholic beverages in your boyfriend-” he pointed toward Nico with a teasing grin. “-and he’ll spill. We learned that last time.”

“Please, don’t remind me,” Jason groaned immediately, and Piper was pretty sure that she had felt him wince. She vaguely remembered Jason mentioning that Nico had gotten very honest on New Years’ eve, but she didn’t remember any details. That was probably because Jason hadn’t shared any details with her. Knowing the son of Jupiter, he had worked hard to suppress the memories of whatever Nico shared as quickly as he possibly could.

Part of Piper thought that it couldn’t be possible that Nico had shared anything too personal. After all, it was Nico, he was an incredibly private (and bashful) person. The other part of her recognized the idea of Nico oversharing a little on his own after a few adult beverages made some sort of sense. She had no problem remembering how the normally bashful demigod had become very affectionate toward Will very publicly after a few drinks the past fourth of July. 

“Um,” Piper heard the son of Apollo hum, and when she looked in Will’s direction she found him looking between Nico and Percy inquisitively. Apparently, Will’s mind didn’t go immediately to the memories of how alcohol had noticeably lowered his boyfriend’s inhibitions in the past. When no one seemed to respond to his questioning looks he settled his attention on Nico before asking, “What are they talking about?”

Percy grinned wickedly but didn’t say a word which probably had something to do with the warning look Nico wasn’t trying to hide. Nico eventually turned his attention from Percy, probably when he was confident that Percy would keep his mouth shut and turned to Will with as unreadable of an expression as she had ever seen him direct at his boyfriend. “It’s Percy, not even he knows what he is talking about.”

“Right,” Will declared obviously not even remotely convinced but apparently willing to let it go, at least for the moment. Piper got the impression that just as Nico could pretty much get Will to tell him anything he wanted to know Will could be equally persuasive when given the right motivation.

From the concerned look Piper saw flash in Nico’s eyes she got the impression that the son of Hades was thinking much the same thing, and if Piper was reading him correctly, Nico didn’t look overly confident in regards to his own ability to resist his boyfriend’s brand of persuasion. Either that, or he was realizing that after a few drinks he was bound to spill the exact information Percy was asking about. Either way, he turned to Reyna with a look Piper would dare to call desperate. “Save me from this horrible-ness,” he requested as he gestured toward Percy like he was the physical representation of everything Nico didn’t want his night to be.

“Love to,” Reyna replied with a sympathetic tone. “But those two-” Piper watched as Reyna gestured between herself and Annabeth in a very similar manner as Nico had just pointed at Percy, “-already convinced me to go to a dance club with them tonight.”

“Come on!” Percy didn’t seem offended. Actually, if anything he seemed amused. Although Nico was often resistant to go along with Percy’s ideas, so at this point the son of Poseidon should have been used to it. “It’ll be fun,” he assured insistently.

Nico turned to Percy and replied with a deadpan expression and an unamused tone, “It was _not_ fun last time.”

The grin that spread across Percy’s face was so obnoxiously cocky Piper wanted to smack him (in a friendly way). “Speak for yourself,” he retorted without a single ounce of shame.

Will shot Percy a look before Jason or Nico could say anything. It was so quick Piper could have easily missed it. Even though it was brief the meaning was more than obvious. Percy was not helping his own cause. With his attention back on Nico, Will spoke sweetly. “I wasn’t there last time,” he reminded.

Nico huffed as a look of resignation spread across his features. “Fine,” the youngest of their group surrendered although it was clear he was surrendering to his boyfriend, and not Percy which Piper suspected was an important distinction for Nico at least. And while he was giving in Piper could tell that Nico still had his reservations about the idea, so she wasn’t surprised when he voiced at least some of it. “But I reserve the right to leave and take you-” Nico poked Will in the chest as if there was any question to whom he was speaking, “-with me the moment I get bored.”

“Anything you want, pretty boy,” Will agreed happily as he used the arm he had slung around Nico’s shoulder to pull him in enough that he could easily kiss the son of Hades on the cheek. “As long as I’m with you I’m happy.”

Nico didn’t even try to shake off Will’s over the top affection. Instead, he just ducked his head a little in an attempt to hide how he blushed. Piper really should have been past the point of being impressed by just how cute of a couple Nico and Will could be, but she really wasn’t. “Aww!” she cooed without shame although she was a little surprised when she found herself cooing in tandem with Reyna.

It had been clear the night before at dinner that Reyna was already pretty sold on Team Will. She still put him through what Piper assumed was the Roman Legion’s version of an interrogation, but Will was able to answer even the most awkward questions with grace and ease. Piper really hadn’t doubted that Reyna would come to see that Will was a good guy, and a great guy for Nico, but she had figured it would take a little more time, that’s all. Also, she had never figured Reyna for being the cooing type, but if life had taught her anything it was that people would often surprise you.

Piper must have been lost in her own thoughts because she didn’t notice that Jason had turned to focus his attention solely on her. “So, what’s this about a dance club?” Jason asked with what sounded like genuine curiosity.

“Yeah,” Piper replied as she pushed her fingers through her hair. “We are all going to that same dance club we went to when you boys were in Tennessee.”

Jason gave her a curious look for a moment before commenting, “I thought you went to a play.”

It wasn’t until Jason spoke that Piper remembered she never actually told Jason about what she and Annabeth had gotten up to while the boys had been away. It wasn’t that she had been trying to keep secrets it was just when Percy and Jason had gotten back they were full of stories about their trip that it just never came up.

“I remember mention of a museum,” Percy commented with a pointed look toward Annabeth. Piper figured Annabeth hadn’t ever gotten around to telling Percy the details of their weekend either.

“We were going to do those things,” Annabeth admitted with an innocent shrug. “But we ended up at the nightclub instead.”

A truer statement could not have been spoken. Piper remembered how they had literally been walking to the theater for a late night showing of some play Annabeth had heard was amazing when they had watched past the club. Piper had never thought nightclubs would be her scene, but as they past both of them could hear the music coming from inside. They had been playing some horrible pop number that Piper secretly loved even though she knew it was utter trash.

She didn’t remember who had suggested actually going in. They still had had some time before the show, and she remembered that they reason that they would just going in for a drink before moving on. They never ended up seeing the show as they stayed at the club dance well past midnight. They never made it to the museum the next morning either because even when they had returned to Annabeth and Percy’s apartment the night before they hadn’t gone straight to bed.

Okay, actually, they had gone straight to bed, but they definitely hadn’t gone straight to sleep.

Jason and Percy’s faces were priceless. Piper kind of wished she had a camera on her so she could get a picture. They were both looked a mix of confused and curious with a dash of mystified. “What?” She questioned with a teasing smile. “You think you two were the only ones having fun?”

There was another long stretch of silence in which Piper figured the boys were trying to wrap their minds around the idea. Either that or they were trying to imagine the fun they had gotten up to. It was Percy that broke the silence as he shrugged in a perfect reflection of Annabeth’s gesture from only moments earlier. “I guess not,” he replied easily.

While Jason didn’t voice it, Piper could tell he shared Percy’s sentiment on the subject. None of the others looked to have questions on the topic either. Reyna hadn’t joined them that night due to last minute praetor duties, but she still knew the basics which made her more informed than either Jason and Percy, and Nico and Will were too focus on each other to be invested in other things.

She was sure Jason or Percy would want to hear some details about their first trip to the nightclub which she had no problem sharing, but for now, the topic was set aside. As much as Nico wouldn’t like it, she suspected the boys’ plans for the evening were rather set as well. Nico might not have been thrilled, but Piper couldn’t help but feel happy. To show it she squeezed Jason’s arm briefly before questioning, “You know what we should do?” She looked around the group and it was clear none of them knew what she had in mind. “We should make plans to met up for breakfast,” she explained. It was a perfect plan, the boys going off one way for the evening while Piper, Annabeth, and Reyna went the other and then meeting up the next day. As thoughtful expressions spread across the faces of her friends, Piper turned to speak more specifically to Percy, “I assume you’re keeping Jason overnight, correctly?”

“Absolutely!” Percy replied quickly and brightly before making a show of dialing it back a bit. “I mean, yeah sure, I guess I could. I mean if I had to.”

“Perfect!” Piper exclaimed as she held back a laugh both at Percy’s little show as well as the way Annabeth rolled her eyes and nudged Percy slightly. “So, we all meet up at the café on Maine at around eleven,” She stated before shooting the youngest couple amongst them a serious look. If the day proved anything it was that Nico and Will had the tendency to get lost in each other and forget any previous plans made. “No matter what.”

“Sure,” Will agreed as he reached out to push a stray piece of wet hair behind Nico’s ear.

“Then it’s settled,” Nico agreed without any of the enthusiasm that Will had before turning to Percy and asking flatly, “Can we get on with the tour now? I have other things I would like to do with my day.”

“Dude, I would figure you have already done Will at least once today already,” Percy replied all too seriously considering he was obviously teasing. “But yeah let’s get on with it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> Follow me on tumblr at: delta-roseblr.tumblr.com
> 
> Also, and no pressure here but if you want to send me some support by buying me a coffee visit http://ko-fi.com/deltarose


	67. Tonight is Going to Be Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and Happy Sunday,
> 
> Hope you enjoy the start of another crazy bro's weekend.
> 
> For those of you waiting on the next chapter of Outtakes, it will be up this Wednesday. The editing process has taken longer than I anticipated but its ready to go now.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated.

They had all agreed to meet just before nightfall in the square on the outskirts of New Rome University’s campus. It was the same place they had all met the day before to start their tour of the campus given by Percy and Annabeth (Annabeth gave most of the useful information while Percy provided some seriously entertaining commentary). Unlike the day before where they ended up waiting at least twenty minutes for Nico and Will to finally show up, tonight they were waiting for Reyna.

Nico and Will had been a little late for the meet up, but nothing like they had been the day before. They had shown up at the square only three or four minutes after Jason and Piper had gotten there. From the way Nico seemed to be dragging his feet, and Will was cheerfully dragging him along, Jason figured they were late because Nico had tried his level best to talk Will out of going to Gladiators. The thing was, Will could be just as stubborn as Nico, he just tended to be more cheery about it, so Jason wasn’t all that surprised that Nico had failed.

Before they had left their hotel room, Jason had questioned Piper about being overdressed. She looked incredible, but it was Piper, she always looked incredible. She definitely was upping the ante on the beautiful scale for the night. She was wearing a cute black skirt and a sparkly top that Jason was pretty sure he had never seen before. She had even gone as far as to style her hair which was rare for her. Unlike when they had first arrived at Camp Half-Blood and she had received Aphrodite’s blessing, Piper still looked like herself, but she just looked so beautiful she was hard to look at anything or anyone else.

Jason didn’t mind his girlfriend getting dressed up, but it just seemed like a lot. After all, how dressed up did girls need to get to go dancing? When they met up with Percy and Annabeth Jason got his answer to that question. It was apparently a lot.

Annabeth was similarly dressed up which wasn’t really Annabeth’s style. She was wearing a rather slinky dress and high heels. Jason never thought he would see the day he saw Annabeth Chase wearing high heels. Seeing Piper and Annabeth together Jason had two thoughts. One being maybe he was underdressed to go out, but jeans and a t-shirt had been fine the last time. The second and probably more important thought was that he and Percy were damn lucky to have such beautiful women on their arms.

As they waited for Reyna to arrive, the six of them made conversation. Everyone was cheerful, even Nico although he tried to hide it. Jason almost forgot that the girls were dressed to the nines for going out without them until Piper and Annabeth started swapping jewelry, and Piper started fussing with the blonde’s hair.

“Where are you two going again?” Jason questioned as Piper started braiding a thin strand of pearls into Annabeth’s hair with well-practiced motions.

“A dance club,” Piper answered with ease. As she spoke she didn’t even look away from her work with Annabeth’s hair. “It’s on Caesar between Augustus and Alexander.”

“I think it’s owned or at least run by a legacy of Bacchus,” Annabeth added as she remained perfectly still so Piper could finish her braid. “It has that feel.”

“What feel?” Percy questioned with a laugh as he looked at Jason for back-up. Jason had to admit he was curious about this feel Annabeth was talking about. “Debauchery and sin?”

“We’re going to a gay bar call Gladiators,” Nico interjected flatly. Jason looked in his direction to see Nico standing with his back pressed against Will’s chest with a look of disinterest. “We really are in no place to judge.”

Jason saw Nico’s point but wasn’t surprised that Percy didn’t. It wasn’t that Jason thought Percy was slow. Percy could be called a lot of things but slow definitely wasn’t on that list. Percy just looked at things differently than Jason or Nico did. Actually, if anything Percy and Will had the most similar view on a lot of things.

“What’s bad about that?” Percy questioned sincerely.

“Gladiators were typically oiled up half-naked men that wrestled each other in an arena for others’ entertainment,” Nico explained with the same flat tone as before. Will might have convinced Nico to come out that night, but he clearly hadn’t convinced him to be happy about it.

Will chuckled and wrapped an arm around Nico, so he was hugging Nico from behind with the one arm. “What Nico is saying is gladiators show up as a theme in gay porn fairly frequently for a reason,” he explained. Jason’s mind hadn’t gone that far, and to be honest, he wasn’t aware that gladiators were a common porn theme. _What was Will watching_? No, never mind that thought. Jason definitely didn’t want to know. “And it definitely leads to certain expectations of what the bar will be like.”

“It’s not like that,” Jason assured quickly. He had never thought about the image the bar’s name could put in one’s mind, probably because last time Percy had dropped that they were going to a gay bar as they walked up to the door. Jason hadn’t been very aware of New Rome’s social scene when he had lived there because he had just been too young for a lot of it. Maybe if he had been at Camp Jupiter a few more years he would have heard about Gladiators before he had ever visited.

“But there are still half-naked men,” Percy added rather unhelpful with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Annabeth and Piper both snickered at that, and Jason half expected them to invite themselves along to Gladiators. Nico had a very different reaction as he rolled his eyes (over)dramatically, and Will was unreadable. Jason couldn’t help but think Percy’s comment detracted from his point somewhat.

Jason didn’t get a chance to point out how Percy wasn’t helping the point he was trying to make because a familiar voice commented from behind him. “So, I want to ask, but I get the feeling I really don’t want to know what you’re talking about.” The voice was unmistakably familiar. Jason didn’t even have to think about it- it was Reyna, obviously.

Jason turned toward Reyna’s voice, took one look at the demigod, and felt like he had been hit in the face with a brick. Jason out of any of them arguably knew Reyna the best. At the very least he had spent the most time with the daughter of Bellona as they had served in the Legion together. Reyna had been one of his closest friends before Juno decided to magically swap Percy and Jason between camps like some horrible godly reality show. Jason and Reyna had gone on quests together, fought monsters together, but Jason had never seen her look like the way she did at that moment before.

Like Piper and Annabeth, Reyna was dressed to the nines in a vibrant purple dress that was similar in style to a tunic although it fell much higher than her knee. She wore a gold belt that matched the wealth of gold jewelry she was wearing, and there even appeared to be gold accents scattered in her typical braid. “Wow, Reyna…..,” Jason searched for something to say but failed. “Wow!”

“Reyna,” Percy exclaimed with the same level of surprise in his voice that Jason was feeling. At least Jason wasn’t alone in that. “You’re all girled up,” he commented, pointing out the obvious.

Reyna looked down for a second like she was checking to make sure she was still wearing what she walked out of the house in. Jason hadn’t even realized Reyna owned a dress. She looked back up at what Jason only imagined was a sea of somewhat confused faces. “Why do you sound surprised?” she questioned seriously. “I _am_ a girl.”

“Yeah,” Percy agreed although he still looked confused. At least Percy wore a confused look well. His dark furrowed eyebrows brought out his bright green eyes, and he tended to purse his lips which wasn’t a bad thing either. Percy looked at Reyna like he still didn’t believe his eyes. “But you’re _Reyna_ ,” he declared.

Reyna’s features twisted into one Jason recognized from training the troops together. It was a look of annoyance she would get when a new member of some cohort would ask an especially stupid question. “What does that mean?” she questioned flatly.

Well, Percy had really stepped in it, and based on the way Annabeth was shaking her head with disappointment she wasn’t going to come to her fiancé’s rescue on this one. Jason probably could have tried to save Percy, but he had already sort of put his foot in his mouth on the topic and didn’t really want to go down in hypothetical flames with Percy, especially with Reyna. Since putting physical distance between himself and Percy who was standing next to him, so he settled for staying silence to show mental distance.

Percy sputtered but failed to produce a single word. Jason couldn’t blame Percy, Reyna was extremely intimating when she was annoyed. Nico stepped in and answered Reyna’s question instead. “That means Percy is an idiot,” Nico explained flatly as he gave Percy a disapproving look. “And it’s a miracle he managed to get someone as smart as Annabeth.”

Percy went from sputtering to looking at Nico with surprise that Nico clearly didn’t think much of. Before Percy or Nico could say anything more, and Jason wasn’t sure which would have happened first, but he was sure one of them would, Will interjected. “Reyna, you look stunning,” the son of Apollo stated sincerely.

“Thank you,” Reyna replied with a soft smile. If Jason thought Reyna was capable of it, he would have sworn she was blushing slightly.

“That’s pretty much what we said,” Percy grumbled as he gestured between himself and Jason. Jason would have preferred if Percy hadn’t lumped them together. Jason had been trying to give Reyna a compliment, but he didn’t think he had done quite as bad of a job as Percy had.

“I know you think so,” Annabeth offered, and Jason noticed how she patted Percy’s arm sympathetically. “But no, it wasn’t,” she corrected with empathy.

Percy definitely wanted to argue that, Jason saw him open his mouth to protest and everything, but again, he didn’t get a chance. Piper clapped her hands together dramatically drawing everyone’s attention. “Alright!” she declared with finality. “Now that Reyna’s here we should be off,” Jason felt Piper pat his arm before releasing her grip. She took a few steps away from him to interlace her arm with Annabeth’s just as Annabeth stepped away from Percy. Jason thought of Annabeth more like family than anything else, but even he could recognize the two girls made quite the attractive pair. With their arrangement there was no need for jealous, but he kept that thought to himself because it got close to breaking one of the rules of their arrangement. Still, seeing two (actually three because of Reyna) girls stand together was a nice sight. “You boys have fun,” Piper practically ordered as she gave a look around the group at the four of them before settling on the son of Poseidon on Jason’s right, “And Percy, I expect you to return Jason in one piece.”

From the corner of his eye, Jason saw Percy grin brightly as he felt Percy’s arm wrap around his shoulder. “Don’t I always?” Percy questioned teasingly as he pulled Jason in a little closer.

Percy was just so touchy. Jason should probably be used to it by now. It actually didn’t bother him when they were alone, but when Piper and Annabeth were around he always felt weird about it. He realized that made no sense considering Piper and Annabeth were literally standing in front of him with their arms interlocked looking very much like they were on a date, but he still felt off about it.

 _Percy was just going to have to hold off on the touching a little bit longer_ , he thought as he carefully removed the son of Poseidon’s arm from around his shoulders, Nico and Will’s snickering as he did was both heard and not appreciated.

Jason didn’t miss the look Piper and Annabeth exchanged or their matching smirks. That didn’t help the self-conscious feeling Jason was struggling with either. Piper didn’t say anything, but Annabeth did. “Jason, just keep him out of trouble,” Annabeth requested pointing toward Percy, not that Jason didn’t know exactly who she was talking about.

“I’ll do my best,” Jason replied with a shrug. He didn’t really know what kind of trouble they could get in within the city limits, but if anyone could find trouble it was them especially a certain brunet that at them moment was standing to Jason’s right. “But its Percy so don’t get your hopes up too high.”

“Hey, dude, you get in just in just as much trouble as me,” Percy defended although he didn’t sound even remotely serious.

“That is debatable,” Annabeth commented taking the words right out of Jason’s mouth.

Jason smiled at thank you at Annabeth. Yeah, he and the daughter of Athena occasionally teamed up against Percy, but it was good to know Annabeth would usually have Jason’s back when it came to teasing Percy about being Percy.

Piper gave a wave that somehow turned into a stern point. “We’ll see all four of you at breakfast so don’t get too drunk.”

They exchanged a few more jokes before saying their goodbyes. Piper, Annabeth, and Reyna went one way, heading toward Augustus with their arms interlocked. Once they were out of sight, Jason, Percy, Nico, and Will headed in the opposite direction toward Gladiators.

Jason walked at Percy’s side moving so close to each other their shoulders almost touched. Nico and Will were a half a step behind them holding hands and whispering to each other. Peeking over his shoulder at the couple as they made their way to the bar Jason wondered if he should hold Percy’s hand but decided against it. Unlike Nico and Will, he and Percy weren’t a couple. They were just friends that occasionally touched each other’s dicks. No need to make it more complicated or weird than it already was.

Gladiators wasn’t all that far from the university which Jason figured that was on purpose. It only took them about five minutes to move around the edge of campus to where the bar was located even though they weren’t exactly walking with urgency. They turned the corner off the university’s main street and started down one of the smaller alleyways that was lined with bars, cafés and other places clearly tailored for the college crowd, and Gladiators was within their sight in the matter of a minute.

Jason had expected the place to look like it had on New Year’s Eve, and for the most part, it did with one serious exception. On New Year’s Eve, there had been a respectable line outside of the bar. Jason actually remembered thinking that the place had looked busy that night, but that was nothing compared to the crowd outside of Gladiators as they approached.

The closer they got the more substantial the crowd seemed to get, and Jason apparently wasn’t the only one that noticed. From behind him, Jason heard Will whistle sounding impressed. “Wow,” he declared, “It looks busy.”

Jason stopped at the curb with Percy at his shoulder, and Nico and Will a few feet to his left. “Yeah,” he agreed as he stared across the street at the bar. The line leading to the bar’s entrance stretched away from the bar by at least a block and looked to be as much as five people thick in most spots. “It wasn’t like that last time,” Jason admitted.

“But wasn’t it New Year’s Eve,” Will pointed out sounding confused. There was a question in there somewhere Jason was sure of it, but he just didn’t know what it was.

Jason noticed Percy lean forward to look around Jason and at Will. “What’s your point?” Percy asked. Jason probably shouldn’t have taken comfort in the fact that he apparently wasn’t the only one in the dark about something.

“New Year’s is supposed to be a popular night for people to go out to bars and clubs,” Will replied with a smile that was mostly friendly and only a little condescending. “Is that not the case in New Rome?”

“I was fifteen and leading an army. I wasn’t really involved with New Rome’s social scene,” Jason admitted. Maybe if Juno hadn’t sent him to Camp Half-Blood, and he had stayed in New Rome a few more years he would have had a better idea of how that sort of stuff went in New Rome, but as it was, he had no clue.

Percy snickered drawing Jason out of his thoughts. “What Jason is trying to say,” Percy began with a grin plastered across his face told Jason he wasn’t going to like whatever the son of Poseidon was going to say. “Is he was boring before he met me.”  

Jason rolled his eyes and reached out to give Percy a friendly, if slightly annoyed, shove. Not that it did much good. Percy just snickered which was very Percy and very annoying, but there really was nothing Jason could do about that. Nico and Will didn’t seem to notice the little exchange as at some point they had become more focused on each other than anything else, but there was nothing really new about that either.

“Since the place is crowded, does that mean we can go back to the hotel?” Nico directed the question solely at Will with a clear hopeful expression. He might even have been tugging Will’s hand a little back toward the way they came, but from where Jason was standing he couldn’t be sure.

“No way!” Will replied. He was all smiles and good cheer on the surface, but even Jason could hear the underlying note of finality. Jason had the sneaking suspicion they were getting a peek at a larger conversation that Nico and Will had probably been having since Will agreed they’d both come out to Gladiators. “I’ve never been to a gay bar before. I want to check it out.”

Nico let out such an overdramatic sigh. Jason wouldn’t have been surprised if half the crowd waiting to get in the bar heard him. He watched as Nico looked toward the bar for a second before looking back at Will with an expression of complete exasperation. “But we’ll be in line all night,” Nico pointed out sounding a lot like a sunken child, not that Jason would ever point that out (Percy might but not Jason).

“Maybe,” Will admitted with a shrug. Jason agreed that based on the size of the crowd outside the bar there seemed to be a very real chance that they could spend the entire night outside the place hoping to get in. It was probably just a trick of light or Jason’s imagination but the longer they stood across the street the longer and more dense the crowd outside the bar’s entrance seemed to get. “But we’ll be together,” Will declared before turning on his heels with a smile and placing an affectionate kiss on Nico’s cheek before continuing, “And we always manage to have fun.”

Jason watched as Nico opened his mouth like he was going to argue, but no sounds came out and then after a few seconds his jaw snapped shut. Nico huffed audibly as his features shifted to a clear expression of resignation. “Fine,” Nico declared his surrender as Jason saw him grab Will’s hand. “Let’s just get this over with.” With that last declaration, Nico started across the street with determination and Will being tugged behind him.

Jason and Percy exchanged a brief look before coming to a silent agreement and starting across the street a few steps behind the couple. As they made their way across the street Percy just had to poke fun at Nico because he was Percy. “Dude,” Percy called up to the brunet who was leading them with determination toward where line seemed to end. “If I said that, you’d have told me no and left.”

Nico didn’t stop, he didn’t even look back over his shoulder, as he responded, “That’s because I don’t like you.”

Jason smirked at Percy who returned the expression. It was Nico’s typical response to anytime Percy teased him. No one actually believed Nico not even Nico at this point, and Percy certainly didn’t take offense. At this point, Jason just thought of it as just another routine that his friends went through, no different than all the times Leo accidentally lit things on fire or Frank getting nervous and accidentally sprouting random animal parts.

Will looked over his shoulder and grinned at Percy as Nico continued to pull him along. “Also, people are generally more inclined to listen to someone who is regularly responsible for their orgasms.”

Jason impressed himself. He didn’t even really have to try not to shutter at the comment. At this point, he was starting to get desensitized to all the references of Nico and Will having sex. Percy handled it better, but he had never been bothered by that sort of stuff to begin with. Percy snapped his fingers and pointed at Will like he had a point as he stated just as they came to a stop at the end of the bar’s ridiculous line, “Hadn’t thought about that.”

Nico was the only one that actually seemed surprised at Will’s comment which was a little funny considering it was his boyfriend that had made it. The son of Hades dropped Will’s hand and turned on his boyfriend with a shocked expression. “Will!” Nico exclaimed disapprovingly.

“What?” Will raised his hands and shrugged questioningly. His smile didn’t falter for a second. “No one here is surprised to hear we are having sex regularly,” Will pointed out with certainty before he pointed in Jason’s direction and added, “Jason didn’t even complain.”

“Already repressed,” Jason interjected (half) joking. He really was getting desensitized to the topic and considering his previous experiences with Nico drunk it was probably only the first of many comments (or worse, actions) that would make it impossible for Jason to pretend Nico was the same angry but innocent kid he had met on the Argo II.

“Don’t worry,” Percy declared with a grin. Even though Jason could only see Percy from his periphery he knew it wasn’t a sign of anything good to come even before he felt Percy’s arm slide across his back and came to rest at his side just above his hip, “We’ll give you two _plenty_ to repress before the night is out.”

Jason looked over at Percy who looked as sure as he sounded which probably should have been annoying. At the very least, he should have probably removed Percy’s arm from around his waist, but if he was being really honest he kind of liked Percy’s hand there. Still, he thought he should at least deny it a little. Even if he did like Percy’s hand on his hip or other places that didn’t mean there was going to be a repeat of their last trip to Gladiators either. Jason turned back to Nico and Will and stated flatly, “No, we won’t.”

Nico and Will did one of those things that Jason had only seen couples that had been together a while do. They looked at each for a second clearly having a silent conversation with each other before looking back at where Jason and Percy was standing. They gave first Jason and then Percy a look before returning to Jason for another second. Like all of that wasn’t telling enough they then turned back to each other and exchanged a significant look. When they both turned back to Jason and Percy, Nico seemed to take it upon himself to speak for the pair. “I believe Percy more than you,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, me too,” Will agreed sounding thoughtful. Matter-of-fact should have been worse than thoughtful, but it really wasn’t. Jason noticed Will move his hand around Nico’s back and bring his hand to rest on Nico’s hip pretty effectively mimicking what Jason imagined Percy’s posture looked like. He shrugged and looked toward Nico at his side. “But I guess its only fair, we’ve done it to them enough.”

Nico was even less good at denying things than Jason, which was at least comforting. That being said, if Nico wasn’t protesting his boyfriend’s comment without an alcoholic beverage in him wasn’t a good sign for his behavior for the night. Jason turned away from the couple and looked to Percy at his side. “Maybe, we should just go instead of waiting in line,” he stated as a joke.

“Don’t you start too,” Percy declared. His hand slipped from Jason’s hip and moved to his back in the center just above Jason’s tailbone. Percy’s hand gently guided him forward as the line slowly shifted forward. “It’s going to be fun,” he assured insistently.

The crowd seemed to shuffle toward the door of the bar, and as they did, Jason noticed guys walking away from the door looking disappointed. That couldn’t bode well for their chances of getting in at all. “I think they have started turning people away at the door,” he pointed out just in case the others hadn’t noticed although it was pretty obvious.

“Don’t worry,” Percy assured. He sounded so confident which was never a good thing. “I have a plan.” As he spoke, Percy kept gently pushing Jason forward, and for all their initial complaining and worrying they were actually approaching the bar’s entrance at a pretty quick pace. Jason hadn’t wanted to stand in line all night, and he certainly didn’t want to get turned around at the door, but he still wasn’t reassured to hear Percy had a plan. Percy’s plans had a history of being crazy, impractical, dangerous, or often all three.

At some point, as they moved closer to the bar Will had slung his arm over Nico’s shoulder, and Nico had wrapped his arm around Will’s waist, and Jason just hadn’t noticed it until Will started talking. “If your plan involves Nico taking off any of his clothes, you’re going to need a new plan,” Will directed the statement to Percy, and while the son of Apollo was still wearing a friendly smile it was pretty clear there was a serious note at the core of the statement.

The crowd in front of them stopped and so did they although Percy’s hand didn’t move from where it was stationed on Jason’s back. Their progress momentarily halted, Percy turned his wicked grin on Will before replying, “Ya know Will, we all have to do our parts.”

It was hard to tell if Percy was kidding but that wasn’t new either. If Percy had seemed serious Jason might have stepped in in Nico’s defense, not that Nico needed his help, but still, he would have. As it was, Jason didn’t think he needed to intervene, and he wasn’t the only one who felt that way considering Nico was also remaining silent. Will actually chuckled as he retorted, “Still not happening.”

“That’s fine. I have a backup plan,” Percy declared not sounding all that put out as he turned on Jason with a more serious expression then he had been wearing before, but that grin that normally meant he was up to no good was still in place. “Bro, you may have to lose your shirt.”

Jason still wasn’t one-hundred-percent sure if Percy was being serious or was just joking around, but he seemed serious enough to have Jason worried. “That is _so_ not happening,” Jason shook his head and echoed Will’s sentiments.

“You didn’t have a problem taking off your shirt last time,” Percy retorted with a wicked grin and an even more wicked glint in his eye.

“Maybe not,” Jason agreed even though he didn’t completely agree. He had taken his shirt off last time, but it wasn’t exactly his idea, and he had been freaking out about right up until he and Percy started making out. Okay, maybe Percy had a little bit of a point. “But for very different reasons.”

“And boy am I sorry I missed that,” Will interjected with a laugh. Nico clearly didn’t second that thought considering how Jason saw him roll his eyes at the mention of last time. “From what I’ve heard you two put on _quite_ the show.”

“Who knows,” Jason felt more than saw Percy shrug, but his cocky grin was unmissable. “We may put on a repeat performance.” In one swift motion, Percy’s arm went from being around Jason’s back to being slung over Jason’s shoulder. Jason really needed to start elbowing Percy in the ribs or something when he did that so maybe he’d stop. Jason wasn’t Annabeth after all.

Jason didn’t elbow Percy. He also didn’t remove Percy’s arm from around his shoulder and he certainly didn’t admit to himself or anyone else that he actually kind of liked it there. He did notice that Nico was staring at him critically for a moment before turning to Percy, but that probably meant nothing. It wasn’t like Nico could somehow tell what Jason was thinking (Jason hoped, but if anyone could read thoughts it would be Nico). Nico turned to Percy and stated flatly, “Please don’t.” Nico seemed serious, but his message was undermined by Will who was clearly mouthing the contradictory statement of _please do_.

Jason didn’t know if he wanted to assure nothing would happen to Nico or insist nothing like that would happen to Will. The last time they had been to Gladiators the situation had been drastically different. With Piper’s one-time free pass for Jason to try to be with a guy hanging over his head, there had been this sense of urgency that wasn’t there now. That night it had felt like it was now or never, and that was pretty much gone. The arrangement, and now it really was an arrangement, was so much different. There were still rules. Actually, now there were a lot more rules, and they came up with more as the need seemed to arise, but the ticking clock was gone. Now, sometimes when Jason and Percy hung out it was just like they were friends but other times it was something more.

But more importantly, when there was something more going to happen, it happened in rooms with beds or at least furniture. While things between him and Percy hadn’t moved past anything more penetrative then exchanging blow jobs at that point, the fact that they had limited desperately groping at each other in a closet to a onetime thing seemed important. Also, and Jason would never say it out loud because Nico would probably summon an army of zombies to kill him, but it wasn’t something Nico and Will could say that was true about themselves. They were in no place to judge.

Jason didn’t get a chance to say a word before a demanding voice interrupted their conversation. “Hey, you four!” The voice was gruff and male and coming from the direction of the bar. All four of them turned in the direction of the voice in unison. Jason was momentarily confused because the cluster of guys that had been standing between them and the door just moments ago were just gone. He didn’t know where they went, and he hadn’t noticed them leave, but they were definitely gone. Considering Jason was a soldier with battle experience it was rare that things happened around him without him noticing. Where ever the guys had gone, their absence left only the two bouncers standing between them and the bar’s entrance.

Jason hadn’t really noticed the bouncers, and that was probably because both guys looked exactly like Jason would expect a bouncer to look like. They were both large and overly muscled. While Jason couldn’t see their legion tattoos, he wouldn’t have been surprised if they had the mark of Mars on their arms. The one standing to the left of the bar’s entrance was staring at them expectantly, and from his general scowl on his face, Jason suspected the guy wasn’t really in love with his job. “You got IDs?” the bouncer on the left asked demandingly.

 _Oh, right_ , Jason thought, _they expect IDs to get in this place_. Jason hadn’t gotten a fake ID in the last few months, so he was hoping that Percy actually had a plan. A plan that didn’t rely on the chance that the bouncer would recognize Nico because this bouncer didn’t look like he would be that impressed by seeing an underwear model in real life.

“Funny story about that,” Percy replied with a snap of his fingers to accentuate his point. One look at Percy standing at his side, and Jason knew the son of Poseidon absolutely had no plan. _So they weren’t getting into the bar_ , Jason thought, _that made standing in the massive line sort of depressing_.

Before Percy could try and probably fail to talk their way into the bar Nico interjected with a simple and honest answer to the bouncer’s question, “No.”

The bouncer rolled his eyes, and Jason was pretty sure he could actually see the guy hating his job just a little bit more. “No IDs, no entry,” the bouncer stated flatly as he jutted his thumb in the direction of the street clearly signally them to get out of the way.

Percy deflated. Jason didn’t have to look at him to know. He could literally feel the energy drain from the demigod at his side. Percy wasn’t the only that was visibly disappointed, from the corner of his eye Jason saw Will turn to Nico with a dramatic pout. Nico, who should have been happy about the situation, audibly groaned which Jason really didn’t know what to think about that.

Maybe Jason could play his years in the legion to his advantage and get them in. He didn’t recognize the bouncer, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have heard of Jason, and if Jason was right about the guy being a child or at least legacy of Mars he may respect Jason’s military service. Last time they had gone to Gladiators was pretty fun. He would have been a little disappointed, but he cared more about how disappointed Percy would be.

Jason didn’t get a chance to try out his plan because the other bouncer jumped in. “Oh, just go in,” the second bouncer standing to the right of the door declared contradicting his coworker as he gestured for them to go in to the bar.

Not a single one of them made a move to enter the bar. There was no explanation form the second bouncer’s drastically different policy. “Really?” Percy questioned speaking for everyone, including for the other bouncer if his face was any indication, even if the guy didn’t know it.

The bouncer on the left glared at his co-worker for a second before going to reiterate his previous statement, “No IDs-”

“Calm down, bro,” the bouncer on the right declared cutting his coworker off before he could finish. He sounded so much like Percy when he was going to suggest something really stupid, it was a little unnerving. “No one is going to complain about a few more twinks prettying up the place.”

Jason blinked hard. _Did he just call them what he thought he just called him_?

The original bouncer didn’t really look happy about that. He rolled his eyes and huffed before declaring, “Fine, yeah, go ahead.” He gestured for them to head into the bar unenthusiastically.

 _There was no way the bouncer was calling them twinks._ They were getting into the bar. It wasn’t something they should question, but Jason didn’t exactly like it. He definitely wasn’t a twink. Not that there was anything wrong with twinks but that just wasn’t Jason. Maybe Nico could come across as a twink if someone didn’t actually know him. But definitely not Jason. _Right?_

“I am _not_ a twink,” Will sputtered out sounding outraged. Jason looked over at the son of Apollo and found his expression pretty much matched his tone.

Jason felt Percy leaned in a little closer to him before he whispered, “What’s a twink?”

“You really are the most underinformed bi ever,” Jason replied with a smirk. After Jason had figured out his sexuality (and he freaked out) he had educated himself as best he could, but Percy had never felt the same drive, Jason guessed. The son of Poseidon just relied on asking Nico when something came up he didn’t know. Jason could never have done that, but it didn’t seem to bother Percy. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to tease him about it.

In his exchange with Percy, Jason hadn’t been paying attention to what was going with Will and the bouncer. Looking back toward where Nico and Will were still standing, Jason could see Will was still sputtered at one amused and one annoyed bouncer. “So, are you going in or what?” the annoyed bouncer questioned.

“Yes,” Nico of all people was the one to reply before turning to a still-sputtering Will. “You’re the one that wanted to go to a gay bar,” he reminded Will without an ounce of sympathy in his tone. “So move,” Nico ordered accentuating his point by smacking Will’s ass.

Jason might have gotten better about dealing with Nico and Will’s displays of affection, but that was still a bit much. He must have groaned or something to show his displeasure because he heard Percy snicker and return his hand to Jason’s back as a show of reassurance, Jason guessed.

It might not have been what Jason wanted or expected, but it did get Will to stop sputtering and actually start moving. “Fine,” Jason heard Will grumble back to Nico as he started past the bouncers. “But I am not a twink,” he added insistently.

“Will, you’re a child of Apollo,” Jason heard Nico sigh as he all but pushed Will forward. “Apollo is practically the god of twinks, just let it go.”

Jason and Percy exchanged a look before moving to follow the couple into the bar. “Tonight is going to be fun,” Percy declared with sincere enthusiasm as they walked past the bouncers.

“Fun is a word,” Jason replied as the music from inside of the club started to make it difficult to hear Nico and Will back and forth a few feet ahead of them. Jason wasn’t as certain as Percy that it was going to be a great night but looking over at the brunet he was optimistic. “Not the word I’d use, but a word.”


	68. Ladies Night Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday Happy People,
> 
> Boy does time fly! I feel like I just posted a chapter but here we are again! I hope you enjoy!

Annabeth, Piper, and Reyna waved one last goodbye to Percy and all the other boys before heading off in the opposite direction. Not long after New Years’ Eve, Percy had pointed out Gladiators, and Annabeth had been surprised that the gay bar was so close to the university. It wasn’t that she didn’t think that such a place should be near a college campus, she just thought she would have heard of the place a lot sooner than she had.

Knowing where the gay bar was Annabeth was a little jealous of Percy and the other guys for the simple fact that they only had about two blocks to walk. The nightclub that Annabeth and Piper had discovered when Percy, Jason, and Nico had gone to Tennessee was great, but it was a serious walk from the university square where everyone had met up. Of course, Piper had somehow managed to talk her into wear heels which made the walk so much worse.

Annabeth wasn’t the only one struggling with heels, or at least she suspected based on the pained look that crossed Reyna’s face every few feet. At least Annabeth had Piper to lean on as she walked with her arm intertwined with Piper’s.

They made it about a half a block south of the nightclub when Reyna broke their comfortable silence. “Jason seemed off,” Reyna commented off-handedly.

“I noticed that too,” Annabeth agreed with a nod before turning to Piper at her side and questioned, “Everything okay?”

“Oh yeah,” Piper replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. “He just feels weird about certain parts of our arrangement in public,” she explained plainly. It was probably one of those things that probably should have sounded weird because the situation between Annabeth, Percy, Piper, and Jason was objectively strange. At this point, Annabeth had just been become so desensitized to the oddity of all of it that it just felt normal. All of them had their own…insecurities about the situation she guessed. Annabeth felt Piper’s shoulders lift slightly in a shrug before adding, “Or at least when we’re around.” Annabeth noticed Piper gesture between the two of them.

Reyna hummed with understanding without a word. Annabeth nodded as well. She guessed that made sense, especially for the boys. With Annabeth and Piper, they had always been somewhat touchy. They were girls, after all, even if they were just friends it was socially acceptable for them to touch frequently. It was different for guys so both Percy and Jason were entitled to take some more time to adjust to the change. Objectively, Annabeth knew that, but still, Jason made her nervous. It was probably stupid but out of everyone, Annabeth had the least understanding of how he felt about the situation as a whole. She found herself nervous in face of her lack of knowledge. “He’s fine with everything else?” She asked just to make sure.

The number one rule in their arrangement was if anyone decided at any time that they didn’t want to do the whole thing any more than it was over, no questions asked. If that was the case, or if Jason was leaning that way, Annabeth would be fine with that, but a little warning would be nice. If for no other reason than she could adjust to the change.

“Oh yeah,” Piper assured. Her tone was so confident it was almost dismissive of Annabeth’s doubt. In all fairness, Percy and Jason showed Annabeth a lot more reasons to believe that everything was fine than for her to be concerned that the arrangement was coming to an end. Neither Percy or Jason ever complained about Annabeth and Piper having a night out, and neither of them had been protesting that night when they heard they would have to spend the night together. “He’s good,” Piper declared. Annabeth felt Piper watch her for a moment until she saw whatever she needed to see before turning to Reyna and asking, “Reyna, you’ve got any questions?”

“No,” Reyna replied blinking in clear confusion as she looked momentarily between Annabeth and Piper questioningly. “Why are you asking me that?”

“Because at this point we are used to answering questions about the whole me, Piper, Percy, and Jason thing,” Annabeth explained as she looked around Piper to better see Reyna as they continued to make their way down the street. “Grover and Thalia had questions,” she admitted hoping that the knowledge would make Reyna more comfortable even if it wasn’t necessarily a happy memory. It wasn’t that she had minded answering questions, but they had just had so many questions. Plus, it had been extremely awkward to have to assure one of her oldest friends (Thalia) that Annabeth had never and would never be in a sexual relationship with Thalia’s younger brother. Percy and Piper was one thing, but Annabeth felt absolutely no attraction toward Jason what so ever, and she was happy to know that he felt the same way.

“Leo also had questions,” Piper added with a thousand-mile stare as she spoke. Annabeth could relate with the look. Trying to explain the situation to Leo had been something of an adventure. Like Grover and Thelia, Leo had had a lot of questions, but it was Leo, so he of course asked all of them one after another in the matter of a minute and a half without ever pausing to allow them to answer a single one. Annabeth honestly wasn’t convinced he had even taken a breath between questions. It had been a rather an exhausting experience. It was after that conversation Annabeth had decided that they really should have some visual aids when they tried to explain the situation to anyone else.

“Frank and Hazel had lots of questions,” Annabeth added. She had even had some visual aids for that conversation, and they helped but not as much as she had hoped.

“Nico and Will actually haven’t had questions,” Piper was quick to point out with excitement. Annabeth actually hadn’t thought about that, but Piper was right. If anyone should have had questions it would have made sense if it was Nico and Will. Due to their friendships with Percy and Jason, they had both been dragged into the situation, in the periphery at least, because they often act as confidants or sources of information. Piper’s excitement waned slightly as she added, “But they look at us like we’ve grown an additional appendage.”

That was also very accurate. Nico and Will didn’t ask a single question about the whole thing, but whenever it was brought up, or just Annabeth, Percy, Piper, and Jason were around them they would look at them like they were completely insane. Annabeth didn’t really know what Piper or Jason thought about that it, but Annabeth and Percy thought it was funny and would joke about it.

“Well, I’m Roman,” Reyna declared as they turned a corner to start down the east edge of campus. “Your circumstance may not be the norm, but it’s far from the most unusual arrangement I’ve heard of,” she assured with confidence.

Annabeth had only been in New Rome for almost a year and actually hadn’t had much of an opportunity to experience the culture due to classes and working. With her limited experience with the culture, she didn’t think she could comment on Reyna’s statement. She knew there was a perception that Rome, the ancient one and she guessed the new one too, was pretty opened-minded. If Annabeth paid attention to just Percy’s co-workers she would have guessed that was true, but the few times she had heard such things mentioned in front of Nico going by his face he would guess he thought different, and Nico tended to know more than people gave him credit for.

Ultimately, Annabeth figured that was a rather deep and philosophical conversation for what was supposed to be a fun night out. Reyna was a big girl, if she had questions Annabeth doubted Reyna would hesitate to ask. “Well, if you do have any questions feel free to ask,” Annabeth declared figuring that could put yet another round of _make sure their friends with were comfortable with their relationship status_ conversation to an end.

They turned a corner on to a side street that led away from the main campus and down toward a smaller business district where the nightclub they were planning to visit was located. Away from the campus and the busier part of the city it seemed so much quieter. The most distinct sound Annabeth could make out was the sound of their high heels clicking against the stone street.

They made it a few feet before Reyna replied, “I do have a question but not about that.” Annabeth and Piper had the same reaction, they both turned in Reyna’s direction as they continued in their path. “About Will-”

Piper groaned loudly cutting Reyna off in the process, “Having met him you’re still not sure?”

Annabeth bit her lip to hold back a laugh. Reyna had not been quiet or subtle about her concerns regarding Nico dating a son of Apollo. Everyone had tried to assure her that Will wasn’t anything like the obnoxious, self-absorbed, children of Apollo she was clearly concerned he was but just would not listen. Annabeth had stopped trying months before knowing Reyna wasn’t going to let it go until she actually met him.

When they all met for dinner a few nights before Annabeth thought for sure Reyna was going to go into mega-mom mode, but that wasn’t what happened at all. If Jason somehow fell into the role of Nico’s mom, Reyna apparently fell into the role of Nico’s dad. She and Will made it through the meal having pleasant conversation, but there was always a slight vibe coming off Reyna like a warning. She liked Will fine, but she would not hesitate to beat him to a bloody pulp if Will hurt Nico in any way.

Annabeth looked at Reyna and commented sincerely, “I thought you two seemed to be getting along so well.”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Reyna replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I actually like him a lot more than I expected,” she admitted with what sounded like genuine surprise. She was the only one that was surprised by that fact, but Annabeth wasn’t going to point that out. Annabeth noticed Reyna turn to look at her and Piper. “I don’t get why Jason gets so uptight about Nico and Will,” she commented with clear curiosity.

“Believe it or not,” Piper chimed in with a laugh. “He’s _actually_ gotten better.”

“That’s hard to believe,” Reyna declared doubtfully. Annabeth leaned around Piper to give Reyna a serious look. Jason used to be ridiculous about Nico and Will, practically freaking out whenever the two did something as simple as hold hands. Jason still fussed about the two far too much, but it was still an improvement. Reyna must not have noticed it or decided not to believe it. “I was actually wondering if there was a particular reason Nico seemed so dead set on Will going to college in New Rome,” She observed, “He really seemed to be trying to sell him on it pretty hard yesterday.”

“Yeah, I noticed that too,” Annabeth agreed. She hadn’t given it much thought since the tour of campus, but Nico had been far more insistent about everything that she had ever seen him before. The would barely make it a foot before Nico would point out a building or state some fact that was clearly meant to convince Will to fall in love the university at New Rome. It was a little surprising, at least to Annabeth, because of everyone she had thought Nico was the most likely to stay in New York City. “But besides the obvious, no I don’t know why Nico seems so determined.”

“I’m sure Will will figure it out if he hasn’t already,” Piper declared dismissively. She clearly didn’t give the situation much thought even though Annabeth was sure Piper had also noticed that bit of strangeness. Piper always seemed to know what was going on with the couples around them even if she wasn’t specifically attending to. “Those two are pretty in tune with each other.”

Reyna smiled in agreement, “I have noticed those two are a good fit.”

“I told you,” Annabeth mused in Reyna’s direction “You had nothing to worry about with Will.”

“Everyone told her she had nothing to worry about with Will!” Piper exclaimed excitedly. “Now can we talk about something besides the guys?” she questioned with a bit of outrage. “We are three attractive women, dressed to kill! We should be able to at least pass the Bechdel test.”

“Alright,” Reyna chuckled as she agreed. “Did you have a topic in mind?”

“You run an army!” Piper exclaimed to Reyna before she twisted her body in the other direction to look at Annabeth before she continued, “And you are supervising the build of a huge structure at Camp Half-Blood while going to college.” Piper once again turned to face the direction in which they were walking and shrugged, “I’m sure we can think of something.”

“Technically, I have help running the Legion,” Reyna corrected right as they took their last turn, so they were walking down the street where the nightclub was located. Annabeth could make out the faint sound of the music from the club as they entered the business district. In the distance, Annabeth could even make out the faint pulsing of the club’s lights. “And that is only until the start of the summer,” Reyna added.

“Wait, start of the summer?” Piper questioned with clear confusion. Annabeth knew that Reyna was stepping down from her place in the Legion so that she could start college, but she didn’t remember her mentioning when she would be stepping down until that moment. The end of the summer would have made sense, but Annabeth didn’t get why she would be leaving at the start of the summer season. “Why so soon?”

“I’ll be accompanying the Romans going to Camp Half-Blood this summer as part of the exchange program,” Reyna explained simply. She didn’t sound all that emotional about the major change in her life that was quickly approaching. Annabeth couldn’t help but be impressed with Reyna for that because she could remember how hard it had been for Annabeth and Percy to leave New York and Camp Half-Blood. “They want a Roman along that has a strong relationship with the Greeks.”

That made complete sense especially considering the dire consequences that could arise if another feud sprang up between the Greek and Roman demigods. Still, Reyna wasn’t the only Roman they had to choose from. she wasn’t even the one that made the most sense, at least in Annabeth’s opinion. “And Hazel or Frank don’t cover that?” She questioned.

“They do,” Reyna replied as they came to the entrance of the club. There was a bit of a line but nothing Annabeth hadn’t expected. They took their place at the end of the line and Reyna continued. “But they’re not coming to Camp Half-Blood, at least not right away,” she explained. “We’re switching off halfway through the season, so I can come back and settle in before my first semester of college.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Piper hummed not sounding entirely convinced or maybe she was just thinking out the situation. The daughter of Aphrodite seemed to give the situation a few more moments worth of thought before looking toward Reyna with clear concern and asking, “Are you prepared for that? It’s so soon.”

As the line shifted forward they shifted forward as well so they were the next in line to get past the rather attractive bouncer, Reyna seemed to give the question some thought. It wasn’t until the next cluster of girls got waved in, and Annabeth, Piper, and Reyna were waved forward that the daughter of Bellona managed a reply. “Ask me in June,” she stated sincerely.

The bouncer gave them a brief glance before waving them in. As they walked passed Reyna asked how the boys were going to get into Gladiators since it was a twenty-one and older bar. Neither Annabeth or Piper had an answer for that, but Annabeth suspected there would be a funny story coming from the boys in the morning. If she knew Percy at all she would figure he would suggest Nico or maybe Jason take his shirt off but that would never fly with Nico, Will, or Jason. Still, between the four of them they had some serious skills. They would figure something out.

The club was crowded, but not as crowded as it had been when Annabeth and Piper had been there on New Years’ Eve. There was still room to move around without practically grinding against each other which was good. Not that the closeness the last time had been bad. The closeness had been rather nice, but this time, Annabeth didn’t feel like she needed to kick and elbow her way to the bar to get a drink.

They got drinks from the bar before making their way toward the dance floor which was surrounded by tables. They were able to find a free table a lot quicker than Annabeth would have ever expected, but of course, it one of the high tables with the high chairs which was an adventure to climb on to in heels.

Reyna stationed herself across the table from Annabeth while Piper pulled her own chair closer to Annabeth’s right, so they were sitting side by side. Once everyone settled, their conversation picked up pretty much where it had left off outside the club. “So, if you're accompanying the exchange Romans, does that mean we will all be at Camp Half-Blood for the opening ceremony?” Piper questioned. Annabeth could practically hear the wheels spinning in the daughter of Aphrodite’s mind. “Minus Frank and Hazel, of course.”

“And Percy and Annabeth,” Reyna added before turning to Annabeth to ask, “You two aren’t going to be going to Camp Half-Blood this summer, are you?”

“No, but we’ll be there for the opening ceremony,” Annabeth answered with ease. She reached out and took a small sip of her drink. She had no idea what she had actually ordered. It was something fruity that Piper had ordered for her. She couldn’t complain about it though because the drink was in fact delicious. She placed her drink back on the table before she continued, “I’m using the Roman Baths as a project for my portfolio. I want to be there for the big unveiling.” It was supposed to be a fun night out. Still, Annabeth could not help but think about her latest update Iris message with Leo and sighed heavily, “Assuming there is anything to unveil.”

She watched Piper and Reyna exchange a look before turning back to look at Annabeth. “Is there a reason there won’t be anything to unveil?” Reyna questioned with concern.

“Not because of me,” Annabeth replied quickly in her own defense. “My design was perfect, but Leo and the Hephaestus cabin keep blowing up or burning down the build,” she explained. “We have had one complete rebuild and three partials,” Annabeth continued hearing the increased frustration in her own voice. The thing was she had gone into the project knowing there would be hold-ups and unexpected problems, but it seemed like there were only ever disasters, and Leo could never give her a straight answer as to why they happened. She reached out again and picked up her drink, but this time the sip she took was anything but small. After returning her glass to the table with a clink she admitted, “I’m honestly scared it won’t get finished.”

If Annabeth was being really honest she would have to admit that she was really afraid that the Romans would show up at Camp Half-Blood, and all there would be is a smoking hole in the ground where the baths were supposed to be. She was hoping by keeping her darker pessimism to herself it wouldn’t come true.

“Well, it’s Leo, I’m sure it will get finished in time,” Piper declared dismissively echoing a sentiment that Percy had said about a million times in the last few months. Annabeth didn’t appreciate it anymore from Piper than she had from Percy, and she didn’t make any attempt to hide that fact. It took Piper far less time to notice Annabeth openly glaring at her than it normally took Percy so at least that was plus. Not that that made Annabeth feel much better, but at least Piper was quick to start trying to backtrack (Percy usually wasn’t that smart on his first try). “But yeah, that sounds stressful,” she commented before quickly grabbed her own drink off the table and sipped at nervous.

Annabeth didn’t miss the way Reyna smirked as she looked between Annabeth and Piper but was thankful when she didn’t comment. Instead, she propped her elbow up on the table and looked thoughtfully at Annabeth. “I guess I never thought about how complicated the construction of the Roman Baths could be,” Reyna commented.

“No one does!” Annabeth exclaimed probably with more enthusiasm than was entirely necessary, but after months of people telling her not to worry about it, it was nice for someone to get it. “But it really is! There is the heat of the water circulating and cleaning the water in addition to things like lighting, towel warmer, washers and dryers for clothes and dirty towels and lockers,” she listed off just a few of the factors she had to incorporate into the design on her fingers. “I mean the structure I designed for Camp Half-Blood is smaller, and I excluded the extra stuff like the private bathing rooms, but still it’s a deceptively complex structure.”

Annabeth heard Reyna hum thoughtfully as she seemed to consider the information. She never got a chance to comment because Piper rather unexpectedly smacked the table. Both Annabeth and Reyna turned to the daughter of Aphrodite in surprised. Reyna even had to grab her drink as the shock wave from Piper’s hand caused her drink to wobble. “Wait!” Piper exclaimed as Annabeth watched her look between Annabeth and Reyna with the most inexplicable excitement. “The Roman Baths here have private bathing rooms? Like personal hot tubes or something?”

“Of course,” Reyna replied with confusion before Annabeth got a chance. “There for the use of dignitaries, heads of state, and ambassadors,” she explained like it was the most common-sense thing ever.

Piper’s eyes went even wider which was almost comical considering her eyes had already been rather large. “So, Nico gets to use these private baths?” She questioned. Annabeth could see Piper was working toward something, but she couldn’t figure out exactly what yet.

“Of course,” Reyna replied with a nod before taking a quick sip of her of her drink. “He’s an ambassador.”

“What do you think was going on with him and Will yesterday?” Annabeth couldn’t help but question. When Nico and Will had shown up significantly late to their tour of the university the day before Annabeth had thought it had been obvious what they had been up to. “I know Nico and Will have a bit of a reputation, but I can’t see Nico putting out in front of who knows how many people in the public bath.”

“Good point,” Piper admitted as she pointed toward Annabeth before turning back to Reyna because apparently Reyna had been designated the Roman Bath expert in this conversation. “Does Jason or Percy have access to these private baths?”

Reyna’s eyebrows furrowed together as a show of confusing, “Why would they?”

“They’re both sons of the big three,” Piper replied quickly. There was a note of hope in her voice.

Piper was adorable when she was so hopeful and excited, and Annabeth hated to crush that, but it was just one of those things that was different between the Greeks and Romans. “That seems to matter less to Romans,” She offered simply. It might have been somewhat different for Jason as son of Jupiter, but it didn’t really have much effect on Percy as a son of Poseidon.

Annabeth couldn’t be sure if Piper had even heard her because she didn’t react. Instead, she turned back to Reyna and repeated her original question, “Do you have access to these private baths?”

“Of course not,” Reyna replied flatly.

Piper visibly deflated for a moment. So much so Annabeth was genuinely trying to think of something that would cheer her back up. Piper cheered back up all on her own and turned Annabeth with new excitement. “Are you sure you can’t add on a private bath or two on the Roman Baths at Camp Half-Blood?” She asked, and Annabeth began to make out a bit of mischief in her multicolored eyes. “I could have fun with that.”

Annabeth just rolled her eyes and picked up her drink. “You sound like Percy,” she declared before sipping at the sweet liquid. She had had almost the exact same conversation with Percy when she had been originally drawing up the plans for Camp Half-Blood’s baths.

Piper just laughed, “You’re into that, so why would I take that as anything but a compliment?”

“I hear it now too,” Reyna chuckled to Annabeth although she clearly was talking about Piper. Annabeth couldn’t help but smile and laugh a bit herself. It was good to know that she wasn’t just imagining the little similarities between Piper and Percy. Apparently, Annabeth had a type, and she was only just now figuring that out.

“I’m just saying that sex in a private bathroom could be pretty awesome. It would be like having sex in a hot tub,” Piper declared defensively before a look of awareness washed across her features and she slapped her hand over her mouth. There was a moment where Annabeth wasn’t sure what was going on before she noticed Piper’s shoulders shaking and heard what could only have been described as muffled laughter. After a few seconds, Piper dropped her hand away from her mouth and declared, “Oh, now I hear it too!”

There was a moment where Annabeth, Piper, and Reyna stared at each other in silence. The moment reminded Annabeth of that moment in cartoons where one of the characters runs off a cliff and for a second, they would remain suspended in the air before plummeting to the ground. They were silent for a few seconds before without warning all three of them busted out laughing at the same time.

It was absolutely funny, but maybe not so funny to warrant the intensity with which they were laughing. It must have been some sort of delirium that had come over the three of them being that it was the first time they had been together without the guys. And, like they had mentioned to Percy and Jason, they were pretty sure the club was owned by a legacy of Bacchus so that could have something to do with it.

Annabeth was near tears when some guy showed up at their table out of nowhere. “Hello ladies,” the male voice greeted catching their attention although Annabeth struggled to stifle her laughter and look toward the voice. When she managed to finally turn and found an extremely muscled and tan guy that had to be around her age with dark hair, dark eyes, and a nice smile which was currently directed at them. Annabeth and Piper had dealt with this a lot in their last visit: he was just another guy that showed up hoping to score with at least one of them by smiling and flirting a little. “Can I get you-,” The guy stopped dead as his eyes settled on Reyna. Annabeth watched his eyes went wide with surprise, and his whole demeanor changed. It was subtle, but Annabeth found it unmistakable. “Oh, my gods Reyna!”

“Michael,” Reyna blinked at the guy. She may have been the only person that looked more surprised than the guy. Hearing the name Michael at the same time Annabeth noticed the dove tattoo on the guy’s arm made her realize the guy that was standing by their table was Michael Kahale, son of Venus. Annabeth had probably met him following the Battle of Camp Half-Blood, but she didn’t quite remember. Reyna did the nervous girl thing that Annabeth would have never though Reyna would even have in her repertoire: she looked down briefly and pushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Um, hi,” Reyna muttered, “What are you doing here?”

Michael opened his mouth like he was going to reply but from the look of panic in his eyes Annabeth could tell he had no idea what he was actually going to say. Piper saved him from having to figure it out although considering what Piper actually said he might not have considered it a save. She leaned forward and looked at Michael thoughtfully for a second before answering for him, “I think he was about to hit on at least one of us.”

“I think he was actually going offer to buy us drinks,” Annabeth offered as a less loaded answer before turning to Michael specifically and adding, “Which we will take, by the way.”

“Um,” Michael hummed thoughtfully for a second. It was actually interesting for Annabeth to watch as Michael. He was clearly going through several options of how to handle the situation in his mind before deciding on the best course of action. So often children of Aphrodite (and Venus she guessed) were dismissed as being overly emotional thinkers but from her experiences with Piper, Annabeth knew that children of the love goddess could actually be quite strategic thinkers when they wanted to be. Michael clearly had the ability as well. He finally seemed to settle on whatever course action he thought was best and sighed before declaring with resignation, “In my defense, I didn’t realize it was all of you,”

“Interesting,” Piper hummed. Annabeth watched Piper make a show of resting her chin in her hand and tapping her index finger over her lips before asking, “Why is that?”

That was clearly the worse possible question Piper could have ever asked. Michael’s mouth dropped open as he sputtered for a second before he could even progress to words. “Oh well…” Michael began without confidence. “I’m just not used to-” Michael began a gesture but before Annabeth could figure out what he was trying to actually communicate he gave up. Instead, he turned toward Reyna and declared with a serious expression. “Reyna, you look absolutely incredible.”

“Ah, thanks,” Reyna hummed uncertainly. The daughter of Bellona seemed so awkward and uncomfortable it honestly seemed like it was her first time ever receiving a compliment.

Annabeth turned to Piper to see if she was seeing what Annabeth was seeing and found the daughter of Aphrodite was already grinning at her. In unison, they both turned back to the show in front of them, and Annabeth couldn’t tell which demigod was blushing more.

Even though his deep tan, Annabeth could tell he was turning an ever-deeper shade of red. Whatever the cause of his bashfulness, Michael seemed to handle it well. He casually pushed his fingers through his hair which really drew attention to the size of his biceps which were quite impressive before asking, “Can I get you ladies some drinks?” He looked around a bit before adding, “I mean, if Jason or Percy isn’t around here somewhere getting you all drinks.”

“No, no,” Annabeth corrected as she reached for her drink before she realized her glass was empty. She guessed that was why Michael was offering to get them drinks. “Percy and Jason are at Gladiators with Nico and his boyfriend, Will.”

“Gladiators?” Michael questioned with a look of confusion like he thought he had miss heard Annabeth or something. “The gay bar?”

“Yup,” Piper confirmed plainly.

Michael still looked a bit confused, but whatever the reason was he didn’t bring it up. Instead of questioning it, he just replied uncertainly, “Oh.”

Annabeth heard the click of Piper’s high heels against the floor seconds before she felt Piper’s arm interlace with her own gently tugging Annabeth out of her chair. “So, Annabeth and I are going to hit the dance floor,” Piper declared as she shot Annabeth a meaningful look when she went to question it. “So, we are all set for drinks, but you should by all means buy Reyna a drink and keep her company.”

Reyna glared at them, but Annabeth really couldn’t do much about it as Piper pulled her toward the dance floor. Within a few seconds, her view of Reyna was completely obscured by the crowds on the dance floor.

“Reyna is going to kill you,” Annabeth pointed out to Piper as the daughter of Aphrodite spun her around, so they were facing each other on the dance floor.

“She’ll get over it,” Piper declared dismissively as she brought her hand to rest on Annabeth’s hip as they began to dance in rhythm with the music. “She works so hard she should have a little fun, and Michael is cute.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. So I don't have to have this conversation in the comments again - No, Percy and Annabeth are not breaking up in this fic (neither are Piper and Jason). Yes, at this point I am writing more Percy and Jason, and Annabeth and Piper stuff because these relationships at still being established where Percy and Annaberh and Jason and Piper are already established. Hopefully this and the many comments I have answered on this topic are enough.
> 
> 2\. I have not read Burning Maze yet and don't intend to any time soon (I am not a huge fan of Apollo as a character so I will likely not read the series until it is finished). That being said, I have seen the spoilers and I know. I will not be trying to incorporate any of Rick's material into this series, I consider the After the Wars series to be canon compliant through the Heroes of Olympus series. Please don't discuss spoilers in the comments.
> 
> 3\. There will be updates coming regarding other writing projects (Outtakes, Delix fics) soon. The best place to find this is probably my Tumblr (delta-roseblr.tumblr.com).
> 
> 4\. Finally, if you want to buy me a cup of coffee to help support me in my late nights of writing visit my ko-fi page- http://ko-fi.com/deltarose


	69. Familiar Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello, hello!
> 
> Happy Sunday friends! I have another lengthy chapter for you to enjoy!
> 
> Also, for those of you reading Outtakes and/or enjoying my Delix fics on Tumblr I have good news. There should be new installments of both going up very soon!

Will huffed and puffed over the bouncer’s comment for a few minutes as Nico ushered him through the door. Nico pushed his boyfriend along even though his real desire was to take Will away from the overcrowded bar and back to the hotel. He wanted to be back in their room, so they could spend the evening enjoying each other in a more private setting, but Will was just so excited about going to a gay bar. Will had been talking about it since he had made the plans with Percy. So there Nico was, against his instincts and his better judgment, practically dragging Will inside.

Once in the bar, passed the initial crowd of those coming and going, Will stopped protesting. The blonde quickly switched to a much different demeanor as he looked around the space with fascination written across his face. Nico would have sworn he could practically feel Will vibrating with excitement as he looked around like a kid at a fair for the first time.

Will’s excitement was cute, the commentary that accompanied it was still cuter. “Wow, it’s really crowded here!” Will pointed out first with far more cheer than such an observation deserved.

Next Will pointed toward one of the guys dancing on a table, “There are shirtless boys on the tables dancing, that’s interesting.” Nico had to stifle a laugh. Being stuck in a crowded bar was probably Nico’s definition of hell, but watching Will be so excited by everything did make it infinitely more bearable. “Oh, cool! The lights under the bar are a rainbow!” Will exclaimed.

Will kept going on with his little observations which he declared with an ever-growing level of excitement. After the first few Nico couldn’t always make out what Will was saying because Will was just talking so fast.

A tap on Nico’s shoulder distracted him from Will temporarily. Nico tried to ignore it, but that just resulted in Percy leaning in too close for comfort as he commented in Nico’s ear, “Just so you know, that-” Percy reached over Nico’s shoulder enough to point at Will. “- is what you were like when I first met you except you were nerdier and more excited.”

Nico didn’t pause in his movements, too afraid that if he did he would lose Will to the milling crowd. Still, he did turn enough to glare at Percy as he growled out a promise, “I _will_ hit you.”

Percy grinned as he followed. Jason at Percy’s side held up a hand. “No worries, I got it,” Jason assured simply before Nico watched him drop his hand to Percy’s arm before pinching the brunet’s bicep viciously. “Behave, dude,” he ordered firmly.

“Ow,” Percy hissed as Nico watched him pull his arm out of Jason’s grasp and brought his own hand up to rub the abused spot. Percy looked at Jason with outrage. “Do you want to suck your own dick tonight?”

Nico had kept his eye on Percy and Jason too long. Failing to notice that Will had stopped in his tracks and turned to participate in the conversation, Nico nearly walked right into Will’s broad chest. He managed not to, but it was a close thing. Luckily, Will didn’t notice or at least decided that teasing Percy and Jason was more important.

“That would be an impressive trick,” Will commented with amusement. “Although Jason’s objectively attractive, so I’m sure someone here would be willing to lend a helping hand or mouth,” As Will gestured around the bar Nico was more than a little surprised there weren’t guys stepping forward to volunteer already.

Both Jason and Percy responded to that statement in unison. “Objectively!?!” The only thing Nico couldn’t figure out was who sounded more outraged. It was so ridiculous Nico had to stifle a laugh. It was one thing for Jason to get offended at a comment questioning his attractiveness, but why was Percy? For two people who were not in a relationship, Percy and Jason often acted like they were in fact dating. Nico was going to leave that observation for someone else to point out.

“Well, yeah,” Will shrugged. “It’s Jason,” Nico noticed the quick look Will gave to him like Will was surprised he actually had to explain this. He looked back toward Percy and Jason, “No offense. You’re just not my type.” Will didn’t wait to gauge a reaction although Nico could see Jason didn’t have much of one.

Honestly, what was Jason going to do, get offended? He and Will were friends, and that was all. There was certainly no attraction or desire there from either of them, of that Nico was sure. Percy still looked a little offended on Jason’s behalf, but that was just Percy.

“So, are we getting drinks?” Will questioned with a curious look around the bar. “How does that work here? What is the legal drinking age in New Rome anyways?”

Will looked at Percy, and not soon after so did Nico and Jason. Will asked a good question that Nico had never really given much thought to before. He had assumed that New Rome’s drinking age was twenty-one like the rest of the US, but Ancient Rome had been a den of debauchery. It wasn’t beyond reason that the drinking age would be lower in New Rome. In some ways, Nico felt he knew the city well, but on this, he knew nothing, and since the son of Poseidon had been calling the city home for near a year he should have been a better source of information.

Percy stared back at them all with utter bewilderment. “No idea,” Percy admitted without apology before turning more to Will and further explaining, “Last time drinks just sort of showed up.”

Nico watched as Will’s head tilted slightly to one side as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Showed up?” Will asked like the words were completely foreign to him.

Nico _might_ have left that bit out of the story when he had originally told Will about New Years’ Eve. “Yeah, guys just sort of bought us drinks,” Nico admitted with a sigh before adding dryly, “Because we’re objectively attractive.”

Will actually seemed to give that some thought instead of immediately going into an overprotective fit which was a show of growth if Nico had ever seen one. After a moment thought, Will shook his head dismissively as he declared plainly, “Oh, well we won’t be doing that.”

Nico felt Will’s hand slip into his own and clasp Nico’s hand in his grasp. One gentle tug, and Nico found himself being guided toward the bar by his boyfriend who, despite his southern upbringing, was managing to push his way through the crowd with minimal apology. Will didn’t even pause in his progress when he looked back and grinned at Nico with the most devilish grin. Nico knew that grin all too well, and he normally didn’t remain clothed long after first seeing it. Considering the current setting, Nico didn’t think that would be happening, but he still felt a familiar tingle deep within himself at the sight. “But I’m open to body shots if you’re wondering.” Will punctuated his statement with a wink. Nico suddenly felt too hot, and it had nothing to do with the bar being overcrowded. Nico actually had to divert his gaze before he burst into flames from just Will’s lustful and suggestive gaze.

“Hey,” Percy declared as he popped his head over Nico’s shoulder wearing one of those Percy grins that usually meant he was up to no good. “Is that offer open to everyone or just Nico?”

Nico stopped dead in his tracks at the comment. He saw Will stare back at Percy in clear shock while he glared fire at the demigod and was surprised when Percy didn’t literally burst into flames. If any demigod was immune to his son of Hades’ glare it was, unfortunately, Percy. The son of Poseidon chuckled and held up his hands in surrender, “I was just kidding. Don’t worry. I won’t make that mistake again.” He didn’t seem particularly apologetic, but it was Percy, so Nico knew better than to expect much, not that Percy gave him the opportunity to comment. As soon as Percy assured the others he was joking, he turned to Jason with a warning expression and pointed an almost accusatory finger in the blonde’s direction. “And if you pinch me again I swear to the gods dude-”

“No worries,” Jason interrupted with a laugh of his own. “There is no way you could handle a third take-charge blonde in your love life. You can barely handle the two you’ve got.”

The shock that washed over Percy’s face as he began to sputter was absolutely priceless. The whole Percy, Jason, Annabeth, and Piper arrangement was about the strangest thing Nico had ever heard of, but every once and a while its existence resulted in some amusing circumstances.

Nico noticed Will grin in Jason’s direction as he declared, “Nice one.” At that, much to Nico’s distaste, Will and Jason high fived quickly before Will started once again toward the bar.

Nico let Will lead him by the hand, but not without a groan at Will and Jason’s behavior, “I hate that you two have bonded,” he admitted dryly.

“Oh no, you don’t,” Will dismissed with ease as he shouldered his way up to the bar. Nico stayed close behind Will so that the milling crowd couldn’t separate them. He could feel Percy and Jason half a step behind them, likely for a similar reason.

Peeking around Will’s shoulder Nico could see three or four guys working behind the bar. Each looked to be mid-twenties and attractive in their own way. They moved along the bar taking orders and mixing drinks in a well-practiced method. Even as they rushed about they never once seemed to step into each other’s path. It was a rather impressive show in Nico’s opinion. When one of them came close Will slapped the bar’s surface to gain the bartender’s attention. When the bartender looked in their direction Will waved, “Excuse me?”

“Hey, there gorgeous,” The bartender greeted as he moved to stand directly in front of Will with a wide smile. As the guy made no attempt to hide the way he looked Will up and down Nico had to take back any admiration he had initially felt at the man’s skill. Also, and this might have been more important, he had to stifle the strong urge he felt to reach across the bar and drive his fist into the guy’s face. Yes, Will was gorgeous. Nico knew that, but that didn’t mean that guys could just eye Will like a piece of meat. “What can I do for you?” the bartender asked.

“Ah, yeah um...,” Will stammered. When Nico looked he could tell Will was blushing even in the bar’s dim light. “I’ll just have a beer, and my _boyfriend_ will have…?” Nico saw Will turn to him with a questioning look.

The bartender turned to Nico too, and once the look of surprise faded his expression was also questioning although with much less interest than Will’s. “Rum and coke,” Nico answered simply.

“Sure thing,” The bartender replied easily as he reached for a glass. “IDs?”

Will immediately turned to Nico with a look like he expected Nico might know how to respond. Nico had no idea why Will would think that, so he returned Will’s look with a bewildered one of his own. The bartender, now glass in hand, continued to look at them expectantly as Percy grumbled behind him, too quiet for the bartender to hear, but too loud for Nico to miss, “Well, so much for that plan.”

Percy wasn’t wrong, not that Nico was going to actually tell him that. It would go to Percy’s head, and the last thing Percy needed was an ego boost. He gave Will’s hand a gentle tug in a silent communication for them to move on. Will took the hint, but they didn’t get more than half a step from the bar, the bartender barely moved on, when a voice stopped them. “Oh, my gods!” Came a male voice seconds before Nico felt a light bump at his shoulder, and then a young man appeared from behind them and moved behind the bar. Nico recognized the guy immediately which surprised him considering Nico hadn’t given him much thought since New Years’ Eve. It was their waiter from that night, the one who spent the night hitting on Leo. “Hi, there boys, long time no see,” he greeted brightly before scanning the area quickly and asking, “Where is your cute Latino friend?”

“Oh, hey,” Jason replied with a familiarity that had Nico figuring he had recognized the waiter as well. “Leo couldn’t make it.”

Nico wasn’t even sure if Leo had been invited but watching the waiter visibly deflate Nico wished he had. As Nico wondered if shadow-traveling to New York to quickly grab Leo and popping right back was a reasonable plan he felt Will lean in close. Will’s warm breath spilled across Nico’s shoulder as he whispered, “Who’s this exactly?”

“Our waiter from last time,” Nico replied.

“Oh,” Will hummed with a nod.

“Well, that’s sad,” the waiter admitted mournfully. He didn’t stay that way for long, of course. Nico watched the waiter give the group of them another look like he was seeing them for the first time. With Leo not there to monopolize the guy’s attention he very well might have been. After a second or two, his attention focused on Will. “Who’s your new friend?”

Nico was in no way threatened, but that didn’t stop him from placing his hand on Will’s arm in a very visible and slightly possessive manner as he answered, “This is _my_ boyfriend.”

“He is so big and tall,” the waiter declared with utter fascination. He gave Will a look like he was trying to somehow guess his height just by looking at him. The look only lasted a second before he gave up on that and turned to Nico with a grin, “Damn, that must lead to some interesting _things_.”

And with that Nico remembered why he didn’t want to go to the stupid bar in the first place. At least the place was dark, so the likelihood anyone would be able to see how he blushed as he replied was minimal, “I guess,” he grumbled as a half-hearted reply.

The waiter gave Will another quick look before moving to lean on the bar with his elbow as he looked at Nico with a wicked grin. “You ever want to share some of those stories you let me know.”

Nico said nothing in response, and if he took a half a step to the side, so he was shielded a bit more by Will’s form, well that was just the crowd around the bar forcing him to do so. His face felt hot to the point where he expected to combust. Although he knew better, and it wasn’t a helpful thought, he couldn’t help but remember how he and Will had sex in the communal showers at camp on the fourth of July. The way Will had picked him up and pressed him against the flimsy wall. The thought wasn’t helping with the heat he felt either.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Jason decided to chime in with a comment that Nico would have never expected from him. From Percy, absolutely, but not Jason. “Get a few drinks in him, and he will tell you if you want to hear it or not,” Jason assured with an underlying tone of disapproval.

“Well, let’s get some drinks in him then!” The waiter exclaimed with excitement. He drummed his hands on the bar rapidly as he quickly added, “And the rest of you too.” He looked around the group, but no one spoke. “Have you guys ordered drinks yet?”

“No IDs,” Percy explained.

“Pssh,” The waiter just waved his hand dismissively in the air. “What can I get you, boys?”

In Nico’s experience, few things came easy in life, and that was just a truth of a demigod’s existence. It made the waiter’s casual behavior all the more startling, and Nico clearly wasn’t the only one to feel that way based on the looks he watched Jason and Percy exchange.

“Wow, thanks!” Will replied sincerely and without question. Will may have been a demigod but compared to the sons of the big three he had lived a relatively charmed life. As such, his response to some things were almost alien to Nico. Foreign yes, but Nico never found them anything but adorable. “I’ll have a beer-”

Will was interrupted before he could finish by the waiter’s sudden laughter. “Oh, sweetie,” the waiter declared as he patted the bar in front of Will in a sympathetic while still condescending way. “This is a gay bar, you can have something fruity if you want.”

Nico looked at Will who seemed to think about it for a few seconds before changing his order. “I’ll have a Mai Tai,” he admitted before continuing, “Nico will have a rum and coke.”

“Absolutely!” The waiter declared as he reached for a nearby glass. The waiter then turned to where Percy and Jason stood. “And what can I get you two?” He asked. “Are you both going Blue Hawaiians again or do you want to try something new?” As he spoke he filled one glass with ice before reaching for another. “I make a mean tequila sunrise.”

Nico heard Will groan, and Nico didn’t have to look at his boyfriend to know Will had probably turned green at the mere mention of tequila. Now that Nico knew the story behind Will’s reaction to even hearing tequila mentioned he understood it more, but that didn’t stop him from finding the reaction funny. To hide the grin that spread across his face Nico ducked and hid behind Will’s elbow. That didn’t stop him from noticing the curious look Percy directed at Will for a moment before turning back to the waiter to answer his question, “I think we’re good with the Blue Hawaiians.”

“Alright,” the waiter smacked the bar top. “One Mai Tai, one rum and coke, and two blue Hawaiians coming right up.”

The waiter turned to start mixing their drinks, and Percy turned back to Will with the same curious look as before. “What is your thing with tequila?” Percy asked.

One look at Will to see that even in the dim light he looked slightly pale. Will currently had his hand pressed to his mouth like he was trying not to throw up at the mere memory. Nico could tell that Percy wasn’t going to be getting an answer from him. Percy seemed to realize it too because he didn’t really wait for Will to attempt to answer before turning to Jason. He pointed at Will as he asked. “Do you know this story?”

“Outside of something to do with fourth of July, no” Jason admitted. The son of Jupiter looked at Will with an equally curious expression.

Carefully, Will lowered his hand away from his mouth, swallowing hard as he did. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he stated gravely.

Nico patted Will’s arm with sympathy, and Will made the cutest little noise at his touch. Cute as Will was that didn’t stop Nico from turning to Percy and Jason. “I’ll tell you later,” Nico assured the two other sons of the big three. “It’s a fun story.”

Will’s groan could easily be heard over the dull thud of the music playing. “I’m going to kill Cecil for telling you that story,” he grumbled.

Will might not have liked it, but Nico was glad Cecil had slipped up, and told him the story. And, in all fairness, Austin had been there to fill in the rest of the details with glee. When Nico and Will had first started hanging out, Nico was constantly intimidated by how smooth and confident Will always seemed to be. It was nice to know that Will had his insecurities too. He knew that none of that would make Will any happier about Nico knowing that embarrassing story, so Nico settled for pushing up on his toes and placing a reassuring kiss on Will’s cheek.

“Alright, boys,” the waiter declared catching everyone by surprise as he deposited the last two drinks in front of them on the bar. Nico hadn’t even noticed the guy bringing the other drinks, but sure enough, there was a rum and coke sitting in front of him. After setting the two very blue cocktails within Percy and Jason’s reach he looked at the group of them and asked, “How are we paying?”

 _Right, they were going to have to actually pay for their drinks_ , Nico thought. The last time they were at Gladiators, men just kept buying their drinks so Nico sort of forgot that paying was part of the equation. That was probably why he was slow to react compared to the others. Will was the first to act, immediately starting to rummage through the pockets of his jeans. Jason did something similar about a half a second later, even pulling his wallet out. Percy took a slightly different road, he made a show of patting his pockets, but didn’t actually go for his wallet the outline of which Nico could clearly make out.

“I’ve got it,” Nico declared with an upheld hand as he stepped forward, so he was standing between Will and the bar. As he noticed Jason glare at what looked like a very empty wallet from the corner of his eye, Nico removed his own wallet from his back pocket. Quickly, he removed one of its few contents, a black credit card with gold trim with a lotus flower embossed on the front. Of everything Nico owned it was the thing he had had the longest, and it was also the thing he hated the most. He probably would have burned the only remnant from his stay at the Lotus Hotel years ago, but it had come in handy during the years he had spent on his own. He held out the card to the bartender and hoped the waiter would take it from him quickly. “You can start a tab.”

The waiter took the card, examined it for a half a second before whistling. “I’d tell you that could be spendy, but by the looks of this that won’t be a problem.” He didn’t wait for Nico to comment before walking off with the card in hand. Nico kept his eyes on the waiter because that was better than dealing with the curious looks focused in his direction from Will, Jason, and Percy. When the waiter returned and handed back the card Nico shoved it back into his pocket before anyone could comment. “You are all set! Have fun!” the waiter told them cheerfully.

After a quick nod of appreciation to the waiter, Nico was the first to scoop his drink up off the bar top and the rest followed suit. Almost as soon as they turned their back on the bar it felt like a swarm of people that had been crowded around them pushed their way around them until they were pushed at least a few feet from the bar.

At least with a little distance between them and the bar, Nico didn’t feel like he was going to be overrun at any moment. They stopped once the force of the crowd allowed, and before Nico could even think to move he felt Will slide his hand into his own. Percy and Jason managed not to get swept away by the crowd, and although they weren’t holding hands (because as they would say they weren’t a couple so that would be weird, like the rest of their relationship wasn’t weird) they were standing so close to each other they were practically fused together.

As Nico scanned the crowd wondering what he would have to do to convince Will that their hotel room was a better option he heard Jason comment without much hope, “Now we just need to find a table.”

“From the looks of it, I’m pretty sure the only free tables are the ones with practically naked men dancing on them,” Percy commented sounding far more enthused by that prospect than Nico would have liked.

That was the problem with doing things with Percy. He always seemed most excited by the things that Nico found the most unpleasant. Nico still loved Percy as a friend, but it just made things challenging at times. “I personally don’t have a problem with that but-”

Percy let the statement hang in the air unfinished, his meaning clear enough. In the past, Nico would have been quick to state firmly and clearly exactly why that wouldn’t be happening, but he had learned better. With Percy, most of the time, the more someone protested about something the more likely Percy was to talk them into it or at least drag them along. Most of the time it was just better to keep his mouth shut.

Nico noticed Will sip his drink from the corner of his eye and heard him make a satisfied humming sound as he did (that probably shouldn’t have turned Nico on, but it did). Will lowered his glass with one hand and squeezed Nico’s hand reassuringly with the other before offering, “How about we at least try to find one without a go-go dancer first.”

Percy probably would have had something to say about that, but Will gave Nico’s hand a gentle tug before starting to lead them through the crowd forcing Percy to follow without comment. Well, it was either that or Jason had done something Nico hadn’t seen to keep Percy from continuing to mouth off. Nico doubted Jason would be completely fine with sitting at a table with a half-naked guy dancing on it either. Either way, if Percy stayed silent on the topic Nico would call it a win.

Still looking around at the bar, Nico had the terrifying thought that the place actually looked more crowded than it had when they had first arrived. The place seriously looked and felt like it was about a half a dozen guys away from being the equivalent of a can crammed with gay sardines.

Nico really had tried to convince Will that they should just stay in their hotel room for the night. That had been an interesting learning experience because apparently there was a downside in being open and adventurous in the bedroom. Nico apparently couldn’t use the promise of something sexual as an incentive for Will to go along with something he wanted. He tried, and Will had actually laughed because as he stated, “ _they would do that if they went to the bar or not”._

Nico really didn’t want to be at Gladiators at all. He definitely didn’t want to spend the whole time trying to look for a table.

Nico gave a quick look at the guys sitting at the nearby tables and even the bar behind them. He saw a few guys with tattoos indicating they had served in the Legion, but the crowd was clearly intermixed, and Nico didn’t see anyone that he would consider a challenge.

“I could scare people away from a table,” Nico offered more to Will than anyone else. After all, he didn’t really care if he had Jason and Percy’s permission, but if Will didn’t like his behavior it could lead to a rather boring night.

Instead of immediately scoffing at the suggestion or giving Nico a disapproving look like Nico was prepared for, Will actually seemed to think about it. The bar must have been even more crowded than even Nico had noticed. “Let’s call that plan B,” Will offered with all seriousness than Nico would have never expected.

Just like that and without any further comment they started trudging their way through the crowd in search of a table. Nico didn’t look behind him, but he assumed that Percy and Jason were there. Either that or they decided to start groping at each other in the nearest dark corner they could find. If their last visit to Gladiators was any indication, it was probably the later. Nico had Will which was really all that mattered, and if Percy and Jason did decide to sneak off, Nico was honestly appreciative that they did so silently.

The crowd was almost impossible to move through even with Will leading the way (he was a rather imposing presence if you didn’t know him considering he was well over six foot). Still, it felt like it took an hour to move an inch, and Nico wasn’t blind, he saw the way guys would eye Will hungrily as they passed. Nico didn’t punch a single one of them in the face, so he was pretty proud of himself because he definitely wanted to.

It took forever to get near a single table, and each time they did they found the table in question already occupied. They got a few offers from table’s occupants to join them, but they never took any of the strangers up on it, of course. The whole process was making Nico dislike the bar more than he already did. Pushing through the crowd meant a whole lot of physical contact with complete strangers which Nico loathed. Since Nico was on the shorter side, he had to shield his drink the best he could as they walked so that it didn’t spill when he was bumped by a random passerby. Worst of all, the one person Nico actually wanted to get close to, Will, he couldn’t because Will was too occupied leading the way. It was borderline intolerable, and as they were turned away from the fifth or sixth table he was ready to beg Will to just go back to the hotel, so they could cuddle.

“There was talk of just sitting at one of the go-go dancer’s tables?” Jason asked as they were turned away from yet another occupied table. His voice sounded just as annoyed and disappointed as Nico felt.

Nico didn’t actually turn back to look at Percy and Jason. Hearing Jason talk reminded Nico that the two other demigods were still in fact a half a step behind them. Until that moment Nico had been more focused on Will and not letting some drunk idiot bump into him and spill his drink everywhere. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Nico was a little curious if Jason and Percy had finally given up the pretext and denial and finally just held hands. He doubted it, because as they were so fond of saying they weren’t a couple, which was why he didn’t look, but he was still curious.

“I think we are calling that plan C,” Nico heard Percy replied to Jason with a matter-of-fact tone.

An incredibly tall and burly guy pushed past, and Nico only barely managed to stop himself from wearing his own drink as he heard a soft groan come from behind him. If he had to guess from the sound he figured it was Jason. The exact cause he couldn’t be sure, but he figured it had something to do with the guy that had gone bumping past. “Well, maybe we should consider plan C,” Jason suggested. He sounded even more annoyed that he had only moments before. Maybe the guy had stepped on him.

“You’re forgetting plan B,” Nico called back smirking a little as he did. When he had originally suggested it, he had meant it as a joke, but now it didn’t actually sound like a horrible idea.

“No,” Percy and Jason replied in unison. Nico really hated it when they did that (and it totally proved that they were in fact a couple). “We’re not.”

Nico didn’t turn so that his two supposed friends could appreciate just how hard he rolled his eyes at them. Whenever Percy had a truly horrible idea Nico was supposed to just go along with it, but they both dismissed his ideas out of hand. _How was that fair_? The fact that he heard Will snicker even before he stopped to look back at Percy and Jason over Nico’s head only annoyed him more. “It’s so cute how couple-y you two are,” Will cooed “You even talk in unison!”

Nico heard both Jason and Percy sputter in surprise as Will called them out for being the one thing they both seemed determined to deny despite their own behavior that kept outing them. Nico wasn’t sure if it was hearing Percy and Jason sputter pitifully or seeing Will grin back at the two teasingly that brightened his mood, but either way he felt himself grin.

Will was good. That shouldn’t have been a surprise, but when Nico felt Will squeeze his hand and noticed him quickly wink in his direction letting Nico know Will was having fun at their friends’ expense Nico was reminded of just how smooth his boyfriend could be.

Nico turned to see Percy and Jason were standing shoulder to shoulder (because the cowards hadn’t stopped lying to themselves and everyone else about being a couple by just holding hands). Even in the low lit bar, Nico could tell they were both pale as they worked and failed to deny the obvious. “We’re not-” Jason started, but even he didn’t sound entirely convinced about whatever he was about to say.

Jason let himself falter seeming to realize the lie he was about to say and got lost in his own thoughts. Nico watched with amusement as Percy looked to Jason, realize that he was out of denying that they were, in fact, a couple, a weird couple in a weird arrangement, but a couple none the less, and quickly tried to recover. Percy fumbled, getting out a few random meaningless sounds before sighing, taking a moment to re-collect himself before restarting with a tiny bit more grace than before. “Yeah, we’re not-” before Percy could get out the rest of his lame denials that Nico had heard before and didn’t for one second believe a tall guy with lots of tattoos, dark hair, and a general punk rock style Nico very much appreciated walked into Percy and all but knocked him over.

Nico watched as there was a moment of fumbling on both Percy and the tattooed guys part. He could have probably stepped in to help but, well, Percy was a capable soldier. Percy just barely caught his drink before he spilled it everywhere. The tattooed guy who was carrying a drink in each hand had a harder time righting himself but managed to do so before Percy. A fact Nico filed away to tease Percy about latter.

A few seconds of fumbling before the tattooed guy recovered enough to look at Percy and growled “Hey, watch-” the guy suddenly stopped mid-sentence with a look of surprise as he seemed to actually see Percy for the first time. His tone as well as his demeanor visibly shifted as he tilted his head to one side and questioned, “Percy?”

Percy looked up at the guy from his own fumbling with a mix of surprise and familiarity. “Rory!” he exclaimed like a greeting with a smile. Nico hadn’t been aware of how tense he had become until it became clear that Percy knew the tattooed guy, and he started to relax.

Gladiators didn’t seem like the type of place prone to random fist fights over something as stupid as two guys bumping into each other, but it was New Rome, and the guy did have a visible Legion tattoo on his arm intermingled with the others. Soldiers could be a mixed bunch, some had mastered their own emotions while others still struggled and could be quick to violence. Percy could manage to stumble into the most absurd levels of trouble without trying or more accurately thinking, but that didn’t mean Nico wouldn’t come to his defense if necessary. That being said, he was glad it didn’t come to that. He doubted Will would have approved of some of his methods.

“Hey!” Percy exclaimed excitedly.

“What are you doing here?” The tattooed guy questioned with a smile.

 _So, they must know each other_ , Nico realized as he watched the exchange.

Yes, he had visited New Rome a few times over the last year to see his sister, Reyna, Percy and Annabeth. Actually, he had probably visited the Roman city more than Jason and Piper had since the start of the school year. Unlike Jason and Piper, Nico wasn’t big on the socializing when he visited. He was usually in the city for some sort of official business, and if he could see people in the course of that business they either came by his hotel room (Reyna) or he visited them where they lived (Hazel, Percy, and Annabeth). He had visited Percy at the café once, but it was at the end of Percy’s shift, and Nico was there no more than a minute before leaving. For all Nico knew the tattooed guy could be one of Percy’s closest friends in New Rome.

“We’re showing our friend, Will, around town,” Percy answered with a quick gesture to where Will was standing.

Will lifted a hand a gave a small wave, “Hi.”

The tattooed guy seemed to take Percy’s explanation at face value and nodded an acknowledgment in Will’s direction. Nico couldn’t help but be at least slightly annoyed, mostly at Percy. On the long list of reasons Nico could think of for why they were currently visiting Gladiators, showing Will around New Rome wasn’t there. It wasn’t worth an argument or anything, but it still annoyed him. He grumbled just audibly enough to be heard, “Don’t blame Will for this.”

The comment was directed at Percy more than anyone else, and Percy clearly knew it not that he seemed bothered. Percy actually waved a hand dismissively in Nico’s direction. “Don’t mind Nico,” he told the tattooed guy. “He is just cranky because we haven’t found a table, and we won’t let him scare some poor guys away from one, so we can steal it.”

“Scaring people off isn’t a bad plan,” the tattooed guy admitted sincerely. Actually, he sounded impressed, like he had never thought of it but truly liked the idea now that he heard it.

“Thank you,” Nico interjected. He still didn’t know who this tattooed guy was, but he was starting to really like him. Also, his tattoos were nicely done, and Nico was thinking of getting another one so having a chance to talk to the guy could be helpful. He needed to find a good tattoo place in New Rome.

The guy gave the four of them a quick look before going on. “If you guys want you can come join us at our table,” he offered, poking his thumb over his shoulder pointing somewhere although the exact where really wasn’t clear. “I mean, it will be a tight fit, but it’s something.”

Nico was actually pleasantly surprised when Percy looked over his shoulder at Nico, Will, and Jason for confirmation before turning back to the tattooed guy and agreed, “Yeah, sure. Lead the way.”

The guy turned and started through the crowd, and Percy followed. Jason was right on Percy’s heels, and Nico and Will were close behind. Moving through the crowd hadn’t gotten any easier in the few minutes they had been still, so it was slow progress.

They made it only a few feet when Nico felt Will tap his shoulder lightly before asking quietly, “And who is this?”

Nico looked ahead toward the tattooed guy in the lead. He had been told a few stories about people Percy worked with or had classes with. A few names even came to mind, but if he had been given descriptions of any of them he couldn’t remember. For all he knew, the tattooed guy could have been Santa Clause. “No idea,” he admitted.

“Rory,” Jason interjected as he glanced back at Nico and Will. He must have overheard their exchange although how over the thud of the music playing overhead, Nico didn’t know. “He works at the café with Percy,” he explained.

 _Well, that answers that_ , Nico thought to himself. He tried to remember if there was anything Percy had mentioned anything about Rory but couldn’t. He honestly didn’t listen careful enough to the few stories Percy has told to know anything for sure.

A wave of especially rowdy guys crossed their path causing them to stop in their tracks. Nico glared at the group, but still noticed Percy turn to Rory before he heard him ask, “Who’s we exactly?”

“Me, Harry, although he disappeared an hour or so ago so who knows,” Rory began to list the others that were at his table (or at least that was what Nico assumed he was doing). “And Cal.”

Nico would have expected Percy to give the guy crap for having not been invited to what sounded like a boy’s night out. After all, that is exactly what Percy would have done if it had been Nico talking. But that wasn’t how Percy reacted. Actually, Percy acted weird. Nico saw him glance back at where Nico stood like he was concerned or worried about something. “Oh,” Percy exclaimed so quietly Nico only just heard him.

Oh, Nico didn’t like that reaction one bit. There was no way it could mean anything good, and try as he might he couldn’t remember Percy mentioning someone named Cal. He really wished he had paid more attention when Percy had spoken about work.

He already wasn’t in love with the mere idea of being at a bar at all. The fact that the bar was absurdly crowded didn’t help with that. He wasn’t going to walk into one of the crazy situations that seemed to just happen around Percy blind. He went to ask the simple question of who exactly this Cal was, but a whole slew of things worked against him. The group of rowdy guys finally passed, Percy and Rory started pushing through the crowd again, and Jason let himself slip back so he was walking between Nico and Will.

“So,” Jason started. He sounded just as nervous as Percy had looked which only managed to make Nico more concerned. “Cal is going to hit on you,” he explained matter-of-factly before pausing to look between Nico and Will thoughtfully. “Both of you, and he isn’t going to be subtle about it,” Jason said before simultaneously patting both Nico and Will on the shoulder. “Consider yourself warned.”

“I’m not going to like that,” Will declared. When Nico looked around Jason at Will he found his boyfriend staring at Jason with a look that seemed to be a mix of horror and disgust.

“Yeah, no one really does,” Jason admitted as a faraway look. It was like he was suddenly remembering something traumatic.

“If he gets handsy just whack him in the nose,” Percy offered. He sounded far too amused with himself as he looked back to grin more at Jason than anyone else. “That usually deters him.”

“Are we talking about a person or a dog?” Nico grumbled not expecting anyone to respond to the question or even hear it.

“A bit of both,” Rory chimed in with a grin similar to Percy’s.

Nico didn’t really like the sound of that, and one quick glance in Will’s direction told him his boyfriend wasn’t thrilled either. Neither of them actually said anything because at this point there wasn’t a purpose. At least they were in it (whatever it ended up being) together.

They managed to move a little faster through the crowd as they made their way around the edge of the dance floor. Nico didn’t actually realize they were coming up to the table at first because there was a serious crowd gathered around. As they got closer, Nico made out more of the details. Around one of the high-top tables was about a dozen or so guys standing around each one looking especially captivated. Thanks to the fates cruelly making Nico shorter than most they were almost on top of the table before he saw the guy sitting there as the center of the crowd’s attention. He had jet black hair, impossibly pale skin, and a bored expression. Nico knew that many would probably classify the guy as attractive, the crowd around the table was proof of that, but Nico just didn’t see it.

The guy at the table somehow noticed them through his crowd of admirers and seemed to light up. “Oh, finally my drink!” he declared rather overdramatically. “You’ve been gone forever!”

“I’ve been gone five minutes,” Nico heard Rory grumble as he pushed through the crowd of guys roughly. Percy followed, but not with as much force as the Rory guy did. “You have the attention span of a goldfish,” Rory told the guy at the table dismissively. Nico watched as he deposited one of the cups in his hands in front of the guy with so much force some of its liquid contents splashed onto the table. Nico got the distinct impression Rory wasn’t a huge fan of the guy at the table (Cal?).

None of the guys around the table seemed to be motivated to move which was annoying considering they were trying to actually get to the chairs around it. Rory seemed to notice it and appeared to be even more annoyed by it than Nico. Nico watched the guy glare at each of the guys in the crowd in turn before declaring, “You all can run along now.”

The guy at the table sipped at his drink, hummed with satisfaction before lifting his hand and literally shooed the guys milling around like some bored royal. His fan club finally took a hint with several of them making audible groans as they moved away from the table. “I see you managed to find friends with my drink.”

Nico was already sure he didn’t like this Cal guy, and the way Will hesitated to step forward to claim a space around the table he was feeling something similar. Unfortunately, Percy and Jason clearly felt differently as neither of them hesitated to take a place at the table. “Hey Percy,” He greeted Percy friendly enough but was quick to turn to Jason with a bright smile, “Hello, Jason, looking as good as ever.”

“Hey Cal,” Jason returned the greeting with nowhere near the level of enthusiasm Cal had had as he took a seat next to Percy.

Nico wasn’t going to point it out or anything, but two things stood out to him as Jason took a seat at the table. One, he seemed to carefully sit on the side of Percy that meant Percy was sitting between him and this Cal guy. That really wasn’t reassuring Nico about this whole situation, but that was besides the point. More importantly, and Jason really did try to be subtle about it, but the son of Jupiter repositioned his chair, so it was much closer to Percy before he actually sat down. He couldn’t help but think how ridiculous his friends really were, but at least that meant he and Will would get more space on their side of the table.

 _There was no getting out of this_ , Nico told himself. Still, when he looked toward Will he had hoped that his boyfriend would look like he wanted to escape, but no such luck. Will looked slightly wary but determined. _There was definitely no getting out of it_. Nico slipped his hand into Will’s once again before taking their seats as far from the others at the small table as possible.

Cal seemed to notice Nico and Will which was disappointing but impressive considering Nico didn’t think the guy was ever going to look away from Jason. He eyed them longer than Nico would have liked before turning to Percy and asking, “Who’s your new friends?”

“This is Nico, Ambassador for Pluto,” Percy began to introduce them. Even going as far to gesture at Nico and Will as he talked. “And his _boyfriend_ , Will.” Percy stressed the word boyfriend more than Nico had ever heard in his life. He knew Will was actually his boyfriend, but the way Percy stressed the word even had him wondering about it. Was it some kind of joke or did boyfriend have some hidden meaning? “Will is visiting New Rome to check out the university.” Percy looked at the other end of the table where Nico and Will were sitting as he gestured at the guy that had been sitting at the table, “This is Cal.” Percy actually turned and gave the Cal guy the most serious look Nico had ever seen on Percy’s face as he continued, “And he’s going to _behave_.”

“I always behave,” Cal replied dismissively as he waved his hand at Percy. He turned and smiled at Nico and Will. Nico would never tell Will this. but the first thing that came to Nico’s mind was Apollo. The expression the Cal guy was directing at them was so similar to what Nico remembered of Apollo it was a little unnerving. Most of the children and legacies of Apollo he had met had looked sort of like Will (not as attractive, obviously). They had all been blonde and usually (but not always) tan with some shade of blue eyes. The Cal guy was pretty much the exact opposite of that with fair skin and dark hair. His eyes appeared to be a light color, so he at least had that going. But it was Apollo, Nico wouldn’t have been surprised if the guy sitting across the table from them was somehow related to Apollo. He gave a little wave that somehow managed to be both suggestive and extremely gay. Honestly, it was kind of impressive. The guy should have been proud. “Hello there.”

“Hello,” Will replied without the same level of enthusiasm Will normally had when meeting someone new. Nico was even less enthusiastic about the meeting and didn’t try to hide it, so he just nodded in acknowledgment of the guy.

The guy looked from Will to Nico curiously long enough that Nico was seriously contemplating hitting him. Considering how Nico could see both Jason and Percy glancing nervously at the guy, Nico was right to be annoyed. He thought for sure the guy was going to zero in on Will because he seemed like the type, and if he was into Jason there was no way he wouldn’t be interested in Will. Will was a million times more attractive than Jason.

It was strange, but the guy did the exact opposite. Nico saw his attention focus on him. “You I recognize from your underwear ads,” he declared proudly like that was some sort of accomplishment.

The Bellomi ads were national, and Nico had appeared in at least a dozen of them in the last four months. Nico wasn’t going to tell Will and was glad that Will didn’t see it during his most recent visit to the city, but one of his ads was up in Time Square. At this point, Nico was more surprised when people hadn’t seen at least one of them.

Someone was bound to recognize him because of that. It had happened last time, and Nico had told Will when they had been back at the hotel, and he had been trying to think of any reason why they shouldn’t go out that it was likely going to happen again. At the time Will had dismissed it like it wasn’t a big deal even though Nico knew Will still didn’t love when the modeling was brought up.

From the discontented little huff Nico heard Will issue, he could tell now that it was actually happening Will didn’t think it wasn’t a big deal. “Oh, I was really hoping we would get through the night without having to talk about that,” Will grumbled. When Nico turned to look at him, he found Will actually pouting.

Nico just rolled his eyes. At some point, he was just going to have to take Will to a photo shoot with him. Maybe if Will saw how the set was all but cleared for Nico’s shots it would stop him from being so uncomfortable about the whole thing. There was nothing he could do about getting recognized, so Will was just going to have to find solace in the fact that Nico would always go home to him and only him.

Cal didn’t seem to care about Will’s comment although his attention had turned to be focused solely on him. “And you-” he declared as he pointed at Will, “-are just as pretty just in a very complimentary way.” He sat back in his chair and examined them. Nico was prepared for leering, but that wasn’t what the guy was doing. It was more like he was assessing some complicated pieces of art. “You two are almost contrasting, it’s absolutely stunning.”

Nico had absolutely no idea how to interpret that comment it was just so bizarre. He glanced toward Will thinking maybe he had a response because he was usually better with people than Nico, but Will was just staring back at him with a confused expression. Percy’s other co-worker, Rory, saved them by speaking in their turn. He looked at Cal dead on with a flat expression and declared matter-of-factly, “You realize how weird you sound when you say shit like that, right?”

“I’m saying they are an attractive couple,” Cal was quick to defend as he turned to Rory looking truly confused. “Why is that weird?”

“It’s not,” Nico heard Percy answer before Rory could. When he looked at his friend he saw Percy sipping his drink and shaking his head disapprovingly.

“It’s the invite to a threesome that’s coming that is weird,” Jason added much to Nico’s horror. He had gotten better about handling interacting with people in general, but that was so far outside of his comfort zone the instinct to shadow-travel far way was hard to suppress.

“I would never!” Cal exclaimed with such over-the-top outrage in Jason’s direction Nico was positive Jason was right to think that was coming. “I mean you and Piper yeah, obviously I’m going to invite you two to a threesome. Have you seen you two? But that is a totally different situation,” he dismissed quickly. He clearly figured everyone felt the way he did about Jason and Piper, but Nico absolutely did not get it, and it wasn’t just the being gay thing because he wouldn’t invite Jason to bed either. The way he could see Will scrunch up his face in disgust Will felt similarly. “I would never even consider soiling a couple so obviously blessed by my father’s hand.”

 _That was an odd comment_ , Nico thought immediately. He didn’t get a chance to think about it more than that before Will voiced the most reasonable question that came to Nico’s mind, “Your father?”

There was a lot of activity around the table. Too much activity considering the simplicity of the question. Jason sounded like he had tried to go to say something but had been in the middle of taking a sip of his drink, so he choked. Percy pushed his drink out of his way with so much force Nico was surprised the cocktail didn’t topple over as Percy leaned in over the table like he was trying to physically put himself in between Nico, Will, and the Cal guy. “Oh, let’s not-“

Cal shooed Percy out of the way before he could finish. “Isn’t it obvious?” He questioned, and as if to punctuate his point, just as he finished his question a set of wings flashed into existence behind him. They were reminiscent of the wings on angels in every Renaissance painting. They were large, feathery, and may even have been white, but they flashed out of existence before Nico could really be sure of their color. “Cupid.”

Nico growled. He didn’t mean to. He hadn’t even thought about it. It was like a reflexive response to hearing the love god mentioned. No zombies or ghosts seemed to have appeared so there was at least that. He didn’t know what he would have done next because just the mention of Eros filled him with a rage so few things did. The interaction with Eros was barely anything in terms of violence compared to some of the other things that happened to Nico in his life, but to have his darkest secret pulled out into the light in front of a practical stranger. Nico would never be able to forgive that invasion.

Then Will’s hand came to rest on top of Nico’s, and the red fog that had filled his vision seemed to clear as the rage within him subsided. “I know,” Will whispered as a reassurance. Just the sound of his voice brought Nico to a new level of calm. “But aggressing toward children of love gods rarely ends well.”

Will was right, and Nico knew it, but he didn’t like it. Still, he eased back in his chair slightly. It had more to do with the calming effect of Will’s touch than his words of reason. He saw the Cal guy was giving him a curious look, but he couldn’t care. The guy should just be happy Nico hadn’t conjured a zombie to murder him. There was no way Nico was ever explaining the story of his meeting with Eros to anyone else ever again.

Something must have read on his face. If it was his anger or something else Nico wasn’t sure, but Jason apparently felt the need to step in. The son of Jupiter put down his drink with a pronounced click before leaning over the table a bit. Even distracted by his own emotions, Nico couldn’t miss how Jason put his hand on Percy’s shoulder and kept it there even as he talked. Nico watched Jason turn toward Cal and Rory and explained, “Nico and I had a bad experience with Eros on a quest.” Jason said it like he was alluding to some truly scandalous story. Nico guessed depending on one’s point of view it could be, but Nico knew Jason didn’t see it that way. Still, Jason seemed to focus a little more on Cal before adding, “No offense.”

“Who hasn’t?” Cal declared dismissively before picking up his drink. From the looks of it, the guy managed to drain half his drink in one long swallow. Even considering Nico’s inherent desire to dislike the guy he had to admit he was impressed.

Cal returned his drink to the table and wiped at the side of his mouth with the back of his hand. It was a very graceless action, but the guy managed to make it look far classier. Nico wasn’t going to mention it, but Cal could easily fit in on any of the photoshoots he had been on. Cal’s glass almost toppled over as he set it down, and Cal didn’t seem to care. Nico didn’t think the guy really would have to wait long for some guy to buy him a new one if he needed it. Cal continued talking without a care, “Isn’t that just one of those demigod things? Everyone’s dad can be a dick.”

“My dad is great,” Rory stated matter-of-factly in direct contradiction of Cal’s thesis. The guy sipped at his own drink as he looked to the other guy with an almost confrontational expression.

“Oh, my gods! You know what I meant!” Cal declared far too dramatically for the given situation as he smacked the table nearly causing everyone’s drinks to topple over. Nico had to reach out to steady his and Will’s drinks before they could spill across the table. “Everyone’s godly parent can be a dick.”

Nico couldn’t help but think that was actually a pretty accurate statement. It was definitely a matter of degrees. He would take Hades as a dad over Zeus any day of the week. And there was probably some variation in each god’s general dick type behavior, but it was still there. He never would have thought he would hear something so poetic from a random guy in a gay bar.

“Poseidon is actually pretty cool,” Percy declared in clear disagreement because of course, Percy would disagree. “I don’t think-”

“Oh gods,” Nico had to interrupt Percy before he actually tried to explain how Poseidon was actually a really cool guy, and the best of the gods to be a demigod child of. He could not understand how after all the horrible things Percy had gone through because of the gods he could still be so pro-gods in general and pro-Poseidon specifically. Nico slapped both hands down on the table and leaned in a little in hopes that Percy would take him seriously even though it was Percy, and he really should have known better. “Percy, before you finish that sentence can I introduce you to some choice stories from Greek Mythology.”

Off the top of his head, Nico could think of at least a half a dozen stories from Greek Mythology that painted Poseidon in a less than favorable light. There was turning into a Stallion to have sex with Demeter which wasn’t great. There was also the Caeneus and Medusa fiascos which were pretty horrible.

Percy looked genuinely offended which was a little sad. Nico would have figured considering Percy had been with Annabeth for so long he would have picked up at least a little Greek Mythology.

“See!” The Cal guy smacked the table so hard Nico saw Jason just barely catch his drink before it spilled everywhere. The guy ignored Percy who was pouting at the moment (which really was Jason’s problem) and pointed at Will with just an absurd level of excitement. “Who’s your godly parent?”

“Oh,” Will hopped up a little and looked around the table with clear surprise that someone was actually talking to him. It was such a sweet and sincere reaction that Nico would swear no other demigod could ever manage. It was probably the most adorable thing Nico had ever and will ever see. He actually had to grab his drink and sip at it to hide what would probably come across as a doe-eyed grin. There was just no way Percy not going to notice and tease him for something sappy like that. Still, if Nico was going to take a sip of his drink every time Will did something beyond adorable he was going to need to start ordering weaker drinks. After Will apparently confirmed that the Cal guy was, in fact, speaking to him he managed an answer although he somehow managed to sound uncertain, “Ah Apollo.”

“So, you know how it is,” Cal declared without questioning Will’s uncertainty on that. Will’s reaction was priceless. He clearly had a moment where he wanted to argue. Will wasn’t nearly as bad as Percy, but he still had a certain level of pride around being a child of Apollo. The urge to argue subsided quickly before he even got out a sound, then he sighed and slouched back in his chair before silently taking a sip of his drink.

Nico took a sip from his own drink. Will really had to stop being so cute.

Will’s reaction apparently didn’t matter to the Cal guy at all because he continued talking without taking a breath. “My point is dickly godly parents are one of the few things all of us share so why should we hold our parent’s shit against each other?” The guy was clearly proud of his line of thought as he looked around the table for agreement. He probably would have phrased a lot of it differently, but Nico couldn’t deny that the guy had some good points. He nodded in a show of agreement and from the corner of his eye he saw the others do so as well. “Keep the good and leave the bad is what I say.”

The table went quiet as everyone seemed to take in the guy’s words. The only person that didn’t seem thoughtful about it was Cal. Nico watched the guy pick up his drink, drain the remaining half of his drink, and slammed the empty glass down on the table. He then preceded to prop both elbows on the table and brought his face to rest in his hand. Looking at Nico and Will he declared with awe, “You two really are the most attractive couple I have ever seen.”

The guy sounded so sincere it was more than a little weird and Will clearly felt the same way. Nico and Will shared a look before looking at Percy because it was his co-worker, but Percy just shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “We need champagne to celebrate,” Cal stated firmly popping off his elbows as he did. Nico wasn’t even sure what exactly they would be celebrating. The fact that Nico and Will were aesthetically pleasing when they were standing or sitting near each other? Cal began looking around them frantically as he started snapping his fingers in the air demandingly, “WAITER!”

Part of Nico’s brain, probably the part that kept him alive in the heat of battle, told him to run. Grab Will’s hand and shadow travel as far away as possible. He didn’t do it, but it was a challenge to resist the urge. He felt Will lean in a little closer to him before he felt Will’s breath on his skin. “Was this what it was like last time?” Will questioned in a whisper.

“Not exactly,” Nico admitted. The last time they had come to Gladiators it had been an eventful night in several ways, but it had been very different. “But sort of.”

“Weird,” Will commented before shifting back into his own seat, “But fun.”   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


	70. In to the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday friends!
> 
> Few important notes about this chapter:  
> 1) Both this chapter and the next chapter are heavily Jercy oriented. If that isn't your thing just skip this chapter and chapter 71. You don't need to comment telling me you don't like Jercy or that I don't write enough Percabeth or whatever. You are allowed to feel that way but telling me about it isn't going to change what I plan to write so lets just not do that. Thanks :)  
> 2) SMUT WARNING- While there is no actual smut in this chapter there are references to it. You have been warned, continue reading at your own risk.  
> 3) I am aware this chapter sort of drops off at the end. This chapter and chapter 71 were originally one chapter but it started to get really long (+40 pages) so I needed to break it up and this was the most natural stopping point. So think of this chapter ending with a to be continued.
> 
> Now that all of that is out of the way, enjoy!

Percy really didn’t know what he had expected going to Gladiators for the second time. Maybe he had expected that it would be a lot like their last visit there, during their first bro’s weekend. Percy guessed it was a little like that, but maybe not in the ways he had expected.

They had an awesome waiter again because they ended up with the same waiter from last time. Nico’s theory on that was he was the only waiter willing to deal with them, but Percy thought it was because the guy was hoping that Leo would show up.

After a few rum and cokes drank in rapid succession, Nico had offered to retrieve Leo for the guy which was pretty funny. The waiter was all for it, but he wasn’t aware it would involve Nico shadow-traveling to New York and kidnapping an unexpecting Leo. Percy knew he didn’t help the matter any because he totally was encouraging it. Will was the one that played the voice of reason and killed the idea. Percy couldn’t even call Will a wet-blanket because he talked Nico out of it by looking at him straight faced and told him if he was all tired from shadow-travel they wouldn’t be able to have sex that night. That worked with Nico pretty quickly, and Jason almost did a spit-take.

Between Nico opening a tab with the bar, Cal continuing to order champagne from every waiter that passed within earshot, and all the random dudes that kept sending them drinks, Percy was surprised that after a few hours any of them were able to sit upright. He couldn’t speak for Nico or Jason, but Percy was definitely drunker then he had been during the original Bro’s weekend.

At some point, Nico crossed that line in regards to intoxication where he clearly didn’t care about privacy anymore. That had been pretty fun their last time at Gladiators because Nico had started telling stories about his sex life that Percy would never have gotten him to tell when he was sober. With Will being there Nico crossing that line consisted of getting more and more touchy with Will until the couple was making out. So that was kind of in line with what happened during their last visit to Gladiators, but at least Percy and Jason had had the decency to leave the group to make out. Nico and Will were practically groping at each other at the table.

It wasn’t that Percy actually cared. He was happy his friend was definitely getting laid tonight. Although, if he was being honest, Percy didn’t think Nico really ever had an issue getting some action. With the two making out in his periphery he did feel weirdly jealous. Not that he was interested in Nico or Will because that would just be gross. But he was all for getting some action. The last time they had come to Gladiators he and Jason were already half-naked and touching each other in a closet by that point in the night.

Jason wasn’t a big fan of PDA because of course, he _had_ to have that in common with Annabeth. The whole thing the last time they were at Gladiators was a total anomaly for Jason even though Percy hadn’t known it at the time. It really wasn’t a big deal because Annabeth wasn’t a big fan of PDA either, so Percy was used to it, but some making out would have been nice.

Since they had arrived at Gladiators and had a few drinks Jason had relaxed a bit. He had stopped giving Percy a look or nudging him when Percy draped his arm over his shoulders or around the back of his chair. Even better, as time passed, and Jason had a few more drinks his hand first landed on Percy’s knee and then slowly worked up until it rested pretty high on Percy’s thigh. Percy definitely didn’t have any complaints about that. 

On the plus side, Nico and Will making out didn’t seem to deter guys from sending any of them drinks. Actually, weirdly, it seemed like more guys were sending them drinks, and they may have drawn a bit of a crowd. Percy was happy for the drinks and otherwise didn’t really pay Nico and Will much attention.

Not everyone at their table seemed interested in following Percy’s example and surprisingly it wasn’t Jason. Cal let out a heavy sigh as he propped his chin up in his hands and gazed at the couple in awe. “I just love seeing couples so in love,” Cal declared.

Yeah, Nico and Will were definitely in love, but Percy was pretty sure the fact that Nico looked like he was about five seconds away from climbing into Will’s lap wasn’t a sign of that. Cal was a great guy and everything, but from working with him Percy had quickly figured out for a child of a love god he had a definition of love that was pretty different from Percy’s own. It didn’t bother Percy any, and Nico and Will had no idea what was going on, so he just snickered to himself and rubbed lazy circles on Jason’s shoulder.

Rory leaned forward on the table and used his beer bottle to point toward Nico and Will. “We should curtain those two off and charge admission,” he commented matter-of-factly.

 _Hey, that wasn’t a half bad idea_ , Percy thought, but one look at Jason told him that idea wasn’t going to fly. Shame, sure Nico wouldn’t approve the next day, but Percy was pretty sure Nico wouldn’t approve of some of his own behavior either, and it wasn’t like Will would care.

“Seeing such affection, such passion, fills me with such hope and joy,” Cal declared seemingly oblivious of Rory’s suggestion. So that wasn’t all that different from a normal shift at the café.

“Sure,” Percy agreed with a confused smile. Watching two of his friends make out didn’t fill him with hope or joy. It was more like awkwardness and misplaced jealousy, but to each their own, he guessed, “If you say so.”

Cal ignored Percy which was pretty in line with working at the café too. Instead, he turned to Rory with a serious expression and informed, “I’m kind of horny.”

Percy heard Jason grumble something he was sure was disapproving or shocked even though he couldn’t actually make out the words. Rory snorted as he sipped his beer. He clearly wasn’t as taken aback by Cal’s comment, but it was pretty par for the course for Cal. Rory returned his beer to the table before replying to Cal matter-of-factly, “Makes sense considering the amateur porno going on right there.” Rory pointed toward Nico and Will, who were still making out. Percy could have imagined it, but he thought he heard a little moan or whimper come from the couple’s side of the table.

Cal turned completely to Rory, apparently completely giving up on his admiration of Nico and Will’s wildly inappropriate level of ongoing PDA. “Want to go screw around at my place?” Cal asked Rory dead serious.

Percy had worked with Cal long enough that he thought he had heard every outrageous thing the guy could say, but that was so unexpected even Percy almost choked on his drink. Actually, the only person that didn’t seem surprised was Rory which was even more surprising. Percy always got the impression that Rory could just barely tolerate Cal. Sure, Cal obviously flirted with Rory, but Cal flirted with everybody, so Percy never thought that met anything. Rory seemed to actually be thinking about it which just filled Percy with questions. The only problem, Percy had no idea which one he wanted to ask first.

“Or we could go to the alley if you want,” Cal continued with his offer just as matter-of-fact as ever. Percy watched Cal shrug casually before adding, “Dealers choice.”

Rory was going to say no or tell Cal to fuck off, Percy was sure of it because that was the kind of guy Rory was. Of everyone at work, Percy liked Rory the most probably because he was the guy that talked the least and never tried to steal Percy’s tips. Most shifts when they worked together they would bond by snickering behind their co-workers’ backs (mainly Cal’s). Also, Cal just didn’t strike Percy as Rory’s type. He had figured the guy was straight for the longest time. It wasn’t until Hazel had shown up at the café with one of Nico’s ads in hand, shoving it in everyone’s faces and proudly declaring that was her brother, and Rory made some joke about Pluto making his kids pretty that Percy figured out he wasn’t.

Rory shrugged. “Sure, but we’re going to my place,” he declared casually. Percy was actually stunned speechless as he watched Rory pick up his drink and take a long sip before continuing, “It’s closer, and the last time I went to your place I kept finding feathers everywhere for days.”

“That works for me,” Cal declared happily as he hopped off his chair. He picked up his drink and drained it in one long swallow. He returned his glass to the table with a noticeable click before Percy watched him turn to where Percy and Jason were sitting as rather surprised observers. “I would invite you both along,” Cal stated apologetically although some of his sincerity was lost with the cocky grin he was wearing. “But I try not to screw around with co-workers,” he explained.

“Rory’s a co-worker,” Percy pointed out without really thinking. It wasn’t like he actually cared, and he certainly didn’t want to be invited along. Nico, if Nico was paying attention, would have said something about how Percy never thought before he talked, and Jason would have probably silently agreed, but Percy was just taken aback by what was going on.

“True,” Cal agreed unfazed as he clapped a hand casually on Jason’s shoulder before he continued to talk, this time seemingly only to Percy. “But I’m sure Jason here wants to make your first time taking a d-” Cal paused. Percy didn’t know what Cal was going to say, but from the smirk that spread across Cal’s face, Percy had a bad feeling. “-well, let’s just call it your second virginity, special.”

“Or, you know, it could be the other way around,” Rory commented with a meaningful look shot at Cal.

Percy didn’t know what they meant by that besides for sex in general, but by the way Jason sputtered and coughed on his drink he clearly had an idea. Despite what everyone seemed to think Percy really didn’t feel competitive with Jason, but that didn’t mean he was cool with Jason knowing something while he was still in the dark. If Jason knew someone was just going to have to fill him in.

Percy didn’t get a chance to say anything before Cal scoffed. “Please, that fifty bucks is mine,” he told Rory with confidence. That probably should have helped Percy figure it out, but really all that told him was that whatever Cal and Rory were talking about involved a bet. He didn’t get a chance to question that either before Cal turned back to Percy and Jason and started talking to them again, “But after you two decide to finally take the plunge, and if you’re interested to let me know.”

Rory leaned on the table and gave Percy and Jason a serious look. “Or, you know, don’t,” he told them. His words were casual enough, but there was something about the way he said it that told Percy he was dead serious. Next shift Percy had with Rory he was going to have so many questions for the guy he didn’t even know where to begin. He honestly just hoped their next shift together wasn’t busy because there was no way he was going to actually get much work done.

“No worries,” Jason assured as he continued to cough and struggle to breathe.

“You boys have fun,” Cal declared as he released Jason’s shoulder with one last squeeze. He took a half a step from the table before leaning in and clapping his hand on Percy’s shoulder and giving a stage whisper, “And call me with all the dirty details in the morning.”

“See ya guys,” Percy offered a small wave as Rory all but pushed Cal away from Percy and toward the club’s exit. “Have fun!” He added even though he knew the guys probably couldn’t hear him as they were swallowed up by the thick crowd.

They were barely out of sight when Percy felt Jason lean so far into Percy’s space Percy could smell the cocktail on his breath. “You don’t actually tell him stuff,” Jason questioned concerned. He was probably trying to whisper because he was Jason and he got weird about some stuff, but he had had more than a few drinks, so he had completely lost volume control along with his sense of personal space (Percy wasn’t going to complain about that though). Jason gestured between himself and Percy before continuing, “Ya know, about us, do you?”

“No way dude,” Percy assured dismissively as he snatched his drink off the table and took a quick sip. He returned his drink to the table before he continued, “You don’t have to worry. I don’t kiss and tell.”

Even in the low light, Percy could tell Jason was not even remotely reassured. “You know I’m one of the people you normally brag about Annabeth to, right?” Jason questioned.

Percy had forgotten about that. That was probably one of the only bad things about hooking up with a friend, Jason knew too much about Percy’s general habits. “Oh right,” Percy retorted unapologetically before he picked up his drink less to take a sip and more to hide his grin.

Jason didn’t approve, Percy could tell. He could probably tell Jason that he really didn’t tell Cal or anybody at work anything about them (or Annabeth, not that Jason cared about that) although he did have to explain that time they had ended up making out a little at one of the tables. Really the only people Percy told things about stuff he and Jason did was Annabeth and Nico.

Annabeth was obvious, she was his fiancée. After everything they had been through together, he told her everything. And Nico, well he probably didn’t like it, but he had become Percy’s number one source of information about gay sex stuff that Percy didn’t want to ask Jason about and seem like a complete idiot. He doubted any of that would come across as reassuring to Jason, so he left it unsaid.

Their waiter showed up at the table before Percy could think of a better reply. He had a tray of new drinks with him which Percy appreciated. Percy was pretty much done with his current drink and was definitely going to want another, he just wished the waiter showed up a little later. He didn’t have any idea what he was going to say to Jason, but he would have said something. He was hoping to get some kind of action that night.

“Hey!” the waiter greeted enthusiastically (but he was always enthusiastic) as he started depositing drinks from his tray onto the table. “Gotcha boys some more drinks,” he explained the obvious. As he moved to set drinks in front of Nico and Will he paused and eyed the couple, who seriously pushing the bounds of most public decency laws. The waiter didn’t seem bothered, he just smirked as he commented, “Don’t let me interrupt”

“Thanks, man,” Percy offered for the group as he picked up his old drink and drained the last bits of liquid from his glass. He saw Jason give a nod as he picked up his own drink and sipped at it with enthusiasm. Percy wasn’t going to say anything, but the only person that seemed to be matching Nico drink for a drink was Jason. It was actually kind of funny watching the normally straight-laced guy let loose a little.

All the talking, random guys coming up to the table, and Cal and Rory leaving to have sex (because apparently, that was something they actually did with each other), and Nico and Will were never distracted from their intense make-out session, but apparently the sounds of drinks being dropped in front of them was enough to catch their attention. Percy saw the couple pull apart and they both seemed reluctant as they did. Although Nico looked like he was seriously considering climbing into Will’s lap. Will was only marginally better as he continued to pet and cling to Nico as he looked toward their waiter with clear surprise at the guy’s presence. He looked from the waiter to their drinks and then back the waiter before managing a polite, but still a slightly confused statement, “Um, thank you.”

“Grazie,” Nico mumbled in Italian (Percy assumed). He barely bothered to pull his eyes away from Will as he talked so it was hard to figure out who he was actually talking to. His body language suggested he was talking to Will, but Percy got the general impression that he was talking to the waiter.

“Any time,” the waiter offered with a casual wave before giving the table a light tap, “You boys have fun and let me know if you need anything else.” Just like that the waiter left. He was actually pretty great that way because he didn’t hang out at the table long, but he was fun when he was there, and he always showed back up when they needed anything without them even having to look for him.

Percy noticed Nico and Will share a look, and he was sure that the two were going to just start making out again. They didn’t although he was pretty sure they both at least thought about it by the way they both blushed. “Ah sorry,” Will grumbled an apology which was undermined drastically because he was still petting and clinging to Nico affectionately.

Watching the couple made it feel like Percy was invading some private moment just by being around them, but the way those two were with each other it was usually hard not to feel that way, so he ignored it. “It’s cool,” Percy offered with a shrug. Jason probably felt differently about it, but Percy really didn’t care if Nico and Will got hot and heavy in public. Sure, it surprised him a little that Nico was okay with that, but it didn’t bother him. He nudged Jason as he added, “We probably deserve it for last time”

“Oh, you _really_ do,” Nico agreed enthusiastically as he actually turned away from Will probably in an attempt to stress the point. Nico never straight out said it, but he didn’t hide how annoyed he had been when Percy and Jason had slipped away from the group during their last visit to Gladiators either.

Nico picked up his new drink and sipped at it. He was mid-sip when his eyebrows furrowed, and he looked confused. He returned the drink to the table and gestured to the empty chairs where Rory and Cal had been sitting. “Where did whats-their-names go?” he questioned.

“Oh wow,” Will looked toward the empty spaces where the other two guys had been in complete surprise. He apparently was just noticing they had left too which was a little ridiculous, but at the same time, he and Nico had been pretty enthralled with each other, so it wasn’t really a surprise. “When did they even leave?”

“Just a minute ago,” Jason offered as he pointed toward the bar’s exit for some reason that Percy didn’t really get.

“They’re banging one out in the alley,” Percy added matter-of-factly because apparently that was a thing that could realistically be happening, and that wasn’t weird.

Jason nudged him as a show of disapproval. Percy didn’t get that because it wasn’t like he was suggesting that he and Jason should do that. He would probably do it if Jason wanted to, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. Percy expected a show of disgust from Nico, but instead, the son of Hades seemed to genuinely think on the idea for a minute. “That’s actually not a bad idea,” he commented seriously.

That was such a not-Nico comment even Percy blinked with surprise. Jason's hand went to Percy’s arm and he gripped hard which was probably Jason’s way of stopping himself from screaming. Will’s reaction was by far the best. He had been taking a sip of his drink when Nico made the comment and almost choked on the liquid. He coughed and sputtered, spitting a good bit of his drink across the table before he turned to Nico wide-eyed, “ _Really_?”

Percy watched Nico look at Will with obvious confusion. He stared at Will for what felt like forever with Will coughing the whole time before Nico seemed to get it. “Not the alley part,” Nico corrected with a bit of annoyance in his voice because apparently, it was everyone else’s fault that he sounded like he was saying something different than what he meant.

One of the great things about drunk Nico was that while he still got annoyed it lasted no longer than a minute before he swung right back to being content and telling personal (sex) stories in graphic detail. His annoyance faded, he hopped off his chair, and snatched up his drink. He took a long draw from the glass before returning it to the table with a loud clink. Percy watched Nico turn to Will with a serious look and stated, “We should go back to the hotel.”

Will stared at Nico for a few seconds. They were doing that couple thing that Percy just didn’t get where they have a conversation consisting entirely of intense eye contact and serious looks. He had definitely done it with Annabeth and sort of with Jason once or twice, but he still didn’t get how couples managed it. After maybe a minute, Will seemed to get what Nico was telling him and turned to Percy and Jason. “So, yeah, we’re going to head back to the hotel,” he informed that with barely contained excitement. It was funny, the way Will acted people would think he and Nico never had sex before, but from the stories drunk Nico told that was pretty far from the truth.

The last time they had visited Gladiators, Percy, Jason, Grover, Leo, and Frank had practically stayed to closing, and it had been a lot of fun (and Percy didn’t just think that because he had gotten some action with Jason). When he had proposed a second bro’s weekend he had hoped that the four of them would be closing down the bar together, but now his mind went to the potential that Jason’s hotel room held, and he couldn’t help but find it appealing.

“That’s actually a good idea,” Percy admitted as he picked up his drink and took a long sip. It wasn’t like Gladiators was going anywhere, and next year it was likely that Jason, Nico, and Will would be living in New Rome, so they could go back anytime. He gave Jason a look and saw he looked a bit surprised, but Percy figured he would catch up on his own. Looking back to Nico and Will, Percy stated, “We’ll walk with you guys.”

Percy moved to climb off his chair but stopped when he saw how Jason was still looking at him with confusion. “Really?” Jason questioned. “You want to head back to the hotel already?”

“Why not dude?” Percy offered.

Percy really thought it was pretty obvious, but apparently, Jason needed it explained. He was normally a pretty quick guy too so that was probably a sign that he really didn’t need another drink. “It’s not like we are going to bang one out in the alley,” Percy laid it out. Nico and Will weren’t going to be the only ones getting some action that night, at least if Percy had anything to say about it.

“I thought you two haven’t had sex yet?” Will questioned as he climbed out of his own chair. As soon as Will said it he seemed to realize that was something he shouldn’t have known and shot Jason an apologetic look.

Jason didn’t look particularly forgiving as he glared in Will’s direction. Percy just had to laugh because it wasn’t like he was bothered that Jason told Will stuff. Actually, he had just figured that Jason told Will stuff. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to tease Jason about it a little. He gave Jason’s shoulder a playful shove as he said, “And you're worried about me bragging about our sex life.”

“I don’t brag,” Jason grumbled under his breath which Percy didn’t buy for one second because the guy was blushing the darkest shade of red Percy had ever seen.

“They’ve had sex,” Nico declared dismissively ignoring Jason completely as he returned his now finished drink back to the table. Apparently, while everyone else was talking, Nico was downing his drink. Will was going to have fun with that because Nico seemed to lose all inhibitions when he drank. “They just haven’t done anything penetrative yet because apparently, that’s where they’ve drawn the no-homo line,” Nico explained to Will.

Percy didn’t know what was worse, the way Nico spoke like Percy and Jason weren’t even there or the judgmental tone in which he spoke. He didn’t even give Percy or Jason a chance to defend themselves before he looked around him at the group with a look of complete exasperation. “Now, weren’t we leaving?” Nico questioned demandingly.

“Yup,” Will answered brightly as he snatched his drink off the table and quickly drained it before putting his hand on Nico’s back, “Let’s go.”

Just like that the four of them started for the bar’s exit, Percy trying to finish his drink as they did. Jason’s arm ended up draped over Percy’s shoulders as they followed Nico and Will through the crowd which Percy wasn’t going to complain about. Before leaving they swung by the bar so Nico could close out their tab that took way too long because the waiter spent at least ten minutes trying to convince them to stay and then another ten telling them the best hang out if they decided to go back out. Percy definitely made a mental note of some of the places he mentioned even though he knew any of them would be venturing back out that night.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not promising dates quite yet but if you are interested in Outtakes or the Delix fics I would suggest following my Tumblr because there should be news on both coming out shortly :)
> 
> Thanks for reading, and as always comments and kudos are always appreciated.


	71. Next Step

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy!
> 
> Sorry for the slight delay, I had to finish editing this chapter.
> 
> SMUT WARNING- This chapter is pretty much just smut- if you don't want to read that just skip this chapter!

The walk back to the hotel wasn’t bad. They probably could have made it there a little faster, but he and Jason were purposefully walking slow to give Nico and Will a bit more space. Nico and Will were always touchy, but after a few drinks (mainly for Nico, but he guessed Will too) they were pretty much all over each other all the time. As much as Percy loved the guys, even he had had enough close-up experience with that. Even giving them extra space Percy could hear Nico whine about walking and trying to entice Will into letting him shadow-travel them back to the hotel. Jason kept his arm slung over Percy’s shoulders the whole way, which was far more couple-like behavior than Jason usually went for, and Percy couldn’t complain about that.

Jason was staying at the same hotel as Nico and Will, so they were all heading to the same place although they got very different reactions when they arrived. Percy was pretty sure that every single hotel employee in the building dropped everything they were doing to immediately come to the lobby to see if Nico needed anything. Jason and Percy might as well have been ghosts.

From the looks of it being unnoticed was better. Nico was practically swatting people away from the moment they walked in the door to the moment all four of them managed to pile into the elevator. Jason hit the button for his floor, and Nico actually had to push aside a panel and insert a key to call up his floor.

Something seemed off about the differences between the two, but Percy didn’t get a chance to comment because Nico and Will started making out before the doors had even managed to close completely. They were giving their little show at Gladiators a run for its money: Will was pushed against the wall of the elevator with Nico pressed against him. The son of Hades was pushed up on his toes so high Percy was pretty sure he was a few seconds away from climbing the son of Apollo like a tree. Will had one hand in Nico’s hair, and the other on the small of his back. Percy was actually impressed that Will was able to resist the urge to just grab Nico’s ass because that seemed to be difficult for Will even when he was sober.

“Those two really don’t waste time, do they?” Percy commented with amusement as he looked toward Jason while pointing at the groping couple.

Jason’s eyes were locked on the elevator door, and while he didn’t turn to look at Percy as he replied Percy could easily make out his disapproving scowl. “Trying not to pay attention to that, dude,” Jason informed pointedly.

“Right,” Percy turned to face the elevator door with a grin.  “Sorry,” he stated even though he wasn’t even a little sorry, and Jason probably knew it.

The elevator moved slowly, or at least trying to ignore the little whines and moans coming from the couple making out made it feel that way. When the elevator finally shuttered to a stop on the right floor Jason practically bolted from the elevator before the doors were completely open. Percy couldn’t even lie to himself and think that Jason was really excited to get him alone in his hotel room. Jason was almost out of sight of the elevator before he even stopped to see if Percy was following him. Percy obviously was but not nearly as fast as Jason probably wanted him to be.

Percy was half out of the elevator when he turned to look back at Nico and Will who clearly were completely unaware that the elevator had come to a stop. Also, Will had apparently lost his battle with keeping his hands off Nico’s ass. “See ya guys at breakfast tomorrow,” Percy called back to the couple knowing they probably didn’t hear him as he stepped out of the elevator.

As the elevator doors slid closed Percy saw Will manage a half-hearted wave in the direction of where Percy had originally been standing. Percy thought he heard Nico say something but couldn’t make out the words. He doubted that the words were actually meant for him anyway.

Nico and Will disappeared behind the elevator doors, no doubt heading up to Nico’s room to get it on on every surface that could support their weight. Percy had to jog to catch up with Jason who seemed desperate to put as much distance between himself and the elevator as possible.

Just to annoy him (because that would get Jason’s head out of any weirdness watching Nico and Will make output him in) when Percy did reach Jason he through his arm over Jason’s shoulders. Jason didn’t shrug him off which was definitely a good sign. Jason used his key card to unlock the door. Percy let his arm fall from Jason’s shoulders so that the son of Jupiter could lead the way into the hotel room.

Jason and Piper usually got a hotel room when they visited New Rome for more than a day. Most of the time, Jason and Piper would come to visit Percy and Annabeth at their apartment. Percy had swung by their hotel room a few times in the past but hadn’t managed it this trip, so this was his first time seeing that particular room. It looked like pretty much every other room Jason and Piper had stayed in when they visited. Against one wall there was a large dresser and a small desk. There was a decorative chair tucked into a corner with a small round side table next to it. Then there was the bed which in a hotel room was really the only piece of furniture that mattered. The king-sized bed was centered against the wall opposite the dresser and looked seriously comfortable.

“That was fun,” Jason commented offhandedly as he tossed his key card on the dresser and shed his coat.

Percy lost his coat as well, draping it over whatever piece of furniture he passed as he followed Jason further into the room. “You mean besides for the little show in the elevator?” Percy pointed back toward the room’s door as he couldn’t help but tease Jason. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that now that Jason took off his coat Percy could appreciate the view of his toned and muscular arms visible past the short sleeves of his purple t-shirt. Yeah, it definitely had nothing to do with that or the more general fact that Jason looked hot.

“Yeah, besides that,” Jason agreed with a visible eye roll. He was even cute when he was annoyed which really just made Percy want to tease him more. Jason’s eyes lingered on Percy for a long minute before Percy watched him push his hands into the pockets of his jeans before asking, “Want a beer?” Jason questioned as he used one hand to gesture toward the mini-fridge that Percy hadn’t noticed was tucked between the dresser and the desk. “They are stupid expensive, but we could split one.”

“Why not,” Percy shrugged in agreement even though his mind definitely wasn’t thinking about beer at that moment.

Percy closed some of the distance between himself and Jason as Jason moved to the mini-fridge. He definitely enjoyed the view of Jason bending over to retrieve the beer that was for damn sure. The only downside, it took Jason maybe fifteen seconds to retrieve the beer and stand back up, so Percy’s view of his ass was really too brief.

Jason popped the cap off the bottle before taking the first sip. Of course, he sipped in the most dramatic way possible, tipping his head back and taking a long pull from the bottle. Percy could see when Jason swallowed because his Adam’s apple bobbed noticeably.

Jason wasn’t into PDA, and Percy knew that. Out of respect Percy didn’t try to jump the guy at Gladiators like he wanted to even after Nico and Will started setting a really bad example. He didn’t grab Jason’s ass once even though he had a nice ass and it looked especially grab-able. There had been no kissing or groping so Jason would be comfortable. Percy had been on his best behavior, but that was officially over if Jason was going to swallow things like that.

Jason finished his sip and held out the bottle for Percy to take. Percy took it without a thought even though he had no intention of actually taking a sip. Instead, Percy took the bottle, leaned in, and reached around Jason enough to place the bottle on the edge of the desk. Both hands-free, Percy leaned back enough to turn and catch Jason’s lips in a kiss.

There was a hesitant moment where Jason didn’t kiss back, but that didn’t last long enough for Percy to even worry about it before Jason started kissing him back. Once Jason got over his surprise or whatever they both seemed to be on the same page. As Percy pivoted to more comfortably face Jason, Jason did the same until they were practically pressed against each other which was nice (really, really nice) except for the fact that when they were so close Percy couldn’t ignore how Jason was taller than him.

The kiss was well worth all the waiting and slight sexual frustration of the night. The only thing that sucked about it was the kiss was way too short. Percy would have kept it going, but Jason pulled away ever so slightly. “Mmm,” Jason hummed contently as he absently licked his lips. Like that wasn’t a clear enough sign that Jason was into it, the son of Jupiter brought his hands to rest on the small of Percy’s back. “Or we could go straight to that,” Jason commented with a knowing (and Percy dare say excited) look.

Percy let his own hands settle on Jason’s hips and gripped there just hard enough to get a little control and feel the slight protrusion of Jason’s hipbones under the gentle press of his thumbs. “What can I say, dude,” he replied as he used his grip to start steering Jason toward the king-sized bed (also, king-sized bed, hell yes! Percy was definitely going to have fun with that). “I’m all out of patience.”

Jason let Percy steer him through the room without taking his eyes off him, even for a second. “Since when have you ever had patience?” Jason questioned. He thought he hid it well, Percy knew it, but he saw the little smirk on Jason’s lips, and the playful glint in his eyes. Jason hid nothing.

“Bro,” Percy dismissed as he pulled back from Jason. It wasn’t much, just enough to take his hand off Jason’s hips (reluctantly) and grasped his own t-shirt by the hem. Keeping his eyes on Jason as much as he could before pulling his shirt over his head and tossed it off into some corner of the room. “Are you complaining?” Percy questioned with the cockiest grin he could muster. He didn’t want any questions about his intentions at that moment.

Jason didn’t move noticeably, but Percy couldn’t help but notice the grasp Jason had on his back grow firmer. “No,” Jason admitted with a bit of a smile as his eyes flicked over Percy’s now bare chest.

Percy could have probably made some sort of smart-ass comment at that but figured just kissing Jason would get his point across. He could still taste Jason’s drinks from the bar intermixed with the sip of beer he just took as their lips began to move together. Jason was immediately on board this time, kissing back with enthusiasm right away.

Percy brought his hands back to rest on Jason’s hips and used his grip there to steer Jason toward the bed. Jason moved with ease without ever breaking the kiss. Percy wasn’t sure how it happened, but somehow as they moved across the room lips interlocked Jason had managed to rotate their position so that Percy was the one that ended up sitting back on the bed first.

As Percy scooched back on the bed Jason followed him as they continued to kiss. With each motion and passing second, the kisses were getting more and more heated. As Jason moved to straddle Percy’s lap, Percy felt Jason’s tongue tease the seal of his lips. Percy let his hands move up from Jason’s hips, sliding under the hem of his t-shirt, and over the hard planes of Jason’s lower back.

Jason sighed into Percy’s mouth as Percy gripped lightly on his back. It was meant to be an encouragement for Jason, but that sigh just turned Percy on more than he could have ever expected. He tightened his grip on Jason as he sat up to deepen the kiss. Jason went with it, allowing Percy to pull him in closer and deepening the kiss, but Jason stupid t-shirt was quickly becoming a problem. Percy wasn’t great with frustration and only tolerated it for a few seconds before moving his hands to pull and tug at Jason’s t-shirt in what had to be the most ineffective way possible.

Jason took the hint and pulled away, quickly (like nearly ripping) his shirt up over his head and tossing it away. Percy and Piper had actually had this conversation, they needed to pass some sort of law that required Jason to be shirtless at all times because the view might have been one of the hottest things that a person could see. Percy only allowed himself a second or two to enjoy the view before pushing up a little further to kiss Jason again. This time Percy splayed one hand on the small of Jason’s now bare back while bringing his other hand up to entangle in the hair at the nape of Jason’s neck.

Jason kissed back hard, nipping at Percy’s lower lip and pressing himself more firmly against Percy’s body. The heat of Jason’s skin under his hands, and the unmistakable feeling of Jason’s hard cock pressing against Percy’s leg through his jeans made everything even hotter. The angle didn’t quite work to allow for the kind of contact either of them would want, but that didn’t stop Jason’s hips from moving in search of some sort of friction.

Percy would never say it to Jason because it would probably be the official end to the sexual side of their relationship, but he found Jason’s little shows of desperation when things were getting hot and heavy beyond hot. Like Annabeth, Jason was usually so put together and in control that it was a total power trip for Percy to see that façade slip a little and _know_ he was the cause.

Yeah, he definitely wasn’t going to tell Jason that, but as he felt Jason’s groin grind down against his own an inch or two off from where they both wanted it to be Percy had no problem showing him. Using the grip he had on Jason’s back, Percy sat up and actually managed to flip them both over on the bed so Jason landed on his back with Percy more or less on top of him. It was a pretty impressive move considering Jason had a bit more heft to him than Annabeth. Jason, on the other hand, had sort of a love-hate relationship with the fact that Percy could throw him around a little. Percy knew this because nothing seemed to get Jason harder faster than when Percy did something like that, but it was also one of the things Jason was most likely to tell him not to do again.

This time really was no exception because Jason’s member that Percy could still feel pressed against his hip definitely felt harder, but the little noise Jason issued couldn’t be described as anything but disgruntled. Percy probably should have cared more about protecting Jason’s ego, but Jason’s legs were still wrapped around Percy’s waist which was really what mattered at that moment. Jason’s ego would recover.

Percy moved from Jason’s lips to kiss along first his jaw and then down his throat which definitely had Jason issuing some seriously happy noises. _That was definitely more like it_ , Percy thought as he sucked lightly at a spot he knew was especially sensitive on the curve of Jason’s throat. It wasn’t enough to leave a mark because Jason would definitely complain about that nonstop until it healed but enough to make Jason squirm noticeably under him.

Jason squirmed just right, and the contact, although brief was enough to cause both of them to moan. Percy took a deep breath as he lifted his head away from the curve of Jason’s throat just enough to get a good look at the demigod underneath him. Jason looked just as lost in arousal as Percy felt which was perfect (and really hot). “You know what we should do?” He questioned looking down at Jason with a grin he just couldn’t hold back. His brain had already started picturing them doing it, and he really couldn’t help getting excited.

Percy watched Jason go from annoyed to thoughtful to confused. When realization crossed Jason’s features Percy leaned back in and started kissing lightly on Jason’s jaw. They both wanted to, so it wasn’t like Percy was expecting Jason to say no. Jason let out a soft sigh and squirmed a little under him. Percy felt Jason’s hands come to rest on his back and started to slowly move down to squeeze Percy’s butt when he came to it. That was definitely an encouragement, so Percy was pretty confused when Jason made a less than encouraging sound. “Or…” Jason started. He didn’t sound how he was supposed to if he was about to say hell yes. Worse yet, Percy felt Jason’s hands go from groping his butt to gripping his hips, and if Percy didn’t know better he would have sworn it felt like Jason was pushing him away from a little. “We could skip the twenty-minute debate and go straight to intercrural sex,” Jason declared with a level of certainty Percy didn’t appreciate.

 _I should have gotten Jason drunker_ , Percy thought to himself with annoyance as he sat up. Still straddling Jason’s waist, he looked down at the son of Jupiter not even trying to hide his annoyance. He didn’t even understand how this issue came into existence, but it was there now, and he and Jason seemed to be stuck in this weird holding pattern when it came to sex, specifically anal sex.

It was probably partially Percy’s own fault because the first time the topic came up Jason got weird, and Percy got competitive and it had somehow turned into this weird sort of competition between them. The really funny thing was Percy really didn’t think he actually cared. Percy would have been fine being the one to bottom first, but the fact that Jason wouldn’t give on the subject made Percy not want to either.

He had hoped that the night out and having a few drinks Jason would have been more loosened up, and it wouldn’t turn into a whole thing. Apparently, that plan hadn’t worked out as Percy had wanted.

“Okay, dude,” Percy declared dismissively, “I’m engaged to Annabeth Chase, a twenty-minute debate is like foreplay to me.”

“Perce,” Jason shifted slightly under him as he said the nickname far too firmly to mean anything good. “Could you not mention your fiancé when you’re straddling me?”

“Whatever you say, dude,” Percy grumbled climbing off Jason’s lap and flopped on the bed next to him. “I’m just saying,” Percy looked over at Jason. “We both want to, so why don’t we just do it already?”

Jason sighed audibly. Percy watched Jason rack his fingers through his hair with obvious frustration. He didn’t sit up from where he was laying on the bed, but he did look over to where Percy was sitting. His blue eyes were far too serious considering they had been making out like ten seconds earlier. “Because for us to just do it one of us is going to have to concede to being the bottom,” he answered almost grimly.

“We’ll both do it eventually,” Percy pointed out hoping that would be reassuring enough. It hadn’t worked any of the other times who would bottom had come up, but this time could be different. He wouldn’t know if he didn’t try.

“But only one of us will be first,” Jason reminded. The way he said that, it was like that might be the singular worse thing ever. Jason had a serious complex on this issue, and Percy honestly didn’t get it.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Percy teased which he knew wasn’t helpful, but he couldn’t help it. He leaned over Jason and pressed a kiss against his lips. He continued to kiss Jason until he felt Jason start to relax under him. When he pulled away he smirked down at Jason and asked, “What? Afraid you’ll like it that much?”

“No,” Jason replied not sounding anywhere close to convinced. Percy was pretty sure he had just inadvertently hit the nail on the head with that comment from the sound of Jason’s voice.

Jason must have heard it too because a determined look crossed his electric blue eyes. Before Percy could really notice let alone react Jason sat up and moved until he was straddling Percy’s waist in a mirror image of the position Percy had been in only moments before. “Are _you_ afraid _you’ll_ like it that much?” Jason questioned as he brought his hands to rest on either side of Percy’s head, so he was looming over Percy on the bed.

Percy didn’t mind letting Jason take a more dominant position in sex. Actually, Jason looming over him like that was kind of hot. “You know,” he started as he grinned up at Jason. “Not everything has to be some sort of competition.”

“With you?” Jason corked his head to one side like he was actually thinking about it. “Yeah it does,” Jason stated decisively. He didn’t give Percy a chance to counter before leaning in and kissing him firmly on the lips.

Percy definitely wasn’t going to complain. Just the opposite, he happily kissed Jason back. After a few seconds, he started letting his hands wander over Jason’s firm back and down his sides. Jason's lips moved against his own with increased intensity with each passing second until it was as if they hadn’t even paused.

The feel of leather and metal under his fingertips was what made Percy realize his hands had moved to Jason’s belt and had started working it open much on their own. Why was Jason even wearing a belt? His pants might not have been practically painted on like some people they know (i.e., Nico) but they weren’t exactly loose either. All his belt was doing was getting in Percy’s way and making him frustrated.

He felt Jason’s lips move from his own to kiss along his jaw and up to his ear. The feel of Jason’s hot breath on his throat had chills running down Percy’s spine. He strained to press himself closer to Jason and he felt his own member strain in his jeans desperate for some sort of contact.

A hand splayed on Percy’s chest and pressed him down against the mattress because Jason was such a damned tease. Percy couldn’t take it. He had gone into this night wanting to have sex, and he was done with letting Jason’s weirdness get in the way.

“Um” Percy hummed, his voice hitching slightly in the middle as he felt Jason’s teeth scrape against his earlobe. “So what, Jay?” he questioned through labored breath. “You’re going to think less of me if I volunteer to go first?”

Apparently, Percy was volunteering to bottom. He hadn’t even realized that was what he was thinking until he heard his own words, but he was cool with it. It was supposed to be an encouragement. If Jason told Percy that he wanted Percy to….well if the situation was reversed it certainly would have encouraged Percy to take advantage before Jason changed his mind.

It had the exact opposite effect on Jason who stopped the super hot kissing at Percy’s neck before Percy could even take a breath. Even worse, Jason pulled away all together which was annoying enough to get Percy to open his eyes and find Jason staring down at him with far too serious of an expression considering they had just been rounding third base. “No, of course not,” Jason replied sincerely. Actually, he sounded concerned and he was definitely searching Percy’s face for something. Percy wasn’t sure if Jason found what he was looking for or not, but his expression changed to something more questioning, “Are you offering?”

Jason clearly was trying to not sound hopeful and excited, and he failed so miserably it was laughable. Yeah, he was offering so why did he have to spell it out. He was absolutely cool with it. Actually, if he was really being honest he was kind of interested in what it would feel like, to bottom that is, but that didn’t mean he wanted to openly submit to Jason.

He squirmed slightly under Jason’s weight. If they were going to do this he wanted to do it, he didn’t want to talk about it. “You better make it feel so good,” he ordered instead of actually answering the question. There was an answer embedded in there somewhere, and Jason was smart, so Percy was pretty sure he would figure it out.

“You’re serious?” Jason questioned with clear disbelief.

“Hell yes, I’m serious,” Percy exclaimed as he mentally took back Jason’s smart demigod card because seriously, how obvious did Percy have to get? “If I’m going to let you top first you better make it so good that it breaks crazy records,” he stated as he shifted under Jason’s weight again although that had little to do with trying to get comfortable. All this chitchat was really cooling off the mood that had built up, and he just wanted a little friction to remind himself of the goal. “Like, it should put what Nico and Will are probably getting up to upstairs to shame.”

“Oh gods, you really are serious,” Jason almost sounded panicked as he sat up further. Seriously what was wrong with Jason’s brain? Everything Percy had said was an invitation to get closer not farther away. “I can’t even be mad at you for mentioning Nico and Will,” he declared absently which might have been a first.

Percy might have even teased him about that, but then Jason hopped off Percy’s lap and the bed, and all thoughts were driven from Percy’s mind. “Do not move,” Jason ordered him as he seemed to look around the room with a frantic sort of energy.

“Jay!” Percy shouted as he smacked the bed as a show of frustration. He sat up on his elbows and watched Jason move frantically and get absolutely nowhere. In another situation watching Jason look around the room desperately as he took a step in one direction before stopping, turning, and taking another step back in the other direction would have been hilarious, but considering the circumstances, not so much. Seriously, Jason didn’t get anywhere.

“This is the exact opposite reaction then I expected,” Percy stated pointedly in hopes of snapping Jason back to reality. He seriously would have never thought offering to bottom would drive Jason out of the bed, maybe out of his clothes, but not out of bed.

“Sorry,” Jason apologized, and while he didn’t actually look at Percy laying on the bed, (which was a shame because Percy was really trying to look as enticing as possible) he did seem to figure out what he was doing.

Percy watched Jason move toward his suitcase like the action had a purpose. He still didn’t look toward Percy, but he did point at where he sat as he spoke. “And seriously, don’t move,” Jason ordered before reaching his suitcase and practically ripping it open.

He shuffled through the suitcase for maybe five seconds before he audibly growled and turned away from the bag. “I just need to find the lube,” Jason stated.

Percy watched Jason turn on his heels and start toward the closest nightstand with a seriously determined look as he grumbled to himself, “Where did Piper put the lube?”

“Dude, don’t mention Piper,” Percy stated teasingly. Normally he wouldn’t even tease about something like that, but at this point, he was getting bored. “It kills the mood,” he declared echoing Jason’s general argument from any of the times Percy mentioned Annabeth.

Jason either didn’t hear him or was just completely ignoring him. Jason was normally pretty aware of his surroundings so the idea that Jason just didn’t hear him seemed unlikely, but he looked so determined Percy guessed that could have been the case. Jason practically ripped the nightstand drawer out as he opened it and then, Percy swore to the gods, the son of Jupiter’s face lit up. “Found it!” Jason declared as he snatched something out of the drawer and turned to show Percy the bottle of lubricant he had in hand.

“Well, thank the gods for that,” Percy replied with disinterest although he was actually grateful because it meant Jason would come back to bed. “You really shouldn’t rely on me to bring the supplies every time,” he teased.

Percy had really only been the one to bring the lube that one time in Tennessee, and after that Jason was usually prepared. That meant nothing, the first time was all that mattered, and Percy teased Jason (who seriously could have been a model for a boy scout magazine) to no end. The real funny thing was the first few times Percy did it Jason got all flustered and apologetic. It may have been the best reaction Percy had ever seen, and it had pretty much solidified Percy’s plan to tease Jason forever about it even though Jason had long since stopped reacting.

This time was really no different. Jason tossed the bottle of lube and a few condoms on the mattress before he returned to the bed. Percy watched Jason make a show of moving to straddle his waist. The feel of Jason’s familiar weight settling on his lap had Percy working hard not to get too excited.

 _This was apparently happening_. Percy was the one that suggested it and he definitely wanted it. He had been practically begging Jason for months, but part of him had started to think it would never actually happen.

Jason’s hand moved to Percy’s shoulder and started pressing him back on the bed (and Percy certainly wasn’t putting up a fight). “Perce,” Jason offered in a low voice that Percy had come to know as Jason’s definitive bedroom voice. Percy wasn’t going to lie, he was a big fan of that voice. Jason could read the ingredients off a cereal box, and Percy would have been a big fan as long as he did it in that voice. “You know, you don’t have to mouth off about everything,” Jason informed just as Percy felt the cool sheets hit his back.

Percy’s hands immediately went to Jason’s pants because those things had been on far too long. “Oh yes I do,” he replied with less enthusiasm than he normally would have expended for a comment like that, but in that moment, he was focused on more important things.

Jason looked down at Percy’s hands moving as fast as he could manage with his alcohol-dulled senses to undo Jason’s god-damned belt. The look lasted for barely a second before Jason’s eyes darted back up to meet Percy’s. Jason grinned the most wicked grin that Percy honestly would have never believed Jason was capable of if he hadn’t seen it himself. “I’m just going to have to find a way to shut you up then,” Jason replied sending what little blood that had been flowing toward Percy’s brain changing course toward his groin just from the sound.

“Good luck with that,” Percy replied as a challenge as he finally managed to unhook Jason’s stubborn belt. He couldn’t let Jason get the last word no matter what the situation, that just wasn’t how their friendship worked.

Percy may have gotten in the last word, but Jason’s response was so much better. He wrapped one hand around the back of Percy’s neck and pulled Percy into a searing kiss. That kiss signaled the end of talking between the two, at least for a while. Percy continued to work Jason’s pants open as Jason seemed to be trying to kiss the breath out of him.

It took Percy way too long to manage a button and a zipper, but Jason was extremely distracting. Plus, they hadn’t stopped kissing the whole time he tried, so he didn’t feel too bad about it. They probably looked ridiculously uncoordinated as they tried to move so Percy could pull Jason’s pants down while still kissing. Since Percy couldn’t actually see, he couldn’t know for sure, but he thought he felt Jason almost fall over as he stepped off the bed to shimmy the rest of the way out of his pants. Percy stored that information to tease Jason about at a later time when they weren’t making out.

Jason managed to get out of his pants, back on the bed, and back in Percy’s lap without falling on his ass or breaking their kiss. Percy had sat up at some point, and even he didn’t really remember when. He had probably been trying to keep the kiss going as Jason all but fell over which had worked. Also, the position gave him the benefit of the use of his hand when Jason was once again in his lap.

As they continued to kiss, and Jason’s tongue began to explore Percy’s mouth. Percy grabbed and groped at Jason’s body. He ran his hands down Jason’s back, squeezed his ass, and ran his nails over Jason’s abs lightly. It was hard to tell who was taking the lead because every action no matter who was the one acting seemed to be adding to the intensity.

It was insanely hot, but Percy wanted to get to the main event and was feeling increasingly impatient. _Wasn’t taking the lead literally the top’s job_ , Percy wondered with annoyance, sure the things Jason was doing with his tongue was nice, but it wasn’t moving things along.

 _Whatever_ , Percy thought. He had no problem taking matters into his own hands, and in this case, he was going to get literally hands on. He slid his hand down Jason’s chest and pressed the meat of his palm against the hard bulge of Jason’s clothed erection. It was an exploratory touch at best. Percy had definitely gotten way more hands-on with Jason’s cock before.

It might have been an exploratory touch, but it definitely got a reaction from Jason. Percy felt Jason shutter, and the blonde moaned into Percy’s mouth. “Oh Perce!”

“Dude,” Percy chuckled against Jason’s lips. He pressed his palm a little more firmly against the bulge in Jason’s boxers and was awarded with another shutter and desperate whine from Jason. “I know I’m good but you’re going to have to try to hold out,” Percy commented teasingly.

“Jerk,” Jason retorted, and it sounded like it was a serious effort to get out that much, he was completely breathless. Percy loved it and wanted more. Smirking against Jason’s lips Percy moved his hand off Jason’s clothed cock to push it into Jason’s boxers, so he could actually grasp Jason’s shaft at the base. “Oh, gods!” Jason cried out as soon as Percy closed his fingers around his cock.

 _Jason was just so easy_ , Percy thought with a sense of victory as he started moving his hand slowly up Jason’s length. Jason immediately pulled away from Percy’s lips and buried his face in Percy’s shoulder. Jason was always so sensitive, it was always such an encouragement to everything Percy did. The feeling of Jason’s hot breath on his throat definitely felt like an encouragement, and he responded accordingly by increasing the intention of his motions. “Well, you told me to jerk,” he teased softly as his hand continued to move up and down Jason’s length.

Jason whimpered and then shuttered when Percy twisted his fist around his tip. Percy could tell Jason was getting close, and he should probably stop if Jason was going to top, but Jason sounded good, so he didn’t want to. Luckily, Jason still had at least some of his senses about him because as Percy could feel the muscles of Jason’s stomach growing tighter Jason caught his hand and stopped his stroking.

“Gods,” Jason groaned as he pulled Percy’s hands out of his boxers roughly. Percy wanted to complain but didn’t get a chance before Jason landed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him fully back on the bed. “You’re making this impossible,” Jason complained. He sounded almost serious, not that Percy was all that worried, and even if he was, Jason leaned down and kissed him hungrily before Percy could even think about it.

Jason suddenly wasn’t messing around. He didn’t waste time with teasing touches, instead, Percy almost immediately felt Jason’s hand on the waistband of his boxers tugging them down. That was what Percy had been looking for. He shifted and wiggled to help Jason pull off his last article of clothing while Jason never stopped kissing him.

With Percy’s boxers thrown carelessly off the bed, they were both finally naked. Percy didn’t get why that seemed to take so damned long. He never had to work so hard to get Annabeth naked. He was too busy moving his lips against Jason’s to complain as they both frantically shifted so that they were pressed against each other. More out of reflex than anything else Percy wrapped his legs around Jason’s waist as Jason moved away from Percy’s mouth and started kissing along his neck. “You knew what you were getting into,” Percy teased even though he doubted Jason was actually paying attention based on the way he was nibbling at Percy’s ear.

Percy was glad Jason had finally gotten with the program. And boy was Jason getting with the program all of a sudden. It was like he was trying to make up for lost time which Percy didn’t mind what so ever. It was nice that Jason was acting in the way Percy had expected him to act if he was going to actually top.

Jason shifted against Percy in just the right way, and Percy almost lost his mind from the sensation of Jason’s dick sliding against his own. “Gods, Jay!” Percy cried out with pleasure before grabbing at Jason’s ass as a show of encouragement. He definitely wanted Jason to keep doing that! “Damn!”

Jason took the hint and kept moving against Percy in the most perfect way. It felt so good, Percy quickly got lost in the sensation. He and Jason managed to exchange sloppy kisses as Jason moved. They were both panting, and Percy didn’t even care about the little whines and moans that escaped him. He didn’t realize he had been moving his own hips against Jason until Jason moved a hand to his hipbone and gripped him there, holding his hips down against the bed. “Eager?” Jason questioned in a husky whisper close to Percy’s ear.

“You’re not?” Percy replied with a question of his own. He wasn’t fully aware of his hips attempting to move until he felt Jason’s grip tightened, and he increased the force to which he was holding Percy down on the bed. Percy whined in protest but didn’t actually try to squirm out from under Jason’s grip. Jason needed to do something because the lack of sensation was driving Percy beyond crazy.

Jason actually thought about it. What did he need to think about? Percy wondered with outraged before Jason smirked, and he realized Jason was just messing with him. “You’ve got me there,” Jason declared as a wicked glint shinned in his eye. With that, Percy felt Jason release his grip on his hip and started moving down.

Jason peppered Percy’s bare chest with soft kisses as he moved down Percy’s body. Percy knew almost immediately exactly where Jason was heading and found himself holding his breath in anticipation. It wasn’t like Jason seemed to be making a show of going slow, but it felt like it took him forever to kiss down Percy’s chest and stomach to reach Percy’s groin. The longer it took Jason to make his way down to the main event so to speak the more aware of the heat coming from Jason’s body Percy became.

The first feel of hot breath on Percy’s shaft was so anticipated that it was a sweet relief, and the first tentative swipe of tongue over Percy’s head was ecstasy. Percy relaxed more against the mattress, shifted, and let his legs fall open a little more to allow Jason better access. He brought his hands down, running his fingers through Jason’s silky hair, and was beyond pleased when Jason’s response was to wrap his warm, wet lips around his shaft.

“Ah,” Percy sighed as he felt Jason’s tongue began to swirl teasingly around his head, “That’s good, Jay.” It was meant as an encouragement, but Jason pinched the inside of Percy’s thigh viciously and groaned disapprovingly. “Ouch, dude! Just take the compliment and don’t be so rough with me.” Percy tried to complain but it didn’t sound very serious because Jason was still using his tongue in the most tantalizing way possible.

Jason popped off Percy’s dick with a wet pop sound that was just so lude it sent a shiver down Percy’s spine. “Then stop talking and just enjoy it,” Jason ordered sternly.

Percy suddenly had a clear image of what it would have been like to serve under Jason in the Legion. Normally, Percy wasn’t the type to be bossed around but having Jason tell him what to do was such a turn on. Although…. he always got turned on when Annabeth told him what to do in the bedroom. _Damn, maybe I have a kink_.

“If I promise to stop talking does that mean you go back to doing that thing with your tongue?” Percy questioned with a smirk that he really couldn’t help.

Jason didn’t answer, at least not verbally. Instead, Jason rolled his eyes rather dramatically before he could Jason tightened his grip around the base of Percy’s shaft just enough to have Percy’s breath catching in his throat. When Percy bit his lip to try to hold in a moan he felt Jason’s lips once again wrapping around his shaft. Percy completely lost his battle to remain silent, moaning loudly.

Percy felt more than heard Jason hum with approval, but he didn’t start doing that thing with his tongue. Instead, Percy felt Jason start to suck gently at his head as he pulled more of Percy’s length into his hot, moist mouth.

Percy’s hand went back to Jason’s head, petting the soft blonde hair blindly as he felt Jason’s head begin to bob. Jason got a bit more bold with each motion, taking more of him in. Jason didn’t take in Percy’s whole length, but he sure as hell made up for it by wrapping his hand around Percy’s base, twisting and stroking in time with the motions of his mouth. Percy didn’t realize how close Jason was getting him until his hips shuttered upward of their own volition.

Jason didn’t gag which was a good thing (Percy had felt bad about that last time), but he did pull off Percy’s throbbing dick. That definitely seemed like a punishment, and Percy had no idea what he had done wrong. Percy was completely ready to apologize just to get Jason back at it because he that desperate.

He forced himself to open his eyes a look down at Jason in hopes that the desperation read on his face, and Jason would take mercy on him. Jason was looking up at him with eyes dark with lust, and his lips glistened. Then Jason licked his lips because apparently, he was trying to actually kill Percy with arousal. Percy actually forgot words for a minute.

“You really were serious about bottoming, right?” Jason questioned sounding more concerned and less turned on then Percy would have expected.

Well, if Percy wanted to turn back or change his mind now appeared to be the time. “Yeah, I’m sure dude,” Percy replied.

He definitely wasn’t going to tell Jason this, but he was kind of curious what bottoming would be like. It wasn’t like he secretly wanted to be submissive to Jason or anything, but he really didn’t think of it as being submissive either. Just look at Nico, he was probably the furthest from being passive or submissive that anyone could get, and he apparently didn’t have an issue catching in bed.

In a passing conversation once, Percy may have told Nico that Jason seemed to have a weird hang-up about bottoming. Nico’s reply was that Percy may want to look into the Ancient Roman beliefs on the subject which was really unhelpful. They both knew Percy wasn’t going to do that. But like Percy had told Jason on more than one occasion, it had to feel good or people wouldn’t do it. Well, Percy guessed he was about to find out for himself just how true that was.

Jason didn’t look completely convinced. Actually, he stared back at Percy like he was just waiting for Percy to change his mind. That wasn’t going to happen. They were doing this, Percy was determined.

After a moment of hesitation, Jason seemed to get it at least enough to grab the lube off the bed without Percy having to tell him to. Percy watched as Jason popped the top on the bottle and poured a good amount of the stuff onto his fingers, totally ignoring how his heart was suddenly pounding in his ears, and his breath had become rapid and shallow.

 _This was definitely happening,_ Percy thought to himself with nervous excitement.

Percy watched Jason rub his lube covered fingers together with utter fascination. He knew where those fingers were going, and if he was a little nervous about that he was trying not to think about it.

 _Was he supposed to do any sort of special prep for that_? Percy definitely hadn’t done that if he was. He was clean obviously, but besides that Percy hadn’t planned that far ahead. So yeah, there were some nerves, but they were quickly outweighed by excitement. It was actually hard to pull his gaze away from Jason’s long fingers.

He found Jason was staring back at him curiously, but Percy wasn’t going to explain what he had been thinking about. Luckily Jason didn’t ask. Instead, Percy saw Jason look him up and down for a long moment before meeting Percy’s eyes and asking, “Are you good on your back or do you want to move?”

Oh, that wasn’t a question Percy was prepared for. He had to actually give it some thought. _What position did he want to be in for his first time with Jason_? That whole power bottom thing definitely seemed hot, and Percy wanted to try it, but it seemed that position would have Percy doing all the work. Percy normally didn’t have a problem with doing the work in the bedroom (not that Annabeth normally let him), but he felt like if he was bottoming and doing the majority of the work it was too much on Percy’s side of things. He could just stay on his back, but somehow, the idea of he and Jason making searing eye contact through the whole thing was just too intimate. Yeah, he and Jason were friends with benefits, and they were as close as two bros could be, but they weren’t a couple (they were just couple-ish).

Percy just went with his gut. That had usually worked for him in battle so why not in bed too? Without a word, Percy carefully moved so Jason was no longer straddling his waist and flipped himself over. Propped up on his knees and elbows with his butt stuck up in the air Percy tried not to focus on how embarrassing the position felt. Maybe he should have picked a different position, but Jason had already seen his O face so how much worse could it really get?

“Good choice,” Jason commented, and Percy swore to the gods he could actually hear the smirk on Jason’s face.

“You smack my ass, and I’ll kick you, bro. I’m not kidding,” Percy warned. Presenting his butt to Jason like a present was one thing but letting Jason spank him was a complete other. Who knows? Percy might actually be into that, but that wasn’t the night he was going to discover that particular kink. He was all for pushing his own boundaries but within reason.

“I wasn’t going to,” Jason assured, and to be fair, he did sound a little horrified at the suggestion. Jason was a way better person because if the situation was reversed Percy definitely would have been thinking about smacking Jason’s ass. In all fairness, Jason had an extremely smackable ass.

_Maybe it was a good idea that Jason was topping first._

Percy’s breath caught in his throat, and his heart started pounding as he felt one of Jason’s hands come to rest gingerly on his hip. _This was happening_ , Percy barely managed to think before the feel of slick, warm fingers pushing between his cheeks drove away any ability he had to form a coherent thought.

Percy was almost hyperaware of Jason’s finger sliding along his crease leaving a slick trail in their wake as they moved almost unbearably slowly toward his entrance.

 _What was Jason doing going so slow? Were the months of them not having sex not enough of a build up? Did he really think they needed anymore anticipation_? Percy wondered with frustration.

Percy didn’t mean to, but the longer Jason took the more tense Percy’s muscles grew to the point that he caught himself holding his breath. Percy actually had to remind himself to breathe which may have been a first. Then he felt Jason’s fingers slide over his hole and breathing became more difficult.

Percy gasped involuntarily and loudly at the feeling. Jason’s fingers just glided over the area for a brief second, so it had lasted barely a second, but it had felt like so much. Percy hadn’t realized how sensitive that part of his body was but apparently, it was. He had felt the slick of the lube, and the callouses on Jason’s fingers. At the touch Percy had felt the warmth of Jason’s skin, and when his fingers slid past Percy felt a cooling sensation as the lube left behind grew almost uncomfortably cold.

“Is the lube too cold?” Jason questioned. Percy couldn’t see the blonde, but he could hear the genuine concern in his voice.

“No,” Percy choked out. “It’s good,” he assured through his own labored breath.

Jason made a sound that Percy swore to the gods was a whimper, but that just wouldn’t have made sense. Percy went to turn his head to figure out what Jason was doing back there but that didn’t work out quite as planned. He had barely made out Jason’s blonde head in the periphery of his vision when he felt Jason’s slippery fingers return to his sensitive rim. This time the touch was more than just a passing thing. Jason seemed more purposeful as Percy felt Jason’s lubed-up fingers glide around the edge of his entrance with an experimental kind of uncertainty.

The sensation was foreign but not necessarily in a bad way. It definitely felt intimate, that was for damned sure. Looking at Jason wasn’t so important anymore as Percy sucked in a large breath, turned back to rest his forehead against the pillows as he pushed his butt further in the air, and curled his fingers around the sheets.

Jason didn’t seem like he was in much of a rush as his fingers slid and probed at Percy’s rim in an exploratory way. Percy actually didn’t mind that Jason was taking his time anymore. He still wanted this to happened, but the time to adjust to the unfamiliar touches was more needed than Percy could have ever anticipated.

For a while, Percy lost track of time and everything besides the things Jason’s fingers were making him feel. So much of it was new and strange, but in a good way. Percy felt both vulnerable and excited about what could happen next.

It was a more insistent and purposeful press of what Percy figured was Jason’s index finger against his hole that snapped Percy back fully to the moment. It wasn’t just the pressure, but the feel of his rim give way slightly, and the smallest bit of the tip of Jason’s finger actually pressing pass that caught Percy’s attention. It didn’t hurt, and it wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, but something about it felt fundamentally wrong. Wrong wasn’t actually bad. There was actually something good about the wrongness of it, but Percy’s body still tensed reflexively at the intrusion.

The slight penetration retreated as soon as Percy felt himself tighten around the digit and moved back to swirling around the edge of his hole. “Perce, I think you’re supposed to try to relax,” Jason informed like Percy didn’t already know that. “I think if you tense up like that it could hurt,” Jason added. While Percy already knew that, he had to appreciate the concern in Jason’s voice.

“Easier said than done Jay,” Percy panted out. He was surprised at just how out of breath he sounded. It wasn’t like he had been running laps or fighting monsters or anything. “Just keep going slow, and I’ll let you know if there’s a problem.”

Jason’s reply was to tighten his grip on Percy’s hip and increased the pressure of his touches. It felt like Jason was trying to massage him open. It felt good, and the more Jason did the more Percy adjusted to being touched there. Over time, Percy realized if he focused on the sensation he would tense up at the slightest variation of Jason’s touch. So, instead, he focused on his own breaths and let the sensation just wash over.

It seemed like a few minutes passed before Percy felt Jason press the tip of a finger past the outer rim of his entrance again, and this time Percy managed not to tense up. That actually took some effort. It still felt strange to feel Jason’s finger pressing into him and twisting inside.

Percy got that some prep was necessary. He definitely wasn’t going to be able to take Jason’s dick without a bit of a warm-up, but as Jason slowly worked his finger deeper inside Percy couldn’t help but notice it didn’t feel like he had expected it to. In porn guys always seemed so into it, but it just felt like a slightly uncomfortable intrusion. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as good Percy had been expecting. He still found himself sighing and whining with Jason’s motions, but that was almost reflex from the sensation. Percy was definitely adjusting to it as Jason’s finger continued to move, or at least he thought he was, until Jason pulled his finger completely out without warning.

“Problem?” Percy questioned with annoyance. Yeah, he wasn’t getting off from the things Jason was doing with his finger but the unexpected loss of it wasn’t great either.

“Just want more lube,” Jason explained as the whine of the bedsprings gave away his movements behind Percy. “Don’t move,” Jason ordered tightening his grip on Percy’s hip as he spoke, so it wasn’t like Percy had much of a choice.

Percy had no idea how Jason managed to pop the cap off the lube but from the sounds of it he did. There was a moment of nothingness before Percy heard the cap of the lube snap back in place and then felt the bottle fall onto the mattress next to him. Jason’s fingers quickly returned to his entrance, and they were cold enough to make him hiss at the unexpected feeling.

“Sorry,” Jason apologized not sounding all that sorry as Percy felt Jason twisting his finger past his rim.

“It’s okay,” Percy replied quickly. “It feels kind of nice,” he admitted which was probably more of a surprise to himself than Jason.

Percy didn’t know if it was the new cool feeling or the way the extra lube added more of a slide feel as Jason worked his finger in and out or maybe Jason had just figured out what he was doing, but Jason’s fingers working him open actually started feeling good. That was more like Percy had been expecting it to feel, and he had no problem letting out a small moan as a show of approval. 

“Oh,” Jason exclaimed. Percy had no idea why Jason sounded breathless. It wasn’t like he was doing much back there. He was just moving his finger back and forth and occasionally twisting it when it was inside-

“Oh, Gods!” Percy cried out as a warm rush of extreme sensation ripped through his entire being completely without warning. He had absolutely no idea what Jason had just did, but he absolutely wanted him to do it again.

He didn’t have to say a word. Jason took the loud moan as encouragement enough, and the next time he pressed his finger inside he did whatever he did again. Another mind-blowing wave of sensation ripped through Percy’s body to the point that Percy was surprised his knees didn’t give out.

Time became a non-existent thing, there was only the rush of near ecstasy, Percy’s moans in response to it, and the empty space in between. He felt Jason start to slowly press in another finger. There was a bit of a sting to the stretch of that, but he really couldn’t care. It was almost like an afterthought compared to the repeated warm rush that Jason was filling him with. 

He was more aware of the slowing motions of Jason’s fingers then the warmth of Jason’s body draping over his back until he felt Jason’s hot breath at the nape of his neck. “Perc,” Jason whispered in a strained sounding voice, “You think you’re good? I don’t think I can wait much longer.”

“You can’t wait much longer, seriously?” Percy almost laughed it just sounded so ridiculous. He was pretty sure that Jason had gotten him to the edge of climax and had held him there for an unbearably long time, but Jason couldn’t wait much longer. “Jay, dude I’m beyond good.” 

“Thank the gods,” Jason sighed sounding genuinely relieved as Percy felt the subtle weight of Jason’s body lifting off his back and his fingers pulled out.

It was probably a couple of seconds that past, and Percy could both feel and hear Jason moving around behind him on the bed. It wasn’t like Jason was messing around, Percy was just really impatient about the whole thing. “Jay, dude, quicker would be better,” Percy informed through clenched teeth.

“Trying,” Jason admitted somewhat absently. “Opening a condom with lube covered fingers is more difficult than I anticipated.”

Percy turned enough to look back at Jason out of the corner of his eye. “Big bad son of Jupiter getting bested by a slightly slick condom, really bro?” He teased. Normally Jason would have talked back because that was like their thing. That was practically their version of flirting. Jason didn’t talk back instead Percy heard the crinkle sound of the condom wrapper and a frustrated whimper from Jason.

As much as Percy wanted to tease Jason some more, he wanted things to move along. He wasn’t going to lay in bed with his butt in the air for hours. He shifted his weight, so he was supporting himself on one elbow and thrust his other hand backward toward Jason. “Jay, just give it to me. I’ll do it.” 

“I can get it,” Jason grumbled sullenly without relinquishing the condom.

“Gods, you are so competitive,” Percy groaned as he flipped himself over and dropped his ass on the bed.

Yeah, Percy could definitely be competitive, but even he knew there was a time and a place for that sort of thing. Jason was kneeling on the end of the bed, naked (looking seriously hot), with the condom still unopened in his grip as he glared at it. Percy snatched the metallic square from Jason’s grasp. “Don’t worry bro I can open the condom for you, and I’m still willing to bottom,” Percy didn’t plan it, but he managed to rip open the admittedly slick package as he finished saying the word bottom. He tossed the package back at Jason, who caught it, before turning back over so he was once again on his hands and knees. “Now, seriously hurry up.”

“Don’t be so pushy,” Jason grumbled in protest. That might have actually annoyed Percy if he hadn’t heard the condom wrapper crinkling as Jason pulled it out of its packaging.

“Next time when you’re the one bottoming I’m going to remind you that you said that,” Percy retorted. He didn’t actually care because he knew Jason didn’t really mean it and it wasn’t like Percy was used to being the boss in the bedroom (Annabeth would not have any of that).

“Alright,” Jason said as Percy heard the blankets rustle and the mattress protest with Jason’s movement. He felt Jason move closer to where he was positioned. The heat of Jason’s body became more pronounced against the back of Percy’s legs. “Are you ready?”

“Are you seriously asking me if I’m ready right now!” Percy exclaimed with a strange mix of annoyance and excitement. He sucked in a breath as he felt one of Jason’s hands come back to grasp one of his hips and pulled his hips back slightly. “Jay, yes, I’m ready!”

“Okay,” Jason sucked in a breath just as Percy felt Jason’s dick pierce his cheeks and press against his entrance. “So, here we go then.”  

“Fin-” Percy started but was cut off when Jason actually pressed his head in passed Percy’s rim. It definitely was a penetration but barely one, and still Percy let out a sound that was somewhere between a moan and a groan involuntarily.

“Wow,” Jason moaned as he tightened his grip on Percy’s hip. “That’s tight.”

“Jay,” Percy barely managed to pant out. The feeling of his entrance stretching around Jason’s thick dick was more then he had anticipated. It didn’t hurt, but it was on the edge of being something he could adjust to and being too much, but it also strangely felt like it was going to feel good. Percy just needed more and deeper. “Move,” he ordered desperately.

Jason actually (and thankfully) listened without a single comment. Despite the desperation in Percy’s voice, Jason went slowly which was probably a good thing because it took some time to adjust to the sting of his ass accommodating Jason’s girth and the full feeling.

Percy assumed Jason was all the way in when he felt Jason’s hips pressed against his backside. He felt so full, it was a strange sensation but not necessarily in a bad way. It was just very different from anything he had experienced before. He sort of wished he had experimented with some other stuff first because Jason felt huge.

“You good?” Jason questioned hoarsely. Percy could tell Jason was straining. It was in his voice for one and for another the grip he had on Percy’s hips was bruising.

“Yeah dude,” Percy managed to get out in a husky whisper. “Just start slow, man.”

Jason whimpered like going slow sounded like the greatest obstacle he had ever faced. That was a bit ridiculous considering Percy was the one currently taking a dick. Jason didn’t actually complain which was good because Percy would have kicked him no matter what position they were in. Despite Jason’s whimpering, he did actually start slow. That was good because there was no amount of fingering would have prepared him for the feeling of Jason’s dick moving inside him.

The sensation slowly evolved from something that was just bizarre, to interesting, to kind of good, to genuinely enjoyable. Percy wasn’t normally really loud in bed but there was no way he could not moan and groan with Jason’s every motion, but he doubted Jason actually noticed because he was being extra enthusiastically loud himself.

“Perc,” Jason panted as his grip on Percy’s hips pulled them up a little more. “Ah, Perc!”

Percy wasn’t about getting pulled around, but then Jason gave another thrust, and any complaint he might have had died with the shockwave of pleasure washed over him. “Jay, ah!” He moaned out as he dug his hands into the bedding for something to hold onto and worked to spread his knees further apart. “Again, dude!”

Jason fell into a rhythm that left Percy moaning near-constantly as he tried to not rip the sheets apart as he grasped at clumps of it with his fists. At some point he either got louder then Jason or Jason had somehow managed to exercise some volume control. Either way Percy didn’t care. It felt so good, too good, so Percy knew they were speeding toward a spectacular but messy ending. There was no greater show of that then the feel of Jason draping himself more and more over Percy’s body. Soon Jason was lying pressed against Percy’s back, hands clasped over Percy’s closed fists as he thrusted.

“Perc,” Jay moaned in Percy’s ear, spilling hot breath across Percy’s shoulder, and sending shivers down Percy’s spine.

“Jay,” Percy moaned in return as he tried to move his hips back against Jason’s groin to meet his thrust and increase the sensation. He was so close he just needed a little something more to get him there. “Dude, fuck!”

Percy had no idea what Jason was doing, but he seemed to lose his rhythm slightly which was the exact opposite of Percy needed. He whined as Jason’s thrusts became more shallow and slower, completely missing where Percy needed him. Percy tried to push himself back on Jason’s length to keep things going but Jason groaned, “Patience dude.”

“Move!” Percy practically growled back as he continued to move his hips as much as Jason’s weight would allow. Percy felt Jason’s weight shift slightly above him, and Jason’s hand move off his own. All of Percy’s complaints vanished when Jason snaked his hand between his legs and wrapped his hand around the base of Percy’s erection. “Oh gods, yes dude, do that!”

It took Jason a few seconds to find his rhythm again, but it was well worth the wait because Jason started stroking Percy in time with his thrusts. Suddenly Percy realized what he been lacking before because a little direct attention to his hard length had Percy seeing stars with ecstasy.

They both fell into exchanging wordless moans as Jason’s motions became faster and more frantic. The build was slow, but as Jason kept moving the ecstasy slowly turned Percy blind and deaf until all there was the feeling.

And then Percy couldn’t hold on any longer, and he didn’t even try. He tumbled over the edge of his own pleasure, coming with fireworks of overwhelming sensation. He may have moaned, but he was too lost in his own pleasure to hear it.

His knees didn’t give out, but his arms did. Percy ended up with his butt propped up in the air and the side of his face pressed into the pillow. It probably wouldn’t have been a comfortable position if Percy could feel anything besides the aftershocks of his orgasm. He didn’t have to sustain the position long either because Jason managed one or two spastic thrusts before Percy heard him let out a long cry, and Percy swore he could actually feel Jason cum.

There was a long stretch of time after where neither of them moved beside panting like they were both far more out of shape than they had any right to be. Percy came back to reality first as the full feeling of Jason still inside him started to get uncomfortable. “Jay, dude, you’ve got to pull out,” he informed with a glance over his shoulder at Jason who was still draped over Percy’s back panting.  

“Right,” Jason replied. He sounded at least a little like he was coming back to his senses as he spoke. His weight and his warmth moved from Percy’s back. A hand appeared on Percy’s hip that Percy was pretty sure was Jason’s way of steadying himself before he actually pulled out.

The motion caused both of them to groan. That definitely wasn’t something you felt every day, Percy thought to himself as he felt Jason drop onto the bed next to him. Percy sat up slowly, ignoring the odd empty feeling that was slowly fading as he did so, and kneeled at the foot of the bed. He watched Jason slowly pull off the used condom, tie it off, and threw it in the general direction of the trash can. That must have been the least Jason thing Percy had ever seen and to make it worse he completely under-shot. “Dude, you missed,” Percy teased with a pointed look toward the condom on the floor. Percy didn’t really care, but it was kind of gross.

“I’ll get it later,” Jason declared lazily as he stretched out on the bed absently. Percy was totally cool with that because Jason looked really good stretched out naked on the bed. Percy could have probably just looked at Jason laying there contently for the rest of the night. “Come lay back down,” he patted the bed next to him as an invitation as he spoke.

“What?” Percy questioned with a grin, “You want to cuddle?” It came out teasing which was what he was going for. To Jason, cuddling was too couply, but Percy didn’t care. Percy was all about a good cuddle, and he was cool if it was Annabeth or Jason.     

“Maybe,” Jason admitted with a lazy smile. Damn, if Percy had realized actually having sex would have gotten Jason to loosen up that much he would have volunteered to catch forever ago. “Don’t question it Perc, just lay down.”

“Then move over,” Percy order nudging Jason’s foot roughly. “I’m not going to lay down in my own jizz because you get touchy post-coital.”

Jason looked genuinely confused for a have a second before realization dawned on his face. Percy watched as Jason looked at the bit of the mess on the sheets next to him before groaning audibly. Percy had no idea what Jason was doing as he first started pawing at the blankets but about the time Jason started ripping and kicking the messy blanket down the bed, Percy figured it out. He moved up the bed and helped Jason kick the blanket further out of the way as he did so.

“There,” Jason declared with one last, especially determined kick. “Now lay down so we can cuddle.”

“Hey Jay, just because I bottomed once doesn’t mean you get to boss me around,” Percy retorted in fake protest as he crawled up the bed and dropped down on the now clean(ish) space next to Jason.

“Sure thing, dude,” Jason replied with a yawn as he slung his arm over Percy’s side.

And if they dozed off for a bit after that, Percy was pretty sure they earned it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos are always welcome
> 
> For Delix fics and Writer Updates see my Tumblr (delta-roseblr.tumblr.com)


	72. Potion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday everyone,
> 
> SMUT WARNING!!!! This chapter contains some serious smut

The way Nico had talked, part of Will was actually worried going to Gladiators would be miserable. He knew Nico wasn’t a fan of crowds or socializing, so he expected Nico to protest at least a little. The amount of effort Nico had spent trying to talk Will out of going had Will seriously wondering if there was at least some truth to all of Nico’s warnings.

As it turned out, Nico was just being anti-social. The bar ended up being a lot of fun. If Will did decide to go to college in New Rome it was nice to know there was a place they could go on occasion to let lose a little if they wanted.

Of course, he couldn’t help but think that it would be fun to go out to a place like that with Dean (maybe he could talk him into dating someone better than Felix) which wasn’t possible if he went to school in New Rome. That wasn’t a decision he needed to make that night, so he tried not to think about it too much.

For someone who had whined, complained, and tried so hard to talk Will out of going, Nico certainly didn’t have any trouble loosening up and having some fun. Will really shouldn’t have, but he had sort of forgotten how Nico could get after a few alcoholic beverages. Will couldn’t complain because Nico just got super touchy and threw his inhibitions out the window. It was just having to work to keep Nico’s hands off his groin in public was really unexpected. Will wasn’t much better after a couple of drinks, so he was sure he and Nico had put on quite a show.

It was probably a really good thing Nico had suggested they go back to the hotel. Will had been probably one more drink and a little bit more inappropriate rubbing from Nico from doing something that would get him arrested for public indecency. Will really only had two complaints: it took way too long to actually leave the bar because the waiter would not shut up about how they should stay as he was closing out Nico’s tab, and the hotel was way too far from the bar. Will hadn’t remembered it taking so long to get there at the start of the night, but it felt like hours to make their way back.

Will actually had to fight back the urge to beg Nico to just shadow-travel them back to their room because he didn’t want to wait. He didn’t because Percy and Jason were walking with them. He even tried to keep his hands to himself as they made their way back to their hotel. He couldn’t claim the moral high grown or anything because he and Nico did end up making out pretty intensely in the elevator.

Yes, Will realized he shouldn’t have let that happen, and it probably had made Jason and Percy wildly uncomfortable, but in all fairness, Nico started it. On the plus side, making out with Nico made the absurdly long elevator ride to their suite pass like it was nothing. The only disruption being the brief reprieve they took to say good-bye to Percy and Jason at Jason’s floor. The fact that Jason and Percy would be spending the night in the same room was sort of weird, but Nico nibbling at his ear drove that thought from Will’s mind.

“Will,” Nico practically purred in his ear just as the elevator doors slid shut. “Ti voglio.”

Will wasn’t sure what Nico had said. The feel of Nico’s body pressed against Will’s, and the feel of his hot breath got Nico’s point across pretty easily. Will turned and caught Nico’s lips with his own as he grabbed at Nico’s hips roughly, pulling him more tightly against his own body. They shared a searing kiss as Will felt Nico tried to grind against him. Will had already been so worked up and that only made it worse. Will moved his hands from Nico’s hips to his tight backside and grabbed him their firmly.

In one swift movement, he used his grip on Nico’s tight ass to lift him off his feet. Nico’s legs seemed to reflexively wrap around his waist as Will spun them. Will was holding Nico up pinned against the wall of the elevator as he pulled away from Nico’s sinful lips to meet Nico’s gaze. His dark eyes were blown wide with surprise and excitement. “You know you have been a horrible tease for hours, right?” Will questioned playfully as he tightened his grip on the firm flesh of Nico’s ass.

“Sono solo una presa in giro se non spengo,” Nico purred contemplatively as Will felt his legs tighten around Will’s waist. It was amazing how wide Nico’s pupils were already blown with arousal. It was sort of a power trip, but Will didn’t get to enjoy it for long before Nico used his grip in Will’s hair to pull him into another kiss.

Will certainly wasn’t going to put up a fight, so of course, he kissed Nico back with everything he had. It wasn’t like he planned for them to end up making out in the elevator with Nico pinned up against the wall like that, but that was what ended up happening. It felt so good Will easily got lost in the sensation of Nico’s lips against his own, his fingers curling in his hair, his legs around his waist. Will was only faintly aware of the elevator chiming to signal that they had reached their floor.

The metallic sound of the elevators sliding open triggered some part of Will’s lizard brain because he moved. He didn’t put Nico down or even stop kissing him, but he did move, carrying Nico as he did. Will was so thankful that the suite’s foyer was relatively empty because he couldn’t see a thing as he worked his way through the room. He managed to make it to the suite’s door without tripping, running into anything, or putting Nico down.

He pressed Nico against the door as he felt the playful nip of Nico’s teeth against his lower lip. He didn’t know what was better, Nico’s playful bites or the gentle scrape of nails against his back as Nico tugged at his t-shirt. The little bit of his mind that wasn’t dedicated to truly enjoying Nico’s embrace tried to figure out how he could get the door open without having to put Nico down.

Nico’s lips moved to kiss along his jaw and getting the door open suddenly felt like an insurmountable problem. “Um, Nic,” Will hummed as each kiss Nico placed against his skin sent a shockwave of heat through his entire body and to his very core. “We could just have sex against this door.”

Nico’s answer was to lean in and press a hot kiss against Will’s lips before pulling away and leaving Will whimpering for more. Will watched as Nico tilted his head to one side before speaking. “Or you can wait two minutes, and we could move to the bed,” he suggested thoughtfully. Will was more than a little surprised that Nico had actually spoke English.

“But this could be hot,” Will suggested with a grin as he picked Nico up a little higher. Nico didn’t look convinced, so Will just gave in and admitted, “And the door is locked.”

“Oh,” Nico exclaimed before leaning in placing a quick kiss on Will’s cheek and declaring, “Then you have to put me down.”

“Um,” Will hummed as he thought about it for a second and evaluated their position. He liked the feel of Nico’s legs wrapped around his waist and having a grip on Nico’s butt. “But what if I don’t want to?” he questioned.

Nico laughed sincerely and moved to unwrap his legs from around Will’s waist. Will reluctantly release Nico from his grasp, so he could actually stand. He didn’t really give Nico any person space, but he still managed to turn his back on Will and started to rummage through his pockets. “I will make it worth it,” he offered as he produced the key out of his pocket and pushed it into the keyhole.

“You always make it worth it,” Will declared as he wrapped his arms around Nico’s waist and started kissing affectionately at Nico’s throat. He knew he was probably distracting Nico from trying to open the door, but he couldn’t care enough to stop.

“Hm,” Nico hummed contently as he tilted his head to one side offering Will more of his throat as he turned the key with an audible click. Half a second passed before Nico pushed the door open and before Will could reach Nico turned, grabbed a fistful of Will’s shirt, and pulled him through the door.

“Gods, I love you!” Will declared happily as he stumbled after Nico. He kicked the door shut on his way before moving his hands out to grasp Nico’s hips. Using his grip, he moved in closer to kiss Nico with all the heat there had been before the little interruption.

Nico kissed back letting his hand release Will’s shirt in favor of draping his arms around Will’s neck. The kiss was long, and lustful, but still affectionate in its own way. Nico was the one to pull away first, his eyes half hooded as he met Will’s gaze. “Love you too,” He replied with a husky whisper.

Will felt the smile stretch across his own face. He really couldn’t feel anything but pleased with his life in that moment. “Tonight was fun,” he commented contently as he and Nico still made their way deeper into the room.

Nico returned his smile, but there was an edge to his expression that had a shiver of anticipation running down Will’s spine. “Tonight isn’t over yet,” Nico informed wickedly before he twisted himself in a way that turned them both until they had rotated so Will was suddenly the one walking backwards. Will didn’t mind because from the determination in Nico’s motions he clearly had a destination in mind.

“Even better,” Will replied sincerely just as he felt the back of his knees hit the couch in the sitting area of the large suite.

Will didn’t even consider the idea of remaining standing. Before Nico could even begin to press down on his shoulders he was moving to sit on the plush couch. Nico immediately moved to straddle his waist, his familiar weight coming to rest in Will’s lap. Everything was so familiar in all the best ways, Will’s body started to move without much conscious thought. He brought his hands from Nico’s hips to his back, bringing one to rest on the small of his back and the other a few inches higher.

Nico’s lips found Will’s jaw, peppering his skin with hungry kisses on his way to Will’s ear. As much as Will wanted to taste Nico’s lips on his own he laid back for the moment and let Nico lavish him with attention. He still couldn’t keep his hands still, so he rubbed lazy circles on Nico’s back through his t-shirt. Occasionally, he let out a sigh or hum to let Nico know just how good every single thing he was doing felt. He encouraged the first subtle shifts of Nico’s hips by rubbing at his back with more insistence.

“Will,” Nico sighed hot breath against Will’s throat.

“Um,” Will replied with a content hum as he started to cling at the back of Nico’s t-shirt. “You sound so good,” he purred with arousal.

He didn’t know what was wrong with what he had said. It was something that he had probably said a million times before, and it had always had a positive reaction from Nico. His reaction was the exact opposite of what Will would have expected. Nico stopped everything, kissing, moving, all of it.

There was a second or two of silence that lasted far too long for Will’s taste before Nico pulled away and looked at Will with the most curious expression. Now wasn’t the time for curiosity, it was the time for kissing, and skin, and touching. First, he let his hands slide down from Nico’s back and to the outside of his thighs to rub there reassuringly.

“What?” he whined the question but was too impatient to wait for an answer. He tried to sit forward to recapture Nico’s lips, but Nico moved his hand, splaying it on Will’s chest holding him back. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you still have that potion?” Nico questioned thoughtfully.

Most of Will’s blood seemed to be rushing away from his brain so he found himself barely understanding that Nico had spoken English let alone his actual words. “What potion?” he questioned dumbly.

“The potion from before,” Nico explained. Will had to appreciate that his boyfriend didn’t start talking to him like he was stupid because honestly what other potion could Nico be talking about. “Your birthday present from Lou Ellen.”

“Oh,” Will realized quickly and then immediately felt guilty. It had been a long journey to get Nico to be completely comfortable and completely let lose when it came to sexual stuff. Will hated himself for bringing up one desire and setting Nico back. He ran his hands up Nico’s thighs, over his sides, and brought them back to rest on the small of his back. He looked up at Nico with a sincere expression hoping he would come across reassuring. “Pretty boy, you don’t have to worry. If you’re not comfortable I would never-”

Nico cut Will off in the sweetest way. Nico leaned in and pressed his lips against Will’s and kissed him softly. The kiss was just long enough to take Will’s breath away before Nico pulled back. Will didn’t remember shutting his eyes, but he must have because it took him a moment before they fluttered open to find Nico looking back at him seriously. “You should take it,” Nico stated with determination.

Will’s brain heard the words, but they were so far from what he had expected to hear he couldn’t understand. “What?” Will questioned with genuine confusion.

“Does it work immediately or is there a delay?” Nico questioned thoughtfully seeming to more or less ignore Will’s question.

Will didn’t really need Nico to answer, his thoughtful expression told Will more than words probably could. “Are you serious?” He questioned feeling slightly frantic. There was no way Nico could actually be serious. Will had been prepared for several months of working to make Nico comfortable with the idea before even bringing up Lou’s potion again.

Nico just looked back at Will with confusion. “Do you not want to?” He questioned.

“Of course, I want to, but I thought-” Will started to explain quickly. He definitely wanted to, he just felt like he might be taking advantage of Nico’s slight intoxication if he jumped at the opportunity without questioning it first.

The brightest, most sincere smile spread across Nico’s face for the briefest moment before he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against Will’s lips. “I changed my mind,” Nico declared as he pulled away and sat up a little straighter. Will didn’t really care for the sudden distance Nico’s change of posture put between them. He watched as Nico seemed to look around the room searching for something. “Is it still in your bag?” He questioned after a moment of silence.

“Yeah,” Will answered although he wasn’t entirely convinced. He didn’t want to do something Nico would regret in the morning. “But-”

Nico wasn’t listening because he didn’t let Will finish his thought before he moved from Will’s lap. Will tried to catch him, but his reaction time was just too slow, and Nico was gone before he could. Will was left to watch as Nico practically skipped in the direction of Will’s backpack. “I’ll get it,” Nico declared with more pep in his voice than Will was used to hearing.

“But-” Will called after him as he turned slightly so he could watch as Nico crouched by his backpack and started rummaging in the pockets. “-Are you sure?” he questioned nervously as Nico produced the vial of purple liquid almost immediately. “I want you to be comfortable,” he admitted. He didn’t even try to hide the bit of concern that slipped into his voice.

Nico bounced back to the couch with the potion in hand and returned to his place on Will’s lap. “Yes, I’m sure,” Nico replied easily as the feel of his weight returning to Will’s lap had Will questioning why he was putting up such a fight about it. “But it is sweet of you to ask.”

Will let out a sound that was supposed to communicate his continued apprehension, but it came out more as a whimper as Nico popped the cork on the vial. “I mean, if you really want to,” he cracked out.

If Will wanted to try to protest or question it further, he didn’t get a chance because Nico pressed the vial against Will’s lips and tipped it until Will was drinking down the potion. Will had given the potion plenty of thought since Lou Ellen had given it to him, but never once had Will thought about what it would actually taste like. Maybe because it was purple, Will had expected that awful artificial grape flavor, but that wasn’t it at all. It actually reminded Will of the pastries his uncle would sometimes get when he was in Nashville. It wasn’t necessarily unpleasant, but it was unexpected.

In two sips the potion was gone, and Nico pulled the vial away from Will’s lips. Nico’s eyes were bright and focused on Will as he tucked the cork back into the bottle and tossed the now empty vial aside. Will had no idea how long it would take the potion to kick in and based on Nico’s inquisitive expression he wanted to know just as badly as Will did.

Nico left the question unasked, and instead leaned in and started kissing at Will’s neck hungrily. Will realized he probably should have asked Lou Ellen how he would be able to tell when the potion had taken affect, but as Nico’s teeth grazed over his skin he honestly couldn’t care. “Will, ti voglio così tanto,” Nico purred in between kisses.

Will felt a strange tingle at the base of his skull at Nico’s words. There was half a second delay before Will felt like he knew what Nico had said even though it had definitely been spoken in Italian. Will was sure Nico had said something about wanting him which was a sentiment that Will could relate too. He needed Nico to keep talking so he could hear more. The desire was almost overwhelming, and Will squeezed Nico’s tight butt with both hands as he encourage, “Keep talking, Pretty Boy.”

Nico hummed at the rough treatment and ground back into Will’s hands as he pulled back enough to meet Will’s gaze. “Can you understand me?” Nico asked, and it was probably one of the strangest sensations Will had ever experienced. Again, Will could tell that Nico was speaking Italian and this time he understood it without a delay. As clear as the words, and more importantly, their meaning, the actual language had a distortion. The only thing Will could compare it to was hearing someone talking underwater or through a door, but that didn’t truly capture it.

“Ah-ha,” Will answered. He tried to hide how truly excited he was by the simple fact that he could understand Nico’s words and knew he failed completely. He was going to be able to hear all the dirty, sexy things Nico moaned and cried out when they were making love.

Nico sat up with a serious look and for a split-second Will was worried Nico had suddenly changed his mind about the whole thing. “We should move to the bed, so we can do this properly,” Nico more ordered than suggested and completely calmed any of Will’s worries.

“I love the way you think,” Will admitted as he couldn’t help but smile with relief and pure joy. He sat up enough to catch Nico’s lips with his own. As soon as he felt Nico began to kiss him back with enthusiasm Will changed his grip, so he had one arm wrapped around Nico’s back and the other tucked under his tight backside.

With a stable hold on Nico’s muscular body Will managed to push himself up off the couch. Nico’s response was the most perfect thing, Will felt Nico’s legs immediately wrap tightly around his waist. Will carried Nico toward the bed as they continued to kiss. Will’s kisses were probably not the most coordinated, but he was trying to navigate an unfamiliar room blind. That didn’t mean Nico didn’t quickly take advantage by pressing his tongue into Will’s mouth and started to lick at the inside in the most amazing ways.

Will almost fell over when he came to the step that led up to the bed’s platform but just barely managed to catch himself. Nico didn’t seem bothered as he continued to distract Will with his nimble tongue as Will fumbled up the steps.

At the feel of the bedframe hitting his shins, Will leaned down and laid Nico out on the bed. There was a slight awkward pause in their kissing as Nico shuffled himself back further on the bed, and Will moved onto the mattress and crawled after him.

As Will moved to loom over Nico, he noted just how shallow Nico’s breathing had become and how wide his pupils were blown with arousal. Nico looked so good Will actually found himself torn between his desired to kiss Nico more and to just stare at Nico under him in all his glory as he stared down at the brunet under him.

Nico looked up at him for a moment, squirming slightly. Nimble fingers ghosted down Will’s chest and settled at the waist band of Will’s jeans. “Is this how you want me?” Nico questioned in a tone that practically dripped with sex. The subtle but distinct tingle at the back of Will’s neck was the only thing to let Will know Nico was not speaking English.

Will licked his lips absently as he looked Nico up and down under him. “Gods, that’s a loaded choice,” Will admitted as he bit his lip to hide a whimper. It was such a hard choice because every option was so tempting. Nico could look so good when he bottomed, and he was so vocal, especially when he was physically under Will, but on the other hand, when Nico topped he would do this thing where he would mumble in Italian in Will’s ear as he moved. Will honestly wanted both, but he knew he had to pick one. “Yeah,” Will finally stated, making the decision almost as he said the word. If he could only have one Will needed to know what Nico moaned and cried when Will was in control in bed. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to settle for just one. “I think so, but we might have to do this more than once if you’re up to it.”

Nico kept his eyes on Will as he reached a hand out. Will felt Nico’s fingers ghost down his stomach and settle at the waistband of his jeans. “When am I not up for it?” Nico questioned with a cocky cork of his eyebrow that told Will Nico already knew the answer to that.

The cocky and suggestive look Nico was wearing wasn’t tempting enough, Will felt his nimble fingers curling around his waistband and started to work open his fly. Will’s heart was suddenly pounding, and he felt like he was gasping for breath. “Good point,” Will only barely managed the words and chose to ignore the fact that his voice sounded a half an octave too high to be considered normal.

Nico actually chuckled. It was quiet, but it was there and hearing it killed any of Will’s hope that his voice practically cracking had gone unnoticed. Before he could protest or whine or do anything to defend his dignity and masculinity, Nico both sat up a little more and pulled Will in. They kissed, and it was all heat and urgency. Will through dignity to the wayside and whimpered against Nico’s lips. They pawed at each other blindly as they continued to kiss. Nico nipped slightly at Will’s bottom lip, but instead of giving Nico more control he pressed his own tongue forward licking at the inside of Nico’s mouth.

That was the exact right thing to do if Nico’s reaction was any indication. Will felt Nico’s hands start to tug and pull at his shirt with increased frustration. Will recognized what Nico was telling him easily enough, he wanted Will’s shirt off. Unfortunately, that would have involved pulling away from Nico’s lips, and Will had no desire to do that. Will continued to kiss Nico hungrily and let his hands settle at Nico’s hips, holding Nico as close as he could manage.

An especially aggressive tug and a frustrated growl were followed by Nico pulling away from Will’s lips despite Will’s attempts to stop him. “Gods!” Nico huffed angrily. “Stupid shirt,” he declared giving Will’s shirt one last tug before pushing Will away. There was some force in Nico’s motions, but Will’s position on the bed was more stable. Nico ended up laying back on the bed and pouting up at Will. “Why are you wearing clothes?” Nico questioned sullenly.

“Well, I don’t know about New Rome, but most places expect you to wear clothes in public,” Will teased with a wide grin.

Nico was still sulking as he looked Will up and down with interest. “We are not in public now,” he observed thoughtfully, “You should take them off.”

“Oh, well since you asked so nicely,” Will declared playfully as he sat up a little more on the bed. Nico watched his every move with an intensity that Will rarely saw on Nico’s face and always sent chills down Will’s spine whenever he was on the receiving end of it. Will was actually glad he wasn’t standing because he was pretty sure his knees would have given out from the pure sex that glittered in Nico’s eyes. Will kept his eyes on Nico as he grasped the hem of his own t-shirt and pulled it up and off in the flashiest, most Chippendale-esque way he could manage. He felt a little ridiculous doing it, but he worked hard not to let it show and ruin the confident mystique he was going for. He tossed his shirt aside thoughtlessly, knowing he would find it in some random place (like hanging from the ceiling fan) in the morning. Looking back at Nico with a grin that was all fake bravado, he questioned, “Is this better?”

Nico hummed and then licked his lips in the most sinful way Will had ever seen. “A little,” he replied in a husky voice as he sat up more and once again brought his hands back to Will’s waistband. Nimble fingers worked to finish unclasping Will’s pants as Nico spoke as plainly as if he was talking about the weather, “I would like it more if these were off too.”

“That can absolutely be arranged,” Will stated although as he felt Nico start to work his pants down his hips he really didn’t think Nico was waiting for his permission. He wasn’t going to protest, but he didn’t want to be the only one naked either. “But you’re going to have to lose some clothes too,” he pointed out.

Nico nodded in silent agreement as he pushed Will’s pants past the point where gravity could take over. Before Nico could do it Will went to grasp the hem of his boxers and started working them off. Nico didn’t fight him for the honors, and instead, he shifted himself out from under Will’s legs. As Will moved back and stepped off the bed to get rid of his pants and boxers he watched Nico rip off his own t-shirt and toss it aside.

Will had been complaining that their hotel room was too cold, but as he stood there completely naked with a shirtless Nico laying in front of him Will didn’t feel the least bit cold. He moved back onto the bed and immediately brought his hand to Nico’s belt. Historically, Will was horribly unskilled at dealing with Nico’s belt and tight pants so he really focused. It wasn’t easy, but he managed to undo Nico’s belt and pants with minimal fumbling. Nico lifted his hips when the time came, allowing Will to pull his tight-fitting jeans off and discard them over the side of the bed.

Nico was left lying on the bed in nothing but his natural perfection and snug briefs. Will moved back on the bed letting his hands wonder up Nico’s toned legs as he did. He knew Nico was watching him intently, he could feel Nico’s eyes on him, but he didn’t look up. Instead, he chose to keep his eyes on his destination.

His hands ran up Nico’s legs and over the inside of his thighs before hitting the fabric of Nico’s briefs. Modeling high-end underwear apparently meant that was all Nico wore now so the fabric was soft and smooth and cradled him in all the right places. The sleek lines did nothing to hide Nico’s erection straining against its confines. The bulge was just too tempting not to touch, Will thought as he reached out his hand and rubbed Nico’s clothed length tentatively.

“Oh Will,” Nico moaned sweetly at the contact as Will felt him press upwards against his palm seeking more. Will would give Nico anything and everything just to hear him moan again, so he pressed his palm down a little more firmly and ran it up Nico’s length for the second time. “Oh,” Nico moaned again, this time the sound coming out slightly muffled.

Keeping his hand pressed firmly against Nico’s member, Will looked up to see Nico biting down on his lower lip as he grasped at the sheets under them, “Aw, aw, aw,” Will chastised playfully as he sat up enough to press his lips against Nico’s.

Nico whined in protest to the sudden loss of friction but still managed to kiss back. When Will pulled away his eyes immediately locked onto Nico’s as he slowly snaked his hand back down Nico’s body. “Be noisy, don’t hold back. I want to hear every word,” he informed seriously before punctuating his point by rubbing his palm against Nico’s hard dick with more pressure than before.

“Oh gods Will,” Nico cried out as Will watched him throw his head back against the bed and felt him thrust up into his hand.

Will felt a satisfied smile spread across his own face as he watched and heard the signs of his success. “Better,” he declared with satisfaction as he eased back his hand slightly, so Nico couldn’t find as much contact as he may have wanted.

Starting at Nico’s jaw, Will kissed his way down Nico’s body. He made sure to take his time, kissing and licking at all the places he knew always made Nico squirm. He could feel all the little twitches and shifts that showed how hard Nico was trying to maintain his composure, and how much he was failing, and they all served to drive Will forward. He was moving past Nico’s navel when he heard Nico huff, “You’re mean.”

Will smiled against Nico’s skin as he continued to kiss his way down Nico’s body. “Not even a little bit,” he whispered his disagreement as he reached the waistband of Nico’s briefs.

As much as Will wanted Nico to be laying completely bare before him he resisted the urge in favor of teasing Nico a little more. He pressed hot kisses over the fabric that stood between him and Nico’s hard length. “Oh gods Will!” Will was rewarded with Nico’s loud cry as Will ran his tongue over the head leaving a damp spot on the fabric in his wake.

Nico’s erection twitched at Will’s attention, and that was enough of a sign for Will. He was done teasing, he wanted to touch, kiss, and lick at Nico’s skin. He sat up and clasped his fingers around the waistband of Nico’s briefs. “This is going to be so much fun,” he declared happily to himself before pulling the last piece of clothing that stood between him and his ultimate goal down. Nico was incredibly cooperative, lifting his hips and pulling back his legs as Will pulled the briefs off.

Will tossed the offending fabric aside before assessing the view in front him, and boy, was it quite a view. Nico was laid out before him finally naked. His chest was flush and heaving and his cock laid heavy and full against his stomach. Nico’s dick looked so hard it honestly looked almost painful.

He caught Nico’s eyes on him, pupils wide with arousal and filled with a look of desperation. Gods, I must be the luckiest man alive, Will thought to himself as his eyes wondered downward and he licked his lips. “Let me help you with that,” Will declared in a husky whisper with a lude look downward at Nico’s heavy length as he started to lean back down.

“Will,” Nico whined. Will could feel how Nico watched him, but he didn’t look up in favor of staying his course. When he was just low enough he ran his tongue up Nico’s length tentatively. “Gods, Will, please don’t torture me!”

Will chuckled and glanced up at Nico, sitting up just enough to speak. “But I like the noises you make,” he stated playfully.

Nico squirmed under him on the bed and let out the cutest, frustrated sounds Will had ever heard. “Don’t tease,” Nico begged. Such sounds certainly didn’t make Will want to stop teasing him. Nimble fingers interlaced in Will’s hair as Will felt Nico’s grasp insistently pushing him down. Will didn’t put up a fight as Nico urged him back down toward his groin. That was where Will was going anyways.

“But teasing is part of the fun,” Will retorted as he grinned against Nico’s skin. Will could have probably continued teasing, but at that point, it felt like he would be torturing himself just as much as he would be teasing Nico. Will let his eyes flutter closed before lapping his tongue at the head of Nico’s cock before wrapping his lips around his girth and suckling at the tip.

Will’s efforts were instantly rewarded with the sound of Nico’s breath hitching. Will felt Nico squirm under him and heard the ruffle of sheets and subtle creak of the mattress. A moment no longer than half a heartbeat past before Will took a bit more of Nico’s length into his mouth and heard Nico let out the softest sigh of relief, “Thank the gods,” Nico purred.

Will hummed contently as he continued to take in more of Nico’s length. He lost track of time, and really any sense of reality as every flick of his tongue and increase in suction from his mouth managed to elicit the most beautiful little noises and moans from Nico. Most of the brunet’s noises were wordless sounds or half said gasps that were too broken to be understood. Will didn’t need to hear actual words to know Nico was in the throes of absolute ecstasy, and that knowledge was enough to encourage Will’s actions.

He wasn’t trying to do anything particularly adventurous, but the sounds Nico was making was egging him on. He didn’t manage to actually deep throat, but from the feel and the loud gasp Nico issued he got closer than he ever had before. Will was going to be so impressed with himself later, but in the moment, he just wanted to do it again. As soon as he did Nico gasped more loudly. “Oh, Will tight…,” Nico panted as Will felt him arch slightly off the bed.

Nothing had ever made Will want to do something more than hearing Nico gasp and arch up into his touch like that. “It feels so…oh…um Will…oh…,” Nico stammered in between little desperate noises. Will felt fingers lace into his hair, and at first simply ruffle his hair lightly, but after a few seconds, Nico was tugging at his hair with almost painful force. “Wait!” Nico cried out tugging at Will’s hair roughly.

Will popped off Nico’s length with the obscenest smacking sound he had ever heard. Looking up, Will found that Nico looked perfectly and completely dispatched. He was flush, his chest was heaving, his long fingers were grasping at fistfuls of sheets, his eyes were held shut, and his mouth hung open slightly like he was on the verge of crying out. “What’s wrong Pretty Boy?” Will questioned as he petted Nico’s thighs affectionately.

“Feels so good,” Nico replied through labored breaths. Will watched Nico’s eyes flutter open and look down at him with a look that could really only be described as desperate. “You’re going to make me finish,” he explained. It didn’t make sense, but he made it sound like that was a bad thing.

Will grinned because he didn’t see how that could ever be a bad thing. “That’s the point,” he pointed out not hiding his satisfaction at knowing he had Nico feeling that good.

Nico shifted up the bed slightly and pushed up on his elbows. Will didn’t shift from his own position on the bed even though Nico had put more distance between them as he gazed up at Nico.

Nico looked down at him and corked his head to one side like he did when he found something particularly confusing. “Why such a rush?” he questioned. The tingle was still there at the base of Will’s skull letting him know that Nico was still speaking Italian, and that just made everything all the hotter.

Will leaned in and placed a soft kiss on the inside of Nico’s thigh. He took a moment to enjoy the way Nico’s cock twitched at the contact before he replied, “What can I say I like watching you enjoy yourself.”

“Well, I like when we are both enjoying each other,” Nico retorted sincerely, “You know, together.” Nico shifted slightly on the bed. The exact how, Will couldn’t pinpoint, but he sensed it nevertheless.

“Oh?” Will perked up and started to move up Nico’s body. He locked eyes with the brunet as he asked, “Is that what you want?”

Nico’s dark eyes never left Will’s as he moved back, slowly laying on the bed. “Is that a real question?” he questioned doubtfully.

Will shook his head no because he really didn’t have any doubt what Nico wanted. Nico wasn’t what he could be called subtle. He licked his lips as he looked Nico up and down. He looked so good, all naked and sculpted, Will’s mind was practically overflowing with all the naughty things he wanted to do. It was hard to pick just one, but he managed. “Can I rim you first?” he questioned optimistically.

Nico was already flush from arousal, but at that question he turned a brighter shade of red. Will watched as Nico bit at his bottom lip bashfully and nodding in agreement.

 _How did he want to do this_ , Will wondered seriously. He certainly wasn’t above throwing Nico’s legs over his shoulders and going down. Actually, normally, that was how he would do it, but it wasn’t always the most convenient position, and he really didn’t want anything to get in the way of really making sure Nico thoroughly enjoyed every single thing he planned to do. “Would you get on your hands and knees for me?” he requested.

There was a moment where Nico was silent. All Will could think about was how large Nico’s eyes looked, and how dark he was blushing, and Will genuinely thought he might die. If he had managed to mess up the amazing rhythm they had by asking that question he was never going to forgive himself.

Nico didn’t answer in words, but after that moment of silence he moved, wiggling out from under Will. At first the motion sent Will into a complete panic that his request had been so offensive it had actually driven Nico from the bed, but then he noticed Nico wasn’t actually leaving. Nico was actually shifting to turn over and push his perfect backside into the air like he was presenting Will a present.

It may have been the best gift he had ever been given considering the true perfection of Nico’s butt. He managed not to say anything in fear of ruining the moment, but he didn’t keep his hands to himself. Will ran his hand over the curve of Nico’s backside almost sheepishly before moving up to Nico’s hip and settling there.

Gently he tugged Nico’s hips a little higher and chose to interpret the little noise Nico issued as a good thing. It certainly sounded like a good noise. Will kept his one hand at Nico’s hip, gripping there lightly as he moved his other hand over one of the fleshy lobes of Nico’s backside. He gripped at muscular flesh there as he slid his other hand down to grip at the other. He used his grip on Nico’s butt to pull apart Nico’s cheeks and reveal the furrowed flesh of his entrance.

There really wasn’t time to appreciate the view before Will leaned down and ran his tongue along Nico’s crease until he felt the telltale pucker under his tongue. Nico’s entrance contracted noticeably at his touch and Will heard Nico issue a contented sigh.

Will started to lick at Nico’s sensitive rim, starting with soft slow flicks of his tongue. They were barely more than kitty-licks at first, but Nico still started moaning almost immediately. Slowly, Will increased the pressure and speed of his tongue’s motions. As he did Nico’s moans moved from being small sounds to loud cries that were accompanied by a fair amount of squirming.

Will pulled back and released Nico’s cheeks. As he sat up he had to appreciate the view of Nico, butt still pushed up in the air, and his body heaving with labored breath. Will had done that, he was definitely proud of that. He could have probably enjoyed the view forever, but he knew he was going to enjoy what was going to come even more.

“I’ll be right back,” Will assured before giving Nico’s butt a quick smack.  

Will’s intentions had been to stretch across the bed to snag the lube they had left on one of the nightstand that morning, but he barely got a chance to shift his weight before Nico’s moan brought him to a standstill. “Gods!” Nico cried out loudly, “Will, please!”

“What?” Will questioned. He was genuinely confused for a second before he remembered. Nico liked getting spanked. “I forgot you into that,” he admitted. He didn’t know how he had managed to forget that because it was rather distinctive, but somehow, he had. Really, he should have been taking advantage of that particular kink far more than he had. “How can I keep forgetting that?”

“Will,” Nico whimpered. The sound was slightly muffled by the pillow Nico was resting against, but the way he wiggled his hips was hard to miss.

“Do you want-” Will started but than stopped. He and Nico were pretty open with each other at this point when it came to sex, and Will normally didn’t have issues being communicative in bed, but it still felt like a strange thing to ask. He took a second to rethink the question to something he felt more comfortable asking, “I mean, should I do it again?”

“Ah-ha,” Nico answered immediately, and Will couldn’t be sure, but he thought he noticed Nico attempt to shake his head in the affirmative.

 _Okay_ , Will thought before quickly acting, too afraid that if he didn’t act he would lose his nerve. He brought his hand down to smack Nico’s muscular cheek. The contact resulted in a cracking sound that Will would have had him concerned if Nico didn’t immediately moan more loudly. Will did it again, and then a third time with each strike being a little harder. Nico’s volume seemed to go up with the intensity of the contact.

“Will!” Nico practically screamed following the fourth strike. “Gods, so good-” He declared with several words toward the end being lost into the pillow as Nico squirmed on the bed.

“What was that Pretty Boy?” Will questioned. Normally, Will could figure out the worst mumbling, but with this Nico’s voice was just too distorted for Will to translate, and he doubted the Italian (even with the aid of the potion) helped with that.

Nico issued a long whine and mumbled something in reply, but again, Will couldn’t make out the words. He had to resist the urge to just reach over Nico and pull the pillow away from his face because he knew that was the problem. Instead, he just leaned in a little and requested softly, “Try that one more time, Pretty Boy.”

He heard Nico huff as he shifted, pushing the pillow away from his face and turning to look back at Will over his shoulder. “Harder!” Nico demanded in a practical growl.

“Really?” Will questioned with surprise. Maybe he was being naïve, but he hadn’t seen that request coming. He sat back a little bit, and he couldn’t not see how red Nico’s backside was where he had been making contact. “Your butt is kind of red,” He pointed out with a bit of concern. He was tempted to just reach out and heal Nico, but he was also nervous to touch him. The spot was just so red it looked like it would hurt to touch. “I can almost make out my hand print,” Will noted and “almost” was probably an understatement.

Nico whimpered desperately and squirmed, wiggling his butt in such a tempting way. “Yes please,” Nico practically pleaded, “Will, harder, just … _please_!”

Will bit his lip as he weighed his options. On one side of things he hated the idea of causing Nico any level of discomfort even if Nico was asking him to, but on the other side, Will wasn’t good at telling Nico no. A second thought, and Will gave in and smacked Nico’s ass once again. He tried to be as gentle as possible, but the spot was already so red he was sure the contact had to hurt at least a little. If it did hurt Nico didn’t seem even remotely bothered by the pain because the noise he made was completely sinful.

There was just no way they could get this far into foreplay without Will becoming hard with excitement, but if somehow that hadn’t happened the sound of Nico moaning with such pleasure would have gotten Will there. “Wow,” Will declared as he assessed the aftermath to find Nico’s backside was practically purple at that point. “You should not sound that hot when I feel like I had to have hurt you.”

“Will,” Nico whined as he twisted quickly and dropping onto the mattress. He was sitting there looking up at Will. His dark eyes were filled with a mix of arousal and impatience as they locked on to Will’s. “I want you inside me,” he declared firmly as his hands moved to grasp at Will’s shoulders and started pulling him down demandingly.

Will let Nico pull him and kissed Nico hungrily for a long moment before he pulled away. It was a challenge because Nico clearly didn’t want to let him go, but Will managed. “I can do that,” he replied with a grin as he did his best to escape from Nico’s grip, so he could actually grab the lube off the bedside table.

Nico whined and whimpered in protest but let Will move in favor of kissing at Will’s neck in what had to be the most distracting way possible. It took too long to pop the cap of the lube and pour a good amount onto his fingers. Nico nipped and bit at Will’s ear as Will swirled the cool balm between his fingers to warm it. He probably could have kept that going for a little longer, but a little coolness wasn’t a bad thing, and Will honestly couldn’t wait.

He turned and caught Nico’s lips, kissing him hard as he pushed Nico back on the bed. Nico laid back easily, moving his legs to settle on either side of Will’s hips. Will continued kissing Nico as he moved his hand down his body.

Will brought his hand down past Nico’s groin, resisting the urge to touch Nico’s painfully hard looking cock on his way to his entrance. He pressed his fingers between Nico’s butt cheeks and ran his slick fingers up his crease until he felt the furrowed skin under his pads. He heard Nico’s breath hitched slightly at his touch before starting to rub his fingers around the edge of Nico’s rim lightly.

Will would normally tease at the edge of Nico’s entrance for a while. Not only did he enjoy driving Nico crazy with desperation and desire, but he also always wanted to make sure Nico was sufficiently relaxed. Will could tell Nico didn’t need that level of attention, so he pressed the tip of one finger pass Nico’s rim.

Nico let out a small moan at the penetration. The sound was filled with nothing but pleasure and satisfaction. Will couldn’t help but hum contently at that sound before he continued his work. He used his fingers to open Nico up as quickly as he could without running the risk of causing Nico any discomfort. When he could slide three fingers inside of Nico’s entrance with ease to his third knuckle he pulled them all the way out.

Nico let out a disgruntled noise as Will removed his fingers. He would make up for any momentary loss of stimulation Nico experienced as quickly as he could. With one hand, Will reached past Nico and grabbed one of the pillows while grabbing Nico’s hip with the other. He used his grip to lift Nico’s hips and push the pillow under his back for a little support. As he did he could feel the heat still radiating off Nico’s skin from where Will had spanked him before.

Will fumbled a bit around the bed to find the lube that he had tossed aside so carelessly. It took a few seconds before he found the bottle and frantically popped the cap. He poured a generous amount of the slicking gel onto his palm. “Are you sure that the spanking doesn’t hurt?” He questioned slightly nervous. The question served as a nice distraction for the sensation as he wrapped his hand around his own hard member and started stroking slowly to spread the lube. “Because your butt is still warm from it,” Will pointed out.

“It does hurt some,” Nico admitted like that was a completely normal thing to say. He shifted slightly on the bed, moving the pillow a bit, and generally making himself more comfortable. “But not in a bad way,” he explained casually.

Will stopped stroking himself but didn’t move from where he sat on the bed. “How do you mean not in a bad way?” Will questioned with genuine curiosity. He didn’t know how pain, no matter how slight, could be anything but a bad thing.

Nico pushed up on his elbows a little, and Will could see the annoyance in his eyes, but he didn’t let it read in his voice, “I don’t know.” He shrugged before adding, “Sometimes a little pain adds to the sensation.”

That really didn’t make any sort of sense to Will, but that hardly seemed like the time to question. He shifted forward to kiss at Nico’s jaw as he moved into position. The feeling of Nico’s muscular thighs wrapping around his waist served as a more than welcomed encouragement. “Am I normally too gentle?” He questioned softly against Nico’s skin.

Nico sighed as he laid back on the bed. Will thought he felt Nico shake his head slightly before he heard Nico’s reply, “No.”

Even if Will wanted to have a conversation any further Nico was having none of it. He barely managed to take in a breath before Nico caught his lips in a searing kiss. Will kissed back as he felt Nico’s powerful thighs pulling him in and took the hint. “Ready?” he questioned somewhat breathless.

“Ah-ha,” Nico replied spilling hot breath against Will’s skin as he spoke.

Will shuttered slightly at the feel of Nico’s breath before reaching down between them both and grabbing ahold of his own shaft. He used his grip to line himself up with Nico’s entrance, sucked in a breath to steely himself for the intense sensation he knew was coming, and then pressed forward slowly.

There was a moment of anticipation before Will felt himself breech the tight muscles of Nico’s rim. It was truly an amazing thing how tight and warm Nico felt as Will slowly worked his way inside, and how it could still overwhelm Will after they had been together so many times.

The gasp that escaped Nico’s lips at the moment of penetration quickly turned to a moan as Will continued to move forward. It was the sweetest eternity until Will pushed forward as far as he could, and he forced himself to stop. Part of it was to give Nico time to adjust to the feeling of Will inside, but just as much of it was to give Will a moment to push the overwhelming perfect feeling of Nico wrapped around him before it could overtake him.

It wasn’t until Will felt Nico squirm under him slightly, a sure sign that he was ready, that Will dared to move. He gave one shallow thrust and felt his eyes practically roll back in his head at the overwhelming good feeling. Nico let out a contented little moan and wrapped his legs a little tighter around Will’s waist.

Normally, Will lived for Nico’s every sound no matter how small, but that wasn’t enough for him tonight. Knowing he was going to be able to truly understand every word Nico moaned and cried without the need for translation made Will want to elicit every sound he could from the brunet. It wasn’t like Nico was normally quiet, but Will didn’t want to wait even for a moment to hear those sweet sounds.

Will thrusted again and then a third time, gaining confidence with each motion. Nico moaned and tightened his legs around Will’s waist even more before beginning to sloppily kiss at Will’s jaw. “Harder,” Nico moaned. The word was slightly broken as Will thrusted, and his breath caught at the motion. “More,” he cried out loudly before begging sweetly, “Will, please!”

Instinct and desire took control over the more rational part of Will’s brain, and he complied with Nico’s request. He thrusted with more force to be met with the same plea from Nico, harder, this time spoken with more urgency, and again, Will did as he was told.

It went that way for a few moments until Will found a rhythm that was faster and more rough then he would normally take. Nico moaned and cried out in what sounded like pure ecstasy with every motion as his short nails dug into Will’s shoulders and back.

Will now understood what Nico had meant by a little pain can add to the sensation. He was only aware of the bite of Nico’s nails on his periphery, and it only made him more aware of everything else he was feeling. The tightness of Nico’s rim around his girth and the warmth that enveloped him past that point was so perfect it was almost overwhelming. Somewhere Will was aware of Nico’s sounds and their increasingly frantic quality. Nico seemed to alternate between wordless moans and demanding cries for more or harder.

“Yes!” Nico practically screamed. If they had neighbors Will would have worried that Nico was being too loud, but even if that was the case it felt so good, and Nico sounded so pleased Will wouldn’t have stopped. “Gods yes, Will _ah_ …..,” Nico’s cry turned to a wordless moan as Will felt Nico’s entrance begin to pulse around him.

He slowed his thrusts some as he felt Nico ride the waves of his orgasm. Even at the slower pace it all felt so good. The heat that had been coursing through his veins and the tension building deep in his core refused to be ignored any longer. All the tension released like a dam breaking and a cold rushed through him as he reached his own release only moments after Nico. “Nic,” he moaned with ecstasy before the pure pleasure made him deaf, mute, and blind for a long moment.

As his senses started to slowly come back to him, Will pulled out of Nico’s tightness and fell back on the bed at Nico’s side. He stared up at the ceiling and tried to catch his breath. They were prone to rather athletic sex in general, but that had been so much more than their usual. Will was actually winded which he didn’t know he could even experience. “Oh, wow,” he exclaimed between labored breaths. He looked over at Nico who was staring up with a wide smile at the ceiling. “That was … _unexpected_ ,”

“That was incredible!” Nico replied enthusiastically.

“You’re alright, right?” Will questioned with a bit of nerves. He heard Nico’s words and could easily see his content expression. Still, he couldn’t help but worry. That had been a lot rougher than normal which Nico may have been practically begging for it in the moment, but that wouldn’t make Will feel better if he had inadvertently hurt Nico in some way.

“Absolutely!” Nico exclaimed. Will watched Nico shift and wiggle on the bed, turning to retrieve a few tissues from the nightstand, and then shifting back and turning on his side to face Will. His dark eyes were bright with excitement. “Why haven’t we done that before?” He asked with childlike curiosity that seemed slightly inappropriate considering what Nico was actually talking about, but somehow Will sort of liked it.

Will wasn’t completely sure what exactly Nico was talking about. Was it the Italian or the general intensity of the act? “I didn’t know you were into that,” Will admitted. He was making an assumption Nico was referring to the general roughness that wasn’t a normal part of their activities in bed.

“I didn’t know either really,” Nico confessed with a bit of a shrug. “Is the Italian alright?” He questioned curiously.

It took Will a minute to understand what Nico was asking, but that strange tingle that accompanied Nico speaking Italian was still there. “Absolutely,” Will replied with an easy smile. As long as he could understand Nico could keep talking Italian all night for all Will cared. “I might have to just learn it because I like being able to understand you,” he admitted. It had certainly led to a different experience.

A soft blush spread across Nico’s cheeks and he downcast his eyes. Will was a little worried that Nico was going to say something about not being okay with that but then Nico whispered bashfully, “I like it too.”

“Good,” Will declared with relief. He gave an experimental stretch, and his sweat covered skin began to itch from the rub of the sheets under him. He glanced back at Nico who already look too comfortable and suggested regrettably, “We should clean up.”

“In a bit,” Nico dismissed. He sounded suddenly sleepy and he inched closer to Will on the bed, snuggling into Will’s side before adding, “I just want to lay here with you for a minute.”

They were both covered in sweat and probably had the lingering smell of stale alcohol from the bar on them, but looking down at Nico, his eyes already shut, Will couldn’t bring himself to get out of bed. “Deal,” he declared wrapping his arm around Nico’s small frame as he made himself more comfortable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos always appreciated!
> 
> Also, if you missed it Delix's fics have started being posted on Ao3- if you are interested you should check them out.


	73. Outsider Looking In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday Y'all
> 
> So I always think of Will as the outsider of the group in After the Wars but at this point he is just as much a part of everything as Nico so I wanted to throw a new outsider in the mix and get their perspective on the whole crew.
> 
> Also, I never really liked the whole thing Aphrodite told Reyna so for now at least I'm more or less ignoring it.

Michael stood outside the praetor’s quarters trying to hide how awkward he felt. It was rare that Michael found himself faced with a social situation that he didn’t know how to handle. He may not have been able to say the same thing about his military career, but normally Roman etiquette gave pretty clear guidance in most social situations. This wasn’t most social situations.

He was standing outside of a superior officer’s quarters, should he be standing at attention as he waited? That seemed a bit ridiculous in light of the night before, but it still seemed appropriate if only to keep up appearances. It was honestly a relief when Reyna reappeared from inside the room with the sweater she had gone back in to retrieve.

“Are you sure it is alright that I join?” He questioned somewhat nervously.

It wasn’t every day one got invited to breakfast with the seven from prophecy. Michael remembered Jason from when he himself had joined the legion. He had seemed nice enough, but even then, the child of Jupiter was intimidating. Percy had made a rather memorable entrance to New Rome and so did Annabeth for that matter. And it didn’t matter how “sweet” and “adorable” Hazel insisted her half-brother was, Michael still found the Ambassador of Pluto terrifying. He respected him plenty but would prefer to do that from a distance.

Reyna pushed a long strand of dark hair that must have escaped her braid behind her ear before replying simply. “I can’t see why it wouldn’t be.”

Reyna walked past him without sparing him a second glance. It was as if she just expected him to follow, and she wasn’t wrong. Michael was quick to turn and practically jogged to catch up and walk at her side. Reyna just had that ability to draw people to her, or at least she had that effect on him. He remembered first arriving at New Rome and Camp Jupiter and being immediately fascinated by her. He had made the mistake of asking Octavian about her once, and from that point on he kept his interest to himself.

Besides at the time she was clearly with Jason or she had appeared to be. Then Jason disappeared, but before Michael worked up the nerve to approach her Percy showed up. Rumors spread like wildfire from the moment Reyna and the son of Neptune were spotted together because everyone swore they had undeniable chemistry. Michael had never seen it, but it wasn’t like he had time to think about it because Percy’s girlfriend showed up and judo chopped him over her shoulder and then the city started blowing up.

“If you’re sure?” He questioned still somewhat uncertain.

Since he still served as part of the Legion, he saw Frank and Hazel plenty, and he had seen Annabeth around the city a few times. He had even had Percy serve him a coffee once, and boy had that been weird. Still, crashing breakfast with all of them together felt like he was invading something private.

Reyna looked over at him with her large, dark, mysterious eyes and replied flatly, “Yes.”

Michael was still nervous but didn’t question it further. Reyna spoke with certainty, and Michael knew from experience that meant something. They walked side by side from the praetor’s quarters to a small café on Main Street that Michael had never actually visited before because it was such a couple’s only type place.

Michael figured out what table they would be joining even before he saw Frank and Hazel sitting at it. Several tables had clearly been pushed together toward the back of the café to accommodate the large party. As they approached the table it became clear that most of the chairs were empty at the moment. Besides Frank and Hazel, it looked like only Annabeth Chase and Piper McLean were present.

Michael was genuinely surprised that such battle-tested demigods seemed completely oblivious to their approach until Reyna called out a greeting, “Good morning.” Reyna took a seat at the table. Michael silently took a seat next to her. Maybe he would get lucky and his presence would go unnoticed.

“Reyna!” Piper replied brightly as she pushed a braid off her shoulder thoughtlessly. Michael had never actually met Venus, his godly parent, which wasn’t uncommon for Roman demigods. The Greeks seemed to personally interact with the gods far more which seemed weirdly inappropriate, but that wasn’t something he was going to mention, especially considering the present company. Still, he recognized Piper’s kaleidoscope eyes as a feature that must have been shared between his mother’s Greek and Roman personas because he had met more than a few Roman descendants of Venus that shared that feature.

“I told you Reyna would be the next one to show up,” Annabeth pointed out to Piper matter-of-factly instead of greeting or really acknowledging their arrival in any direct way.

Michael was never going to admit it out loud, but he was pretty sure Annabeth Chase might have been the most terrifying demigod he had ever seen, even more so then Jason Grace or Percy Jackson. It probably had something to do with the fact that the first time he saw her she was throwing Percy around like a ragdoll. The cold intensity of her eyes didn’t help matters any.

“And I never had any doubt,” Piper commented a little too chipperly. He was still nursing a bit of a hangover from the night before- it was well worth it and hard earned, but it was still there dulling his senses and stopping him from getting too excited about anything. He remembered Annabeth and Piper exiting the bar the night before, and they hadn’t seemed much better. “And she brought a friend!” Piper declared with unnerving delight directed purely at him.

“Hi, Michael,” Hazel greeted with that same friendly smile she always seemed to have, and Frank accompanied her greeting with a small wave.

“Frank, Hazel” Michael replied with a little nod in acknowledgment. It was strange seeing the couple outside of official Legion stuff, but he did his best to hide it. “It’s good to see you both.”

“Um…” Frank hummed thoughtfully. He looked down the table at Michael with a questioning expression. “Why are you here?” Frank asked flatly.

Michael’s mouth dropped open, but he couldn’t think of how to actually answer. What was he supposed to say? He had spent the night with Reyna, and that had earned him an invitation to breakfast. Before the silence stretched past the point where it could be described as comfortable Hazel chimed in before Michael had to. “Frank!” Hazel protested “Obviously he’s here with Reyna.”

“Huh?” Frank looked really confused at Hazel for a moment before his eyes went comically wide. “Oh! _Oh_ ….”

Michael remained quiet as he silently considered if he could still slip away from the table and avoid any more awkwardness. The only thing that stopped him was he was pretty sure if he took off he would be shooting any chance he had with Reyna in the trash.

“Is there some rule against me inviting a friend to breakfast?” Reyna questioned firmly.

“No,” Annabeth was quick to assure, “Of course not, the more the merrier.”

“Thank you,” Michael offered. He was able to hide the majority of his uncertainty. He still felt like there was too much attention on himself and Reyna, and he would have appreciated a distraction. He looked around the table at the empty chairs and questioned, “Ah, where are Percy and Jason? Are they around?” Either demigod seemed like they would be good for a distraction.

“They haven’t shown up yet,” Annabeth answered plainly before grabbing her glass and sipping at what look like orange juice before continuing, “But they’ll get here eventually.”

“They weren’t with you two?” Michael questioned with confusion. He vaguely remembered that neither Jason or Percy had been present at the dance club the night before, but he had just figured that Reyna, Annabeth, and Piper were out for a girls’ night.

“Not last night,” Piper answered plainly and shook her head. Michael noticed her eyes move between himself and Reyna briefly before she got a glint in her eyes that made him especially nervous. “So, what did you two do last night once we left?” She questioned with more suggestiveness in her voice than Michael would have liked. “Don’t spare the details.”

Michael had no intention of answering that question. Annabeth and Piper had left rather early and plenty happened, none of which seemed appropriate to discuss.

“You can ignore her,” Annabeth assured with a dismissive glance at the brunet.

“Or don’t,” Piper stated more insistently. Michael noticed Reyna’s dismissive eye roll, and the way she slouched down in her chair. He figured that was a good sign that he didn’t have to say anything. Piper seemed to have different feelings on that as she focused on him specifically and declared, “I mean we are practically family.”

Michael made a face involuntarily at that, and he wasn’t the only one. Annabeth made a face and looked at Piper with an expression that seemed to echo what Michael was thinking. “Is that supposed to make it better?” Annabeth questioned skeptically.

“It was,” Piper admitted with a wide grin before adding, “But then I heard it out loud.” With that both Annabeth and Piper started laughing.

Michael wasn’t in on the joke, but no one else seemed to be in on it either. Everyone seemed to be content letting them laugh in silence until a voice came from the café’s entrance, “Hey, what’s so funny?” Michael glanced over his shoulder to see the distraction he had been hoping for.

Percy and Jason were walking toward the table together, and they looked like they had quite a night. Neither of them looked like they had gotten much sleep based on the dark circles under their eyes, and they definitely looked like they had just rolled out of bed based on the general dishevelness of their clothes and hair. For Percy, Michael figured that was a pretty typical look, but Jason was Legion, so it seemed strange. “What did we miss?” Percy questioned brightly.

Michael was relieved that the attention was off himself and Reyna for maybe two seconds before the light was brought right back to them, but it was Hazel, so he couldn’t even be mad. “Reyna brought a friend,” Hazel declared loudly as Percy and Jason came to a stop at the side of the table.

“And we don’t need details on how that happened,” Frank declared firmly. If Michael didn’t already like and respect Frank that statement would have solidified it for him.

“Awesome,” Percy declared as he started tapping his fingers against one of the empty chairs.

Jason looked around Percy with a suspicious expression for a few seconds before he seemed to actually notice Michael, and his expression softened to something more friendly. “Hey, Michael,” he greeted with a little wave.

“Hey,” Michael returned the greeting with a wave of his own.

“Okay, how are we doing this?” Percy declared seemingly out of nowhere. It actually took a minute for Michael to figure out he was talking to Piper. “Are you taken Jason back right now or am I getting Annabeth back after breakfast?” He questioned.

 _Were they discussing a significant other exchange like that was a normal thing_? Michael wondered. That was what it sounded like, but that couldn’t be the case. That would have been seriously weird, and no one around the table seemed particularly confused.

Piper seemed to give the weird question some serious thought before answering, “I’ll let you keep Jason until the end of the meal.”

“Deal,” Percy declared doing that finger gun thing before pulling out the chair he had been standing by and dropping into it. Jason dropped into the chair next to the son of Poseidon a half a second later. Michael thought he heard him grumble something as he shook his head at Percy, but being on the opposite end of the table, he couldn’t make it out.

Michael noticed Annabeth’s thoughtful (slightly annoyed) glance at the café’s entrance before looking back at Percy and Jason. “I’ve got to admit I thought for sure Nico and Will would get here before you two,” she declared. It was said like an observation, but the way she sat back in her chair a little and swirled her glass in her hand made it seem more like an accusation.

“Nico? Really?” Percy questioned with astonishment, “You and Piper must have had a whole lot of fun last night because you’re a little off your game this morning, Wise girl.”

Alright, Michael realized he had been right about the weirdness. He looked around the table, and no one was reacting, not even Reyna. He guessed maybe he should have figured that out earlier because while Piper and Annabeth had left early they had been very touchy with each other before they made their quick exit.

“No, no,” Piper declared as she sipped at her own drink. “Nico might not be a morning person, but Will definitely is,” she reasoned before turning to speak specifically to Annabeth in that reassuring way that was more typical in couples than friends, “I get what you were thinking.”

There was a lot of information to unpack in that little exchange, and most of it was none of Michael’s business. He pushed aside most of it and focused on the bit that seemed relevant to him. “The ambassador of Pluto will be joining us as well?” Again, he asked as calmly as he could manage considering Nico di Angelo scared him more than a little.

“Yup!” Hazel answered cheerfully “And his boyfriend, Will.”

“Yeah, if the two can manage to get out of bed,” Percy added with a wide grin.

Michael tried not to get too wrapped up in rumors and gossip, but even he had heard about the ambassador’s sexual orientation so that didn’t come as much surprise. He was noticeably attractive, especially now that it looked like the demigod ate on a regular basis, so it made sense that he was seeing someone, but Michael hadn’t heard about that. Reyna leaned in and explained, “Will’s a child of Apollo and very nice.”

“Oh,” Michael nodded. That sounded like an odd pairing, but it really didn’t seem like his place to comment.

Their little exchange seemed to go unnoticed as Annabeth turned her attention to Percy and Jason. “So what trouble did you two get into last night?” She questioned with genuine curiosity.

“Not much,” Jason answered plainly. It sounded honest enough, but Michael still had his doubts because the two looked pretty disheveled and tired.

“We ran into Rory and Cal,” Percy chimed in excitedly. Michael actually recognized those names. Rory had served in the Legion although he had left a few years back and while Cal never served Michael had met him a few times. “Apparently, they’re banging,” Percy informed clearly surprised by that information.

Based on the looks exchanged by Annabeth and Piper, Percy might have been the only one. “Yeah,” Annabeth replied, “That’s not really a surprise.”

“Well, it was to me!” Percy declared with outrage.

Piper smirked and tilted her head to one side in a slightly condescending way. “Really?” She questioned.

Percy threw up his hands and looked like he was going to say something, but he didn’t get a chance before a waitress showed up at the side of the table. “Hello there,” she greeted sweetly as she clicked her pen against the surface of a pad of paper she was holding. “Are we ready to order?”

“Actually,” Piper replied for the entire group. “We are still waiting for a few people,” She explained apologetically before gesturing down to the end of the table where Michael, Reyna, Jason, and Percy were sitting, “But the new couples here can use some mimosas.”

Michael involuntarily coughed and choked on nothing. “We’re not-” he started quickly gesturing between himself and Reyna. Would he have been fine if he and Reyna were actually a couple? Absolutely! But, unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, at least at the moment, and that was how rumors got started.

“I’m actually-” Reyna spoke over him much more calmly.

Piper cut them both off by holding up her hand, and they both fell into silence as if by magic. She smiled sweetly at the waitress. “So, four more mimosas, thanks,” she summarized.

“Sure thing,” The waitress stated, “Coming right up.”

The waitress turned on her heels and walked away before Michael felt like he got control over his own mouth, but he wasn’t the one to speak. “I’m actually hungry,” Jason pointed out as he looked longingly in the direction the waitress had disappeared in.

“Yeah, me too,” Percy agreed before turning to look at Annabeth curiously. “How long are we going to wait for Nico and Will?”

“We can give them a few more minutes,” Annabeth answered with a shrug which was met with a chorus of groans from both Jason and Percy. Michael wasn’t going to say anything because it went against his entire strategy of getting through the meal by not drawing attention to himself, but he was a bit hungry as well.

“I’ve been eating the little packets of jam,” Frank offered as he held up one of the packets as an example.

“This is my fate,” Percy declared as he threw up his hands and slouched in his seat to pout. It should have made Percy look less threatening, but it didn’t. “I’ve survived monsters, Titans, Giants, and Tartarus all just to die of starvation, so Nico di Angelo can sleep in and have morning sex.”

Annabeth didn’t seem very impressed with Percy’s pouting. “Well, that’s overly dramatic,” the blonde declared dismissively.

“And unnecessary,” Jason added with an annoyed look at the demigod at his side.

“Really? Unnecessary?” Percy exclaimed looking at Jason in complete shock. “After last night how are you not just completely desensitized to it?”

Jason just gave Percy a disapproving look that Michael wouldn’t have wanted to be on the receiving end of, but Percy seemed completely unaffected as he grinned back at the son of Jupiter. Michael heard Frank speaking, and it was more than clear he could have only been speaking to Hazel. “Since you asked earlier,” Frank tried to whisper, but his voice easily carried down the table. “That is why I didn’t go out with them last night,” he explained.

“Oh, but you should have come,” Percy gave up on Jason for the moment and leaned on the table to look down toward Frank. “It was fun!”

Frank made a face of distaste as he questioned, “Like last time?”

“Yeah,” Jason nodded as he answered matter-of-factly, “It was similar.”

Frank actually shuttered at that like he was traumatized from the simple memory. Michael did remember that Piper or Annabeth had mentioned that Jason and Percy had gone to Gladiators. Michael had never been to the gay bar, but he had heard that place could get rather rowdy. Even if that wasn’t the case, Michael had a hard time imagining Frank having fun at a gay bar.

“I just want you and Nico to get along and be friends,” Hazel replied with the same level of positivity the daughter of Pluto seemed to bring to everything.

Frank let out a sigh and seemed to squirm a little in his seat. “Well, Nico scares me a little,” Frank admitted quietly with a sentiment Michael could really relate to.

“Only a little?” A smoky voice questioned disappointedly. One glance over his shoulder and Michael saw the Ambassador of Pluto approaching the table. He looked much like he had the last few times Michael had seen him about the city in passing over the last year. He was like a walking shadow with his dark hair, black clothes, and ‘don’t-screw-with-me’ vibe. Even now he seemed to appear out of nowhere, approaching the group from a dark corner of the café instead of the entrance. Also, and this bit was new, but he appeared to have a tall blonde guy in tow. “I must be slipping,” Nico declared with a genuine smile which just made the statement more intimidating.

“He doesn’t mean that,” The blonde offered reassuringly as he came to the table and pulled out one of the chairs. He didn’t sit but rather nodded to the Ambassador of Pluto like an invitation. That alone seemed odd and out of place but then Nico di Angelo blushed and took the offered chair. The blond took the empty chair to the Ambassador’s right as he continued, “Sorry we’re late we- oh, there is a new person.” The blonde’s attention seemed to zero in on Michael, and now that Michael had a good look at him he realized it was the same blonde from The Battle of Camp Half-Blood. “Hello, I’m Will,” he greeted with a friendly smile and a little wave.

“You’ve met him already,” Nico informed as he pushed his chair into the table.

Will blinked and looked at Nico like he genuinely didn’t understand his words. “When?” the blonde questioned doubtfully after a few seconds.

“Octavian,” Nico answered plainly. That wasn’t a name Michael heard much since the battle, and it certainly wasn’t a name he heard spoken with such little emotion. If anyone had the right to have some level of emotion in regarding Octavian, Michael supposed the people that let him die were the ones, but Michael himself tried not to think of him. If the exchange between the Ambassador of Pluto and the blonde was any indication they didn’t think about Octavian much either.

“What?” The blonde questioned with confusion before turning and staring at Michael. It took a few minutes, but realization eventually spread across his features. “Oh, right! You were there,” he exclaimed with sudden understanding. “Sorry, that had been a pretty stressful day. I had delivered a baby, the camp was about to be invaded, the world was potentially coming to an end, and I was trying to flirt with this really cute, really oblivious boy,” Will explained sounding genuinely apologetic. He had turned to the Ambassador of Pluto with a pointed look at the end which Michael had to admit was a cute, if slightly atypical, show of affection. Nico didn’t miss it if the bashful little smile that crossed his face was any indication.

“Understandable,” Michael offered. In all fairness, while he had remembered a blonde Greek being there he hadn’t immediately recognized the demigod either. “That does sound like a lot.”

 _Had he said he delivered a baby_?

“Why are you here?” Nico questioned. Much to Michael’s disappointment when he looked in the ambassador’s direction he found Pluto’s emissary staring back at him critically.

 _Say words_ , Michael told himself but only sounds came out. “Um…,” he hummed and looked toward Reyna who didn’t look nearly as panicked as Michael felt, so everything should have been fine.

“Reyna got laid,” Percy declared on their behalf before Michael or Reyna managed to answer. Michael couldn’t imagine anything worse that could have possibly happened. If he was struggling to find words before he had no chance now. He barely managed to sputter.

“That is none of your business,” Reyna stated firmly. She shot Percy a look that would send most men cowering in a corner, but the son of Poseidon seemed unfortunately immune to it. “But no,” Reyna corrected flatly which was at least technically true. The fact that Reyna handled all of this so calmly had Michael wondering if he had not been appropriately prepared for this breakfast.

“As the newest member of the group,” Will leaned across the table a little with his attention focused on Michael like he had read his mind or something. “Let me just tell you everyone is very nice once you get past the death threats.”

The statement was clearly met to be reassuring, but Michael couldn’t help but focus on the death threat part and his stomach dropped. He said nothing, and it didn’t seem like anyone around the table actually expected him to say anything which was really for the best.

The conversation continued without Michael’s input. Piper looked down the table at Will and disagreed, “We didn’t threaten you that much.”

Will smiled like talking about death threats was bringing back happy memories. “Just once to four times depending on the person,” he explained with a lightness that Michael couldn’t imagine anyone else speaking considering the topic.

“That reminds me,” Nico declared slapping the table to gain the others attention. It was quite effective especially if his goal was to also make Michael jump a little in his seat. He was honestly fine with it as long as Reyna didn’t notice. Then the Ambassador of Pluto turned his attention specifically on Michael. “If you hurt Reyna one of them will kill you, and I’ll make sure you end up in the Fields of Punishment,” he informed plainly.

Michael wasn’t even sure he could count the statement as a threat it was spoken like just another fact the demigod thought Michael should be aware of. “Heard and understood,” Michael replied with a nod as he had to focus hard to not physically shrink down in his chair.

That seemed to be an acceptable reply because Nico nodded, and it seemed like five conversations started around the table at once. When Michael finally felt like the attention was completely off himself he leaned over to Reyna and whispered, “Is it always like this?”

She looked over at him sympathetically, and he felt like he knew the answer before she even said it, “Yeah, pretty much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos are always welcome!
> 
> Remember for weekly updates on writing progress go to my tumblr- delta-roseblr.tumblr.com


	74. Construction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy, happy Sunday everyone,
> 
> This is a sort of short one but I hope you enjoy!

“Annabeth, it isn’t a biggy,” Leo assured the slightly rippling image of the daughter of Athena in front of him as he kicked his feet up on the empty bunk next to his chair. “Stop stressin’.”

The daughter of Apollo that was running the infirmary at the moment walked past and paused to glare at Leo’s muddy boots before continuing in her path. Leo thought about it for a second before bringing his feet back down to the ground. The daughter of Apollo seemed cool enough, and she had done a good job of bandaging up the gash on his arm, but she seemed like the type that would punch him if he annoyed her enough. Just his luck, he had to go to the infirmary on a day where that son of Apollo that Nico seemed to hang out with a lot in Will’s absence wasn’t there. That dude was mad chill about pretty much everything.

“Leo, I will stop stressing when things stop blowing up!” Annabeth shrieked in reply.

She clearly had decided to do the exact opposite of what Leo had suggested, but Leo had pretty much expected that at this point. This wasn’t the first time that Leo had had this type of conversation with Annabeth. Even through the Iris message, Leo could see Annabeth shaking as she tried to contain her rage. After a few deep breaths, she seemed to collect herself before she questioned, “How much did we lose this time?”

“Good question,” Leo commented as he picked up a long Q-tip that was sitting on the side table and started spinning it between his fingers for something to do as he talked. “Maybe two fourths,” he offered casually. He noticed his younger sibling that was sitting on a bunk being tended to by the daughter of Apollo give him a confused look at that. He got it, but he was really glad his younger sister was smart enough not to ask anything out loud.

He was exaggerating the damage the explosion had caused a little bit. It wasn’t the first time he had done it, and he had felt guilty about it at first, but it really was for the best. Yes, it  seemed to stress Annabeth out which was why he used to feel guilty. But the thing was if Annabeth knew that they were actually chugging along and wouldn’t have a problem completing the miniature Roman Baths on time she would want to add to the plans. Annabeth was just filled with additions and improvements. While all of them were great on paper, the majority of them were a real pain in the ass in real life. So, Annabeth’s stress level was sacrificed for the builder’s safety and Leo’s sanity.

“Half!?!” Annabeth shrieked at a new level of ear piercing. Leo was sure all dogs in a ten-mile radius had heard that and were howling in response. _Maybe he had taken it a little too far_. “We lost half the building!”

Leo didn’t miss the fact that both his younger sister and the daughter of Apollo were watching him, and the daughter of Apollo looked pretty disapproving. “Well, of what was built,” he started. He remained calm and stayed the course. He was too committed at this point to change his mind now. “And maybe it was a little more than half.”

“Gods!” Annabeth half-shouted, half-whimpered, “Leo!”

“Annie,” Leo dismissed with a large smile. “It’s cool,” he assured. Annabeth may not have known it, but the damage that was done would take a couple hours to fix at the most, so it really was cool.

“How are we going to get it finished in time!?!” she screamed. “We have two months!”

“I know,” Leo assured. “Don’t worry, I got this,” he stated insistently.

Annabeth was great, but the girl needed to have a little faith. Even if all his exaggerations were completely true he would have still figured out a way to get it done. “Don’t you have a wedding to plan?” he questioned in hopes of a distraction.

“Let me worry about my wedding, just build my baths,” Annabeth hissed back with annoyance before adding firmly “And no more explosions.”

“I’ll do my best,” he replied cheerfully, “Say hi to Percy for me.” The last thing he heard was an annoyed huff before her hand went through the Iris message, and the image disintegrated in front of him.

“Why did you tell her we were behind?” Leo’s sibling questioned as the last hints of the Iris message faded away.

“Because he’s a liar,” the daughter of Apollo answered on his behalf rather unsolicited. She shot him a disapproving look before adding, “And he wants to be murdered by Annabeth Chase.”

“I’m surprised she didn’t reach through the Iris message and strangle him for calling her Annie,” Child of Athena who for some reason was hanging around the infirmary even though he didn’t look injured commented.

“That might have been taking it too far,” Leo admitted with a shrug before adding, “But otherwise I’m not worried about it.”

 

Percy was sitting on the couch in the tiny living room of his apartment staring at his boring homework as he listened to Annabeth scream at Leo in the other room. He knew he wasn’t in the mood to actually do homework, and from the sounds of it Annabeth was going to be on her Iris message for a while, so he decided to call Jason as a pleasant distraction.

The phone rang six or seven times which was way more than normal if Jason was going to actually answer, and he had been about to just hang up when the call clicked over. An extremely groggy sounding Jason answered, “Hello?” His voice was muffled to the point that Percy could only just hear him.

“Hey bro,” Percy greeted brightly. Honestly, he was trying not to laugh at just how not like himself Jason sounded. “Why do you sound like you were just in a battle?”

“Prom,” Jason replied in the same muffled tone. He sounded like he was maybe a minute away from passing out. Percy recognized the tone from experience.

“I thought your prom was yesterday,” Percy pointed out as he used his foot to nudge his notebook back on the coffee table and propped up his feet on the flimsy surface. He eased back a little more on the couch, making himself more comfortable before he asked, “Was there a monster attack?”

“Afterparty,” Jason corrected groggily.

Percy remembered Jason mentioning something about an after party being held by the track team the last time they had hung out, but he didn’t remember the details. He had been pretty focused on other things at the time. He also knew that if something serious had actually had happened Jason would have probably called, and Piper definitely would have called Annabeth. That being said, if Jason wasn’t going to just offer up information Percy wasn’t going to go easy on him. “There was a monster attack at the afterparty?” He questioned faking obliviousness.

“No,” Jason groaned. Percy heard the ruffle of sheets and the complaint of mattress springs as he assumed the son of Jupiter moved around. “We just got back from the afterparty.”

“Wow dude,” Percy exclaimed with genuine surprise. “It’s four pm! That must have been quite some afterparty.”

“It was eventful,” Jason agreed. He still sounded like he was ready to pass out at any second, but at least his voice wasn’t muffled since he had moved. “I’m tired,” Jason declared like that wasn’t more than obvious already.

From the other room, Percy heard Annabeth scream something about half that he didn’t understand, but from the sounds of it he guessed it wasn’t good. He loved Leo and everything, but he really needed to stop blowing shit up because it was really messing with Percy’s home life.

He did his best to ignore Annabeth’s conversation. When she needed something from him she would let him know, and until then there really wasn’t much he could do. “So, are you and Piper still coming over this weekend?” he asked Jason. Partially it was for him, but he knew Annabeth was looking forward to their visit. Piper and Jason hadn’t really visited since spring break, and that may have only been a month, but it felt like so much longer.

“I-I don’t know,” Jason stammered, and Percy honestly couldn’t tell if that was just from Jason really not knowing or if he nodded off for a second in the middle of speaking. “Tired,” Jason reiterated unnecessarily.

“Dude, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you so tired,” Percy exclaimed. He didn’t know if he was impressed or surprised or what, but he really felt the need to comment regardless. “And I’ve seen you post-battle and post sex.”

“No battle,” Percy heard Jason let out a long sigh before he added, “But there was definitely sex.”

“Go Pipes!” Percy cheered with a laugh. On the other end of the call, he didn’t miss the distinct sound of a half-issued snore as Jason dozed off momentarily. He heard what could only be described as a growl from the other room, and he started to re-think his whole wait-until-Annabeth-let-him-know-she-needed-something plan. He definitely didn’t want to go back to doing homework but listening to Jason fall asleep didn’t seem like a much better idea. “Do you want me to let you off the phone, so you can sleep,” Percy offered sympathetically.

Jason sort of half-groaned, half-whined before replying, “No mad?”

It took Percy a minute to translate Jason’s weird caveman speak and understand what Jason was asking. “No man, I don’t care,” Percy assured as he sat up a little on the couch and strained to hear Annabeth in the other room but got nothing for his efforts. He wasn’t sure if he should have been relieved by that or worried. “I should probably make sure Annabeth isn’t going to kill Leo anyways,” he admitted.

“Sure?” Jason muttered. It sounded like Jason was rapidly losing the battle with sleep even as he spoke. “No want you mad?”

“Don’t worry Jay,” Percy assured again. This time he didn’t have such a hard time deciphering Jason’s tired speak which was helpful. “You can still fuck me later if you get off the phone now,” he joked.

“Thank you,” Jason sighed almost inaudibly.

“Sure thing, dude,” Percy replied easily. Sure, he was hoping to actually talk to Jason, but he wasn’t going to be too disappointed to change his plans. “Say hi to Piper for me and get some rest.”

Jason mumbled something, but Percy really only made out the last bit that sounded something like, “Bye Perce.”

The line went dead before Percy could reply. _How rude_ , Percy thought although he wasn’t all that offended. Even if he was, Annabeth came storming out of the other room a half a second later and completely caught Percy’s attention.

“I may have to murder Leo,” Annabeth declared heatedly as she dropped onto the couch next to Percy and curled up. Her head came to rest in his lap, and her legs stretched across the couch.

“But we like Leo,” Percy pointed out. He tossed his phone aside in favor of running his fingers through Annabeth’s hair. He was pleasantly surprised to find that he could actually get his fingers through Annabeth’s wild mane of curls. “Maybe we shouldn’t do that,” Percy suggested.

Annabeth curled and stretched on the couch, seeming to make herself more comfortable on Percy’s lap before countering with a pout, “But he keeps destroying my beautifully planned baths.”

“It’s Leo, we have seen him pull off the impossible before,” Percy reminded in the hopes of being reassuring. Percy wasn’t completely sure the situation was as bad as Leo seemed to be telling Annabeth it was, but that really was a separate issue. Even if it was that bad, Leo had managed to bring himself back from the dead, he could handle getting the baths constructed in time. “You just need to have a little faith.”

“He called me Annie,” Annabeth informed with distaste as she moved just enough to look up at Percy with her grey eyes.

“Well,” Percy declared thoughtfully as he continued to stroke her hair slowly. “That’s bad, but maybe not murder worthy.”

“Easy for you to say,” Annabeth retorted disgruntledly, and if she didn’t make her distaste clear enough with her words, her eyes narrowed at him slightly as she added, “Seaweed Brain.”

“You’ve had a stressful day,” Percy pointed out. Before the Leo Iris message, it hadn’t actually been all that bad, but clearly, the conversation with Leo had been a day’s worth of stress. Percy hated seeing Annabeth that way and wanted to do anything he could to make it better for her even if it was only a temporary thing. “How about I go run you a warm bath and then while you’re soaking I’ll figure out dinner,” he offered with affection.

Annabeth smiled sheepishly and made no move to get up. “You’re not just offering to avoid my cooking?” She questioned.

Percy was relieved to hear a little levity in Annabeth’s voice as she teased him. “I’m offering because I want you to be able to relax,” he retorted with a grin. He stopped playing with Annabeth’s silky hair and slowly started to shift so he could get out from under Annabeth’s resting head. Annabeth might not have agreed to it yet, but Percy was running her a bath. Annabeth deserved at least that much. “But avoiding your cooking is a bonus for both of us,” he added quickly as he finally was able to evacuate himself from Annabeth’s laying form and pushed up to stand.

“A bath does sound nice,” Annabeth admitted after a long hum. She pushed up on her elbows and smiled up at him with uncertainty. “You wouldn’t mind?” She asked warily.

Percy leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against Annabeth’s lips briefly. He pulled away slowly and started across the room heading toward the bathroom before calling back, “Anything for you, Wise Girl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos are always welcome (and loved)


End file.
